Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock.com
Being their first holiday together as an engaged couple as well as the first in their new NYC apartment, Brittany Snow and Tyler Standaland are excited to start new traditions and toast to friends and family (with their favorite pinot noir from Meiomi Wines). Californians at heart, the couple loves holiday hacks that make party planning a breeze, and are definitely planning on bringing a little bit of the West Coast into their décor and cuisine this year. Whether they are hosting a DIY pizza party, gifting the “Almost Family” star’s beloved “Snow’s Snacks,” or inviting friends over for a wine exchange party, they are always providing an unrivaled holiday experience with flowing glasses of Meiomi pinot noir. We chatted with the philanthropic actress about her engagement to the former pro surfer, her love of wine, how the couple plan on creating new traditions and implement some old ones. Plus, Snow shares what she and her aca-awesome “Pitch Perfect” co-stars do to ring in the holidays each year. 
Photo Credit: ALLAN ZEPEDA
Congratulations on your engagement! It’s your first holiday being engaged: Are you and Tyler planning on starting any new traditions?
Thank you! We are so excited to begin creating some holiday traditions together as a couple. One tradition we have is going to the beach in Florida to see my family. Tyler is from a beach town and so am I, so the beach is important to us. We love playing backgammon and drinking under an umbrella. We are also planning to establish an annual wine exchange with friends. It’s similar to a traditional cookie or ornament exchange, where everyone brings their favorite bottle of wine and leaves with something different. We love bringing our favorite California wine, Meiomi Pinot Noir and having friends try.
Is the concept of a holiday dinner one of those traditions? What are some preparation/cooking/presentation holiday hacks you can share?
It hasn’t been a longstanding holiday tradition, but Tyler and I love making homemade pizza and often have “3.14 Pie Night” once a week. We provide the dough and ask everyone to bring their favorite ingredients. It makes the preparation easy and the perfect way to host a dinner party. Some of our favorite pizza toppings and combinations include California-inspired ingredients. I personally love a sweeter style like goat cheese, pear, and arugula, but Tyler prefers the more traditional with tomato sauce, prosciutto, with smoky style cheese. Both pair with Meiomi Pinot Noir.
Do you have any go-to holiday recipes that you like to cook or serve?
I started giving my friends and neighbors my “Snow Snack” mix as a gift a few years ago. The recipe favors procrastinators, and with our busy schedules, it’s a super easy snack mix to put together in a pinch and is always a hit. The simple presentation is key, I like to put my mix in mason jars with a tag made of seed paper to extend the holiday festivities year-round. It is a very simple recipe, and especially easy for big batches. I typically do 5 cups each of salted almonds, popcorn, pretzels, coconut shavings, yogurt covered raisons, dried cranberries. Toss together in a large bowl and then distribute into individual jars.
Photo Credit: ALLAN ZEPEDA
Are you planning on bringing any long-standing existing family traditions into your life together? If so, what?
We both try to be of service during the holidays. That’s something important to both of us. Volunteering at a food drive, wrapping presents for kids, gifting sweaters we haven’t been using as much. We try to make sure that’s at the top of our list of priorities.
Are you and Tyler planning on hosting any holiday parties this year? How are you planning on introducing your native California into your new NYC life?
We love hosting dinner parties and have a few on the calendar these next few weeks. We also plan to incorporate some unique California touches in our holiday tablescape and décor. Whether it’s with our wine selection of Meiomi Pinot Noir—sourced from three unique California regions—Tyler’s favorite surfboard from Santa Barbara, or even a vase of fresh sunflowers to brighten up the room. These small touches of the West Coast in our new home really help create the perfect space for the holiday party.
What inspired the move to NYC?
I’ve been working on a show that filmed in the city and as we spent more time here, we began to fall in love with the East Coast. It makes it easy to have a place to call home here while I film, and it’s our first apartment together as an engaged couple. We were able to find a beautiful loft apartment and have loved filling it with décor that represents our relationship and a little bit of the West Coast as well.
Photo Credit: ALLAN ZEPEDA
Where will you be this holiday season? Any fun travel plans?
We will be in New York City most of December but head back to Florida to spend Christmas with the family. We’ll get to take part in all the classic city traditions and then defrost on the beach for a bit.
The best thing about the holidays are love and friendship. Do you and your “Pitch Perfect” co-stars have any holiday traditions that you’ve implemented over the years?
All of us girls are still very much in touch. We text all the time and we always invite each other to whatever function we have going on. It’s important we support each other. It feels nice during the holidays to know there’s a support group of strong women there. We always have some sort of a reunion every year. At different times in different ways. We will all make sure that tradition doesn’t go away.
What are you grateful for this holiday season?
This holiday season I’m thankful for my family, my incredible fiancé and thankful people still wanna see my mug on TV.
Photo Credit: ALLAN ZEPEDA
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