Salem Holiday Cheers and Jeers
The holiday season conjures up images of big turkey dinners, seasonal decorations and heartwarming drama on daytime. But what really goes on behind the scenes? Which annual traditions do the actors look forward to most? Soap Opera Weekly asked some DAYS OF OUR LIVES stars to share some of their favorite on-screen memories.
Deidre Hall (Marlena): “The Christmas show post-9/11, when we were all at a loss to express our grief and empathy for the people who lost loved ones. It was such an overwhelming time. We celebrated the courage of those who had lost loved ones on 9/11. We talked about our armed forces, our troops and their families. It was cathartic for us and the audience to see us acknowledging that in a very private way, and acknowledging our own loss and our own sadness. We don’t often cross the line between reality and Salem, but we certainly did on that occasion.”
Peggy McCay (Caroline): “One Christmas, Frank Parker (Grandpa Shawn) was dressed up as Santa Claus, and I was Mrs. Claus. He was to come into the scene going, ‘Ho, ho, ho!’ Well, Frank slipped and fell hard. Everything stopped, because Santa Claus took a header. Fortunately, he didn’t hurt himself badly. Everyone laughed, because it really was funny.”
Peter Reckell (Bo): “The hanging of the ornaments on the Horton Christmas tree. It’s always great to have everybody there, especially Frances (Reid, Alice). I remember when Zack was a baby, holding him up so that he could hang his first ornament. It reminded me of when Shawn was a baby and I was holding him so he could put his ornament on the tree. Another thing that stands out is that we are under pain of death if we drop one of those ornaments, because they’ve been around for so long. Props doesn’t even give them to us until the actual taping.”
Mary Beth Evans (Kayla): “I like [hanging] the Horton balls. [Kayla] was there once. I thought they were very cool, so I asked the prop guy if he would make me some Horton balls with my kids’ names and my husband’s and my names on them. I think I only have one left. They got dropped or broken. I also liked when Stephen (Nichols, Steve) played Santa Claus. It showed the nice, cute part of him.”
Stephen Nichols (Steve): “I always liked playing ‘Patchy Claus’ and playing the harmonica through the years. I’ve always had a thing for Santa Claus, because I play Santa for my own kids and my nieces and nephews. I’ve done it for years and years. The Patch adds a whole different dimension. I used to make up crazy little blues ditties [on the harmonica] — ‘We’re on the pier. It’s Christmas time.’ I’d just make stuff up with a little blues rhythm.”
Alison Sweeney (Sami): “I remember a hilarious Thanksgiving dinner at the Kiriakis mansion, when Lucas, Nicole, Austin, Brandon, Sami, Kate and Victor were all living in the same house. All of us working together is a crack-up to begin with, but this was the funniest thing ever. John Aniston (Victor) had these great one-liners, [busting on] everybody for living off him. Also, ever since I’ve been on the show, they’ve always done a Christmas miracle, which is a great DAYS thing. Usually, Sami is the criminal responsible for what’s wrong before the Christmas miracle, like the year Sami kidnapped Belle. They brought her back in time for midnight mass. My Christmas miracle was when Sami remembered that she hadn’t shot Franco. She was in church at the time and was like, ‘Oh, my God! It’s not me. I didn’t do it.’ There’s also always someone standing outside in the cold and the snow on Christmas looking in at a happy family, as Drake (Hogestyn, John) always points out. That’s a tradition, someone being on the outside at Christmas.”
Bryan R. Dattilo (Lucas): “It’s all about Alice Horton’s donuts on Christmas. She always bakes a plethora of goods, and I always choose to eat the donuts. I love them. I just had two [between scenes] today. Besides the love of Alice Horton in every bite, they have that cake-y goodness and a light layer of glaze that you can’t find any more. Everything is all sugary, now. I can eat five of Alice’s donuts and they have the same effect as two Krispy Kremes. It’s the one time of year I really go crazy on my diet, because I love those donuts. I also love hanging with Frances during the holiday scenes. She’s so much fun to be around, and we always joke around with each other.”
Conversation
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. Soap Opera Digest does not endorse the opinions and views shared by our readers in our comment sections. Our comments section is a place where readers can engage in healthy, productive, lively, and respectful discussions. Offensive language, hate speech, personal attacks, and/or defamatory statements are not permitted. Advertising or spam is also prohibited.