Celebrities share their favorite Thanksgiving traditions and holiday memories

Donnie Wahlberg is already thinking about his post-Thanksgiving meal.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, the 56-year-old star of the “Blue Bloods” spinoff, “Boston Blue,” shared his favorite part of the holiday and what he looks forward to every year.

“I would say for Thanksgiving, for me, the best part was just the leftovers,” he said. “Taking whatever was left over from the turkey and trying to make a sandwich out of it a few hours after the original meal was digested. And Jenny and I do that. We literally can’t wait to eat the leftovers. We wake up Thanksgiving morning, she starts cooking because she loves Thanksgiving. And we’re literally like, I can’t wait to make sandwiches with leftovers at midnight.”

Due to our busy schedules, it is not always possible to bring the entire family together for the holidays. He and his wife, Jenny McCarthy, live in Illinois, “so we try to focus on our kids and being able to vacation with them,” and when it comes to his siblings, he says they would if it worked out.

Here’s what other celebrities love about Thanksgiving.

Jenny McCarthy, Donnie Wahlberg open up about their Thanksgiving traditions and life in the spotlight

Candace Cameron Bure

“Fuller House” star Candace Cameron Bure has a lot to be grateful for this holiday season.

While speaking with Fox News Digital, the actress joked that the things she’s grateful for are “probably pretty boring” and that she “says the same thing every year.”

“There is nothing more important to me than my family and my children,” he said. “And as my family continues to grow, because I have two kids who are married now, I’ll still have, you know, another kid to go to in that sense, but extended family means a lot and you just cherish those moments as you grow up. And so I’m just happy to be home with my family this Thanksgiving.”

Bure’s daughter Natasha married actor Bradley Perry in September, while his eldest son, Lev, is married in January 2024. She gave birth to another son, Maxim, with her husband of 29 years, Valery.

WATCH: Candace Cameron Bure reveals what she’s grateful for this Thanksgiving

Martina McBride

Country superstar, Martina McBride spoke with Fox News Digital about all things Thanksgiving.

When it comes to food, the “This One’s for the Girls” singer said her favorite dish is mashed potatoes and gravy, explaining, “We don’t eat mashed potatoes very often, so this is a special thing.”

He also recalled his strangest Thanksgiving experience – the year he performed during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York in the morning, “then flew home to Nashville that day” where he “cooked the entire Thanksgiving dinner.” After dinner, she boarded the bus to begin her tour and said, “I don’t know how I made it.”

“Family comes at the top of the list, but other than that I’m grateful for my health,” he shared. “I think as we get older it becomes more uppermost in your mind. I’m grateful for my health and the health and well-being of my family.”

What does Martina McBride make for an easy Thanksgiving dessert?

Richard Karn

Richard Karn of “Home Improvement” told Fox News Digital that the holidays are “all about the tradition” that his family has created, adding that his family’s “traditions have remained pretty consistent for 40 years.”

“We have turkey, we have mashed potatoes, we have green beans with chopped almonds. We have something from my family, my grandma Ruth used to make shrimp salad, so I make shrimp salad, very simple shrimp salad with all the other things.”

Karn also likes to keep the Thanksgiving spirit going an extra day by making turkey sandwiches with leftovers. His Thanksgiving celebrations are much smaller these days than when he was a kid, explaining that he now has about five or six guests, but when he was a kid he was surrounded by his large family and had 12 or 15 people around the table.

Those big family Thanksgivings and her childhood are some of the things she is grateful for this year, saying, “My mom and dad did a great job. We didn’t have a lot of money… but we got by.” He later said he was grateful for “Home Improvement” and his chemistry with Tim Allen.

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He said, “I jumped at the opportunity and did exactly what they needed from me for the pilot, but a little bit more, because the audience, who hadn’t seen the show, were responding to Tim and my relationship.” “Even though it wasn’t really erased, it was all in the subtext… and how we recovered from each other… so I’m grateful for that to happen.”

He added, “I’m grateful that, you know, it’s been 40 years of marriage and we’re still on the same page most of the time. And my son, who continues to amaze me all the time.”

erin murphy

For the first time in nearly 30 years, “Bewitched” star Erin Murphy “isn’t having Thanksgiving and loving the entire meal herself.”

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Murphy said she is embracing the “changes” that come with being a parent and having your children grow up, adding that she is “letting them do their thing” and taking on the responsibilities of hosting the holidays.

He is grateful for many things this Thanksgiving, including his health and his family.

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He said, “Living in a world where we can recreate our lives and do what we want. So I guess I’m grateful. It feels so easy.” “I’m grateful for the freedom. To be able to wake up and decide what to do that day and whether that means, ‘Oh, I’m going for a walk’ or ‘I’m going to pick up my girlfriends and let’s go to thrift stores and find nice clothes.’ It’s a kind of ability to find happiness in the little things in life.”

katherine schwarzenegger pratt

Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt has a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

While speaking with Fox News Digital, the mother of three said one of the things she’s grateful for this year is her new book, “Cat & Brandy,” which tells a heartwarming story about the relationship between animals and humans.

“I’m grateful for my health, I’m grateful for my family and I’m really grateful for this book because I think it’s something I’m really proud of,” she said.

WATCH: Katherine Schwarzenegger is grateful for her family and the ‘presence of animals in our lives’

“I’m really excited and there’s also messages in the book that kids will get and adults will get that I’m really grateful for and really grateful for and I think because of that I’m also really grateful for the presence of animals in our lives,” she explained. “Stages of life because being able to have that presence is a blessing”.

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mark wahlberg

Mark Wahlberg is looking forward to having all of his kids under one roof this holiday season.

The ‘Family Plan’ actor has four children with his wife Rhea Durham: Ella, 22, Michael, 19, Brendan, 17, and Grace, 15.

“They all have their own interests, but the holiday season gives us time to go on trips together, and we live in very small close quarters where we have breakfast together every day, we have lunch together and then we have dinner together every day, and then they still get to do their thing,” she said.

WATCH: Mark Wahlberg says the holiday season is a chance to have his kids under one roof again

He continued: “But it’s still, it’s a small place so we’re all, you know, we’re in each other’s company and around each other the whole time and from my wife and I, it’s the best time of the year and the kids enjoy it too because they get to hang out with their friends and do things, but they’re stuck with their parents.”

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Fox News Digital’s Larry Fink, Christina Dougan Ramirez, Bree Stimson, Lauren Overholtz and Stephanie Giang contributed to this report.