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Drew Barrymore Explains Why She Refuses To Buy Christmas Gifts For Her Kids

Photo: Ron Adar / Shutterstock & Instagram
Drew Barrymore and her kids

Drew Barrymore shares two young daughters, Olive and Frankie, with her ex Will Kopelman and often gets candid about her unconventional parenting tricks.

As someone who had a difficult childhood, Barrymore cares deeply about making her kids into well-rounded adults and her unique take on Christmas traditions achieves exactly that.

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Drew Barrymore doesn't give her kids Christmas gifts.

Barrymore wanted to show her children a different type of holiday tradition for Christmas.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the Charlie’s Angels actress revealed the interesting reasoning behind her decision to not give her children gifts for the December holiday.

"I always take them on a trip every Christmas. I don't get them presents, which I think at their ages they don't love, but I say, 'I think we'll remember the place and the photos and the experience and that's what I want to give you,'" she explained.

"They get plenty of things throughout the year, so I'm not like some weird, strict, cold mom who's like, 'You don’t get any gifts!'"

She previously talked about this on her show.

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Many people around the world do not even celebrate Christmas and have many traditions outside of gift-giving so Barrymore's approach isn't a new concept but that hasn't stopped her from getting backlash from her kids. 

Nonetheless, Barrymore defended herself by saying she’s not “some weird, strict, cold mom who's like, 'You don’t get any gifts!'” 

“I just feel like a better gift would be a life memory. I'd rather invest [in that than in] a doll house or something. It all evens out and it's fine," she adds.

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Barrymore is flexible with her holiday plans.

Barrymore also reflected on how important it is to stay fluid when it comes to celebrating the holidays and maintaining traditions.

She doesn’t believe that every single one will be the same, so she welcomes the change.

"[I try] to remember that one holiday won't be probably the same as one 10 years from now, that your life can dramatically change, and new people and new traditions can come into it," she said.

"I like looking at the holidays through a comedic, realistic lens of, we're gonna have a lot of different holiday stories. What one do you want to keep going and build as a tradition? Rather than, 'This is my tradition and I'm stuck in it.'"

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Barrymore's daughters received gifts during the pandemic. 

During the pandemic, Barrymore had to change her plans since she couldn’t take her daughters for a trip.

She settled for giving them gifts, but admitted that it “suck[ed].” When she took her daughters on trips, they "don't complain about not liking what they get.”

In September, Barrymore posted a heartfelt dedication to her daughter, Olive, for her 10th birthday.

“I didn’t know a love like I have for you and your sister Frankie,” she said in the Instagram post.

“The greatest one I will ever know. It takes the top spot in my heart. You are my priorities.”

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Taylor Haynes is a writer based in Chicago. She covers entertainment, news and human interest stories at YourTango. You can find her on Instagram here.