Felicity Huffman Missed Out on Christmas Joy as a Teen  12/24/05

Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman goes out of her way to make sure her two young daughters enjoy Christmas, because her festive fun stopped when she was just 11.

The actress, who is married to William H Macy, recalls her childhood Christmases were big affairs until her mother decided the family was too big to celebrate the festive season in style.

She recalls, "I'm one of eight kids and our Christmases were huge. When I was about 11 my mother stopped. She couldn't do Christmas anymore.

"We had our tree weeks ago and the kids are now getting old enough to really get it. I knit them stockings, which look absolutely nothing like stockings, and we do 10 days before, where they put a shoe out on the windowsill and they get a little treat in the shoe like a candy or a toy.

"When they're little they have this big build-up for Christmas and for some reason they just end up screaming all day. I don't know if it's because they start off with chocolate but it ends up being a nightmare. That said, I love Christmas."