These days, Danica McKellar regularly celebrates Christmas in July — and the holiday cheer doesn’t stop for the next six months.
The actress, still best known for her teenage role as Winnie Cooper in the original Wonder Years, is now part of another small-screen venture: a made-for-TV Christmas movie.
Earlier this year, she made her ninth movie: “Christmas on the Drive,” which premieres Friday at 7 p.m. CT on Great American Family.
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It’s her first since becoming a Middle Tennessee resident.
During the summer, the lifelong Californian moved with his family to a country house about an hour outside of Nashville. She jokes that the experience of making these films – which are often set in a small town – must have made her interesting.
In fact, the story behind the decision wouldn’t be out of place in a family movie script. After two of his best friends moved to the state, McKellar says her son, Draco, “was begging me: ‘Can we go to Tennessee?’ I said, ‘Sweetie, we can’t just move where your friends are.’ But then my husband and I were like, ‘Okay, we want more nature.’
They also wanted to make it easier for Draco to visit his father who lives in Florida. And McKellar says she and her husband, who is a lawyer, “realized, as many people did during the pandemic, that you can do more things from home.”
Soon, Draco’s dream came true. And even though they’ve yet to face their first Tennessee winter, McKellar is happy with their new surroundings.
“It feels like you’re not in the middle of all the chaos,” he says. “When I drive to get my car serviced, there’s no buzzing people. It’s just this beautiful country road. With (your) environment being so peaceful, I think it’s great for your whole mind-body connection. is good
She’s proud to now live in the same state as Dolly Parton — who was her co-star in the 2019 Hallmark movie “Christmas at Dollywood.”
McKellar is also a best-selling children’s author, and her book “Lucky Numbers” is part of Parton’s “Imagination Library” program, which sends millions of free books to children under the age of 5.
He calls the now-Rock and Roll Hall of Famer “a consummate professional, and a ray of bright, shining sunshine. He’s everything you want him to be and more.
Even after the release of “Christmas on the Drive,” McKellar is still in the business of spreading the holiday spirit this year. Next month, she will travel to Edison, New Jersey for “Christmas Con,” where she and dozens of other Christmas TV stars will meet their fans. And even in her free time, believe it or not, she keeps up with the countless Christmas movies that are made every year by TV Workshops.
“I’ve got a spot in the queue right now,” he says. “These movies feel so good. They just make you feel happy. So I’m totally both into movies, and a fan.
