Christie Brinkley loves Christmas, and everything that comes with celebrating the holiday.
During a recent appearance on "Today with Hoda and Jenna," Brinkley discussed her love of Christmas and everything she does around the house to get herself into the holiday spirit.
"I love Christmas, and I love decorating. When the kids were little, I loved recreating all the magic. I would put the train track around the tree, and all of that stuff," Brinkley said. "I love a good old-fashioned Christmas."
An "old-fashioned Christmas" for Brinkley includes Christmas caroling with her family. In her home, there is no excuse for not knowing the words.
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"Whenever I come across a Christmas carol, I print it up, I tie it together with my used ribbons from all the gifts, so it's festive, and then I pass out the books, so everybody knows the lyrics, so we can sing three verses of ‘Silent Night,'" she said.
The former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model explained her love for Christmas comes from her mother, who always made it a priority to turn any ordinary interaction into a holiday party and create some Christmas magic.
"My mom was so much the same as me. I'm so much the same as her, I should say. She loved creating magic and magical atmosphere," Brinkley explained. "If you just stop in to return a pair of shoes you borrowed, she'd immediately pop the hors d'oeuvres in the oven, pop open a bottle of champagne and make it into a special occasion."
Brinkley said since she and her family "live in the kitchen," they set up the Christmas tree there, where they can look at it all the time.
"We barely go into any of the other rooms," she said, prompting her to ask, "Why are we going to put the tree down there in the living room when we're never in there?"
Later in the interview, Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager asked Brinkley about a recent interview with Social Life magazine, in which the model discussed her love life, telling the outlet, "The love of my life is my life." She explained to the morning show co-hosts she isn't too focused on finding a new romantic partner and is all about living in the moment.
"It's all about appreciating where you are at the moment, and at the moment, I have this beautiful life, and I'm loving it," she explained. "If somebody happens to stumble into it, and it fits, great. But, otherwise, I'm in the moment, and I'm loving life and living each day to the fullest, and just loving life."
While Brinkley says she is open to new love in her life, she also told Social Life magazine she isn't open to trying out any dating apps. Her last public relationship was with John Mellencamp, but the two split in December 2020 after one year of dating.
Brinkley was previously married to Billy Joel and shares daughter Alexa Ray Joel with him. She is also mom to Sailor Brinkley Cook and Jack Paris Brinkley Cook with ex Peter Cook.
During the "Today" interview, Brinkley was also asked about her recent reunion with "National Lampoon's Vacation" cast members Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo, 40 years after the original release of the film.
"I just love them so much. It was so great to see them, and it was so much fun," Brinkley remarked.
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Brinkley said she is more than willing to participate in a sequel to the film, saying, "We should. We really should. C'mon Chevy, let's do it."
Her character in the film is known as "girl in the red Ferrari." She played an attractive woman driving a red Ferrari who kept running into the family during their vacation.
In 2019, Brinkley stepped back into the role in an episode of ABC's "The Goldbergs" after previously reprising the role in the 1997 "Vacation" sequel, "Vegas Vacation," as well as the "Vacation"-inspired DirecTV and Infiniti commercials.
At the time the episode aired, Brinkley said she agreed to reprise her role because it felt right.
"I think this is a really good reprisal right here, and I think it fits because both families have that same dynamic," she said.
The similarities included the fact "they’re overcoming obstacles, and they don’t want to admit how much they love each other so much."
