News Celebrity News Martha Stewart Isn't Hosting Christmas This Year The queen of entertaining is skipping Christmas and replacing eggnog with Tasmanian sparkling wine. By Lane Nieset Lane Nieset Lane Nieset is a writer from Miami who has lived in France for the past 10 years. From her current base in Paris, she covers a mix of lifestyle, wine, food, and fashion.Expertise: food, wine, cocktails, culture, travel.Experience: Lane Nieset graduated from the University of Florida with a dual bachelor's in journalism and French. She got her start in food media as a fellow at Time Inc. in the MyRecipes test kitchen. Lane has covered food history, trends, and chef profiles for a variety of publications, including Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Vogue.com, and National Geographic Travel. She has worked her way through more than 50 countries across all seven continents, trying everything from snowshoeing in Antarctica to glacier trekking in the French Alps. She has appeared in BBC Travel's "RSVP Abroad" series in Cannes and is a contributor to Fodor's Inside Paris guidebook. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on December 17, 2021 Trending Videos Photo: Patrick McMullan / Getty Images If the pandemic taught us anything, it's that experiences can trump physical gifts. Sure, we all found joy in online shopping during lockdown, but what we really craved was strolling the streets of Paris, or sitting at a chef's table eating dishes we didn't make ourselves. In a recent Groupon survey, 64% of participants said they're more likely to remember a gift involving an experience as opposed to a physical item. So, in Cyber Monday-like fashion, Groupon is throwing its first-ever Groupon Day on Dec. 17, just in time for last-minute holiday shopping. In addition to experiences like winery tours and skydiving, the big-ticket item we're most excited about is a private, hour-long virtual cooking class with Martha Stewart, who will share some of her favorite recipes. Stewart told Food & Wine it's up to the winners to decide what recipes she'll be making. A private session with Martha where we can make requests? It seems too good to be true. (And, yet, it is.) This holiday season, the queen of entertaining will be celebrating a bit unconventionally. She's about to embark on a three-week cruise to Antarctica with her daughter and grandchildren. Normally, Stewart indulges in eggnog around Christmas, but "there probably won't be too much eggnog on the ship," she jokes. As for what she'll be eating and drinking this holiday season, she responded, "Who knows what will happen." But with Stewart on board, we're sure that even at the edge of the earth, where she can't use her farm-fresh eggs or garden-grown ingredients, the ship will have a spread making us all wish we were skipping the holidays this season. Since most of us will be home, Stewart shared a great tip to share on last-minute hosting. "Entertaining is not so difficult if you have a few things on hand," she told me. "If you just want to do drinks and hors d'oeuvres even as close as the day of the event, you just need to get different crackers and olives, make sure you have spreads, charcuterie, and an assortment of great cheeses, and you'll make a gorgeous cheese board. I did one last night in a cooking class." 5 Timeless Holiday Entertaining Tips from Martha Stewart Stewart says she prefers white wines—particularly from Burgundy—and is launching her own in January (but that's all she could share for now). And while she typically sips Champagne on New Year's Eve, she's currently excited about the sparkling wines coming out of Tasmania, which she says are "something to watch out for." Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit