Justin Hartley Admits He Keeps His Christmas Tree Up 'Through January and Then Into the Summer'

A layered family drama with emotional flashbacks may sound a lot like Justin Hartley's hit series This Is Us. But add in a snowstorm and some mistletoe and you have his new Netflix movie The Noel Diary, co-starring Barrett Doss.

"It has that same feel, doesn't it?" Hartley, 45, tells PEOPLE in this week's issue of how his latest project stacks up against the NBC drama. "For me, it's always about the story and the character, and I thought it was well written and I thought the character was pretty intriguing in that he's forced to go down this path, take this journey to try to uncover some details about his past that he might have jumbled up a bit."

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Hartley plays an introverted novelist named Jacob who encounters a woman (Doss) looking for her birth mother — his former nanny — when he goes back to clean out his own mom's house following her death.

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But "I'm definitely not a loner," the actor says. "I'm not much of a party animal. I do like my alone time," the actor says. "I love being around my wife. We spend quite a lot of time together. She's my best friend. I'd rather be with her than be alone."

In the film, Jacob embarks on a road trip with his new acquaintance in hopes of helping her find out more about her mom. Offscreen, Hartley has jumped in the car with his wife Sofia Pernas for a spontaneous getaway of their own.

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"When This Is Us ended, I had 10 days before I started something else, and I just looked at my wife and I was like, 'Do you want to go to Napa?' She's like, 'Sure, I love Napa,'" he recalls. "And so we just got in the car and left. We do things like that."

Hartley looks forward to a lowkey holiday at home with his Pernas, 33, and his 18-year-old daughter Isabella (from a previous marriage). "I just stay home and hang out with my wife and my daughter and eat food and maybe drink a little — maybe a little more," he says.

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One holiday tradition that's followed him through the years: receiving a special Christmas ornament from his mom.

"I have two sisters and a brother, and my mother, every year for Christmas gets us a Christmas ornament from that year," the SAG award winner says. "She writes a handwritten letter with each one explaining why she got that particular one. It's really sweet."

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Hartley confesses he's already begun decorating for Christmas.

"It used to be right after Thanksgiving, and recently we'll put the trees up and everything before Thanksgiving," he says. "And then my whole thing is if you come over to my house in July, there might be a Christmas tree up. I don't mind putting them up, but taking them down is a nightmare. It's sad. And it's such a pain. So I just keep it lit up through January and then into the summer."

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The former soap opera star also owns up to being one of those proactive people who starts shopping for holiday presents months in advance. "I developed a really good habit over the past couple of years where I shop throughout the year," Hartley says. "It just makes things so much easier."

Hartley does find one person on his list challenging to shop for, though. "My daughter is tough to buy for because I don't want to get her the wrong thing," he says. "What do you get a teenager?"

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Hartley remembers being upset about a particular gift he got from Santa as a kid. St. Nick brought him a shopping cart toy, but young Hartley wanted the same Fisher Price plastic wheelbarrow that this older brother received.

"For some reason I didn't like it. I kind of threw a fit," Hartley admits. "I'm thinking, 'Why would Santa do this to me? Santa Claus hates me!' But we worked through it and we're fine now."

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Hartley finds forgiveness to be one of the themes of The Noel Diary. "This movie does a good job of reminding you to practice patience with other people and with yourself and remember that it's good to forgive people," he says. "Holding a grudge and being mad is sort of a waste of time. Time we don't have."

The Noel Diary streams Thursday on Netflix.