From the Heart

KARL ROVE

‘When I was 5 or 6, my father was a hard-rock geologist, and he didn’t get a Christmas bonus that year. So he convinced a friend of his, who flew a helicopter, to put on a Santa suit and land in our backyard outside of Arvada, Colo., which was just a field, and he got out of the helicopter and gave us little 25¢ toys, and it was the greatest Christmas of my life: the year Santa came to our house in a helicopter.’

Rove is the author of The Triumph of William McKinley

CATE BLANCHETT

‘I gave my husband a voucher three Christmases ago which said, “You can redeem anytime, anywhere, for a two-hour deep-tissue massage which I will give you.” For three years he has said, “Tonight?”‘

Blanchett stars in Carol

MARGARET CHO

‘One thousand rolls of toilet paper from Charmin to help my homeless outreach #BeRobin, a charity founded to celebrate the philanthropic life of Robin Williams. They brought it in a truck. I wept. It was truly beautiful.’

Cho’s stand-up special PsyCHO airs on Showtime this month

KRYSTEN RITTER

‘I always appreciate practical gifts. I’m a minimalist–I’m not into tchotchkes. I’m always trying to get rid of stuff. Every so often I’ll invite my friends over to go through my closet and take my clothes. So I guess my favorite gifts are basic things like a wallet I’ll use forever or a great pair of jeans.’

Ritter is the star of Jessica Jones, on Netflix

RICK ROSS

‘I’m pretty sure it’d be the Christmas dinner my son and daughter threw me two years ago. They just made all kinds of food. I went over there and they sprayed [Silly String] in my face. They recorded it and put it online.’

Ross releases a new album, Black Market, this month

ROONEY MARA

‘I have such a huge family that the holidays give me a lot of stress and anxiety, because I just feel that it’s so wasteful and we don’t need anything–it’s just like you’re trying to find a present for someone. Last year, me and my siblings and even my parents were like, “No, I do not want a gift. I’m not getting you a gift. We’re going to donate.” Now I give everyone Oxfam–I get everyone goats and pigs and cows.’

Mara stars in Carol

NORMAN LEAR

‘The best gift I’ve ever gotten, I’ve gotten every day of my life, and that’s waking up. I love waking up. I’m a morning, afternoon and evening person. There are two small words that are the most important words in the English language: over and next. If there were a hammock in the middle between over and next, that would be living in the moment. Waking up in the morning is the next moment. The next moment to me is the taste of coffee.’

Lear is a television producer