It’s been a stressful year, but at least you can count on Hallmark, Lifetime, and Netflix to come through with the holiday cheer. After all, what’s more relaxing than watching an overworked woman fall in love with a Christmas tree farmer? So decompress with all of our delightful holiday content right here.

Alexa PenaVega is in the middle of filming her Hallmark Christmas movie, Christmas Made to Order (which premiered December 23), when she lets me in on a secret: Her character may dream of becoming a holiday decorator, but Alexa’s not good at it herself. “That’s [my husband] Carlos’ thing,” she says. “He has a great eye for it, and I don’t. Yet I’m the one that’s like, ‘I want Christmas all year round!'”

But what PenaVega lacks in decor skills, she more than makes up for in holiday spirit. And like her character in Christmas Made to Order, if there’s something lacking in her life she’ll find a way to change it.

PenaVega has had a lot of practice with that. In the business for more than 20 years, she started with the Burt Reynolds/Marilu Henner series Evening Shade in 1993. She followed that with roles in films like Little Giants, Nine Months, and Twister, but it was her debut in Spy Kids that made her a star. Since then, she’s done everything from Broadway to Dancing with the Stars.

Her personal life is her biggest priority now, and that’s what drew her to Hallmark. Because of the network’s commitment to families (especially for women), PenaVega has become one of its familiar faces. Christmas Made to Order marks her fourth Hallmark movie, and another one—Picture Perfect Mysteries—is already planned for 2019.

“Carlos and I want to be able to do films that our families are proud of and everybody can watch,” she says. “They just feel good, and Hallmark has been that place for us. They’re all about family, and they want to keep [me and Carlos] working together. They really do walk the walk. That’s what separates them from other networks.”

Here, PenaVega opens up more about what it’s like to do a Hallmark Christmas movie, the changes she’s noticing on-screen, and more. Read on.

Glamour: Are Hallmark Christmas movies everything you thought they would be and more?

Alexa PenaVega: Yes, I love Hallmark Christmas movies because they’re out-of-control awesome. There are no limits. We had 15 trees in a scene the other day, and our director asked for another one. He wasn’t kidding! You can’t go overboard. In fact, one of my first married fights with Carlos was over Christmas trees. [Laughs] I was adamant about a real tree because I’ve only had real trees. Christmas trees are my jam.

What other traditions are important to you during the holidays?

APV: This is going to be a weird thing to say, but my ex-husband’s mom is incredible—we’ve always gotten along so well. There were so many traditions from his family that she taught me, and one of them was making homemade caramels. I wrote her a couple years ago on Mother’s Day and said, “I just wanted you to know that we’ve taken this tradition into our family.” She wrote me back, “I’m crying!” There was a lot of peace in that breakup, and I love his family. Even in a difficult situation, it’s special to be able to bring beautiful family traditions that Carlos and I love and can give to our son, Ocean, as he grows up. Carlos was super positive about it. You don’t ever hear stories about stuff like that, because usually it’s “the breakup was terrible.” I took so many beautiful traditions from his family, even this amazing mustard dip that I make every year. My ex’s mom is from South Dakota, so it’s the best Midwest food. Carlos and I are Latino, so we can give you a Columbian Christmas with Midwest [traditions].

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