It's No Secret That Sandra Lee Loves Being a ‘Real’ Santa

Celebrity chef shares tips on spreading holiday cheer, plus two of her favorite of-the-season recipes

Gayle Jo Carter,

Members Only Access

Comments

Published November 08, 2024

Joanna Degeneres

Jump to recipes

Aunt Sandy Claus’ Christmas Wassail • Sandra Lee's Coconut Balls

Sandra Lee’s resume is jam-packed with entries — celebrity chef, best-selling author, Emmy-winning TV host — but there’s one that may surprise you: Accredited Santa Claus. “I actually have a credential to be a real Santa,” the 58-year-old tells AARP. “There is a whole class you have to go away and do. I did that when I was still First Lady [of New York]. No one knew, though. I wasn’t allowed to talk about it.”

Now that the secret’s out, Lee plans to continue spreading holiday cheer with a series of QVC specials this season. Lee says every year she strives to shine brighter — “I’m like, OK, if I only had 20 Christmases, what would I do? If I only had 30 Christmases, what would I do? For me, every one of them matters. And I plan them.”

Lee spoke with AARP about her most memorable holiday traditions and gifts, the Christmas movies and songs that delight her, and the challenges of bouncing back from her 2015 cancer diagnosis.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

After a cross-country move, what are the holidays like in the California sunshine?

I’m going to the gardening center to buy leaves to put them in my yard! I miss Westchester [County, New York] so much. You have no idea.

Where do you get inspiration for your holiday decor?

Everywhere. From January on, because there are so many beautiful trade shows not just in the United States but all over the world. For the last two Christmases, I have gone on European Market Cruises, which I highly recommend.

Is it a whole-house-decorated situation?

There’s a tree in every room. There’s a thing on every doorknob. When I was young, I was raised Jehovah’s Witness, so there was no birthday, there was no Christmas, there was never a Halloween. I used to stand in front of the window at this house — I grew up in Sumner, Washington — going, “Can we just be Jehovah’s Witnesses next year?”

When did you start celebrating the holidays?

Well, when my mom got really, really sick, I think I was about 12 or 13 and she couldn’t really dictate any longer what was going on in the house. And I got to take over. It was wonderful because I became — I wasn’t “Aunt Sandy Claus” yet (her nieces and nephews have been calling her that for years) — I was “Sandy the Elf”.… I actually have a credential to be a real Santa. So I could go to a mall dressed up as an accredited Santa. There is a whole association and it is a whole class you have to go away and do. It is a whole thing.

How is your own health? [Lee was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) — the earliest form of breast cancer — in 2015.]

I’m still working on it. It is taking me years. What happened in 2015 [Lee had a double mastectomy and in 2022 a hysterectomy after discovering a change in some cells] really stripped my body, and in stripping my body it’s been hard to get it back.... So I work on that every single day.

Has your mindset changed since your cancer diagnosis?

I live my life and what I want to do. I’m definitely looking at my bucket list and what I want to get done. There was something I wanted to do. I wanted to spend the night at the Ritz in London on Christmas Eve and go to the ball. I did that with my uncle, but we didn’t stay at the Ritz — but I did that with Ben [boyfriend/actor Ben Youcef, 45] last year and it was lovely.

Tell me about some of your other holiday traditions?

There’s nothing like London with the hustle and bustle of Christmas — the Dickens [home tour]. Every year I would treat as many [nieces and nephews] as I could to an annual early matinee of The Nutcracker ballet. The girls were excited and enchanted and the boys mostly fell asleep, but everyone loved the lunch that followed at the famed Russian Tea Room. Lovely, lovely, lovely Christmas in New York. Also, each year I treat my “girl gang” to a girls night out for the holidays that includes a stage show — Rockettes, Grinch or others followed by a lively holiday dinner. Together forever is my gift.

What’s your favorite Christmas movie?

The Family Man. Always. Nicolas Cage and Téa Leoni. I love that movie. But I like them all. I love The Grinch. I love anything on Hallmark. They’re so good. They’re just so smart. I love the Hallmark cruises. That’s a dream for me. If “Aunt Sandy Claus” ever came to life in the movie, I would love it to be in tandem with Hallmark because they’re so smart and they’re so sweet. I’d love “Aunt Sandy” to be this magical character that comes in and fixes everything. We’ll see if that comes true. That’s a dream. That’s a bucket list.

Do you have a Christmas song that gets you in the holiday spirit?

I have two. Well, actually, I have many more than two but there’s one song by John Denver that I named my dog after, which is “Aspenglow.” I love that song. And it’s a sleeper — nobody really knows it's there. And then I listen to “December” by George Winston.

Can you share a special holiday gift you received?

The letters from my grandma. I have every one of them. Every one of them. And I keep all my Christmas cards and I decorate with them. Nobody keeps that stuff! If you do a hole punch and just put a pretty velvet thread through them [to hang], it doesn’t muck up your mantle or your decor.

Sandra Lee plans to continue spreading holiday cheer with a series of QVC specials this season starting Nov. 10.

Courtesy QVC

What’s next for you?

I really want to bring “Aunt Sandy Claus” to life. There’s a novel that I wrote — it's very Gilmore Girls-ish — that I would love to see made into a series. Going to the scripted world would be a new challenge for me, and I would love it.

Editor’s note: Sandra Lee NOW includes three holiday themed QVC specials — Culinary, Nov. 10, 4 p.m; Aunt Sandy Claus Trim, Nov. 17, 4 p.m. ET, and Gift Guide, Nov. 24, 4 p.m. ET.

Aunt Sandy Claus’ Christmas Wassail

Sandra Lee's Christmas Wassail.

Courtesy Sandra Lee

Serves 10

This most celebrated yuletide drink is served to ensure a good harvest for the year to come. Let us all be grateful for the good things that happened in 2024 and toast the best year to come in 2025. Serve while playing “Last Christmas” by Wham! —Sandra Lee

Ingredients

1 cinnamon stick broken up
12 cloves
Cheesecloth/string
6 cups water
3 cans frozen juice concentrate; 12 ounces each cranberry, raspberry and apple
1 cup spiced rum
1 cup brandy
1 cup vodka
⅓ cup lemon juice
¼ cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick, broken in pieces

Directions

In a cheesecloth, place the broken-up cinnamon stick and cloves. Tie shut with string and set aside.

In a slow cooker, combine the water, juice concentrate, rum, vodka, brandy, lemon juice, and sugar. Add the spice bag and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Remove spice bag, ladle into heat proof glasses, and garnish with cinnamon sticks.

Coconut Balls

Sandra Lee's Coconut Balls.

Courtesy Sandra Lee

Prep 20 minutes

Stand 1 hour

Makes 18 bites

Ingredients

2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup dried apricots, finely chopped
½ cup nut topping
⅔ cup sweetened condensed milk

Directions

Sift powdered sugar into a pie plate and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together coconut, apricots, and nut topping. Add sweetened condensed milk, stirring until well mixed.

Scoop a heaping tablespoon of coconut mixture; form into a ball. Roll ball in powdered sugar to coat entire ball. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining coconut mixture and powdered sugar.

Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour to set. To store, place bites in airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Sandra Lee’s top budget-saving holiday tips

When decorating

Tree etiquette: Save your walls. “If you have a real tree and you back it up against a wall — in order not to scrape the walls, you should shave off the branches in the back and then use those around the table with ribbon.”

Early bird: Buy your supplies early. “Buying early in the season you get all the colors, and even though it’s not on sale, you have it. Because once it goes on sale, it’s slim pickings. I go down to the flower mart, and every single city has some kind of a flower wholesale market. The club stores also sell (ribbon) in bulk, but you have to go early in the season. You have to plan.”

When hosting

Figuring out the food: Lee recommends opting for a buffet over a sit-down experience. She also suggests using a buy-in-bulk club membership. “I am a huge proponent of joining a club, whether it’s Sam’s [Club] or Costco. You go in, you get the big bird, well, not the biggest bird, 15 pounders — do two if you need to [because] they take less time to cook, they’re more moist and they’re manageable.” The big cheese: “Get the big cheese thing and you make the nut ball, your cheese ball, yourself. Big cheese blocks are a very inexpensive way to fill a crowd. Goat cheese or a combination of those kinds of cheeses are beautiful. Crockpot, pulling out that Crock-Pot is genius.”

When gifting

Use travel for inspiration: “If you go to the very hoity-toity stores in London, like Fortnum & Mason, and you go up to the fourth or fifth floor, you will see the most beautiful, ornate glass jars with silver tops. You can get those things at swap meets for $5, $10, $15. You can make your own bath salts. Just get Epsom salts and get a little thing of lavender and mix it up and put it in there and wrap it in foil with a bow.”

Baked goods are always a win: “I do bake off a lot of stuff because when people taste my fruitcake, they all want it and multiples of it. It’s easy, it’s not that expensive to make, and you can make it in bulk. And then maybe put it in a tin that’s reusable that matches their kitchen. It’s all about being thoughtful.”

%{postComment}%

Gayle Jo Carter is a former entertainment editor at USA WEEKEND, who during her 30-year reporting and editing career, has worked at USA TODAY, Voice of America and Feature Story News. When not interviewing high-profile people, she’s teaching reformer Pilates classes and doing her best to raise two empathetic, curious, healthy young people to adulthood.

Unlock Access to AARP Members Edition

Join AARP to Continue

Already a Member? Login

Recommended for You

Benefits Recommended For You

See All