For decades, Christina Ricci has reigned as the undisputed queen of spooky season. With an iconic resume spanning timeless Halloween staples like The Addams Family, Casper, Sleepy Hollow, Cursed, and the modern Netflix phenomenon Wednesday, Ricci knows a thing or two about the macabre, the eerie, and the downright bizarre. It only makes sense, then, that she would bring her unmatched seasonal expertise to her latest role as a member of the Reese’s Halloween Council.
Alongside fellow Halloween royalty such as Hocus Pocus star Kathy Najimy, Ricci has been tasked with an important mission: helping to crown the "Reese’s Trick-or-Treatiest Street in America." The star recently sat down to discuss her family’s favorite spooky season traditions, clever household hacks for surviving the holiday with children, and the lingering mementos from her hit series Yellowjackets currently residing in her bedroom’s organizational "doom pile."
Reflecting on her spot on the Reese’s Halloween Council, Ricci admits that the position feels remarkably close to a childhood fantasy brought to life. Surrounded by an endless supply of Reese’s Pieces and Peanut Butter Cups during council proceedings, she notes that the experience was every bit as dreamy as it sounds.
When it comes to evaluating what makes a neighborhood truly worthy of the "Trick-or-Treatiest" designation, Ricci’s criteria are clear and visually ambitious. She gravitates toward oversized, theatrical decorations—the kind featuring massive skeletons scaling the back of a garage or giant spiders overwhelming a front entranceway. Beyond the colossal props, she places heavy emphasis on ambient lighting, noting a deep appreciation for glowing orange string lights and illuminated pumpkins, alongside the traditional craft of carving jack-o’-lanterns, which she views as the ultimate symbol of the holiday.
Rather than opting for modern pumpkin painting trends, Ricci remains a dedicated carver with a professional-grade twist. To combat the California climate, where early carved pumpkins quickly collapse and attract local wildlife, she employs a clever preservation method: spray paint. By coating her carved creations in gold or silver metallic spray paint—and even hitting the inside with a coat—she ensures that when a candle is placed inside, the entire pumpkin radiates a luminous, metallic glow. She has even experimented with glitter spray paint, turning simple gourds into dazzling centerpieces while keeping hungry squirrels entirely at bay.
Ricci’s practical approach extends far beyond lawn decorations and into the logistical minefield of parenting during Halloween. Emphasizing that the holiday is about much more than just a bulging candy bucket, she focuses heavily on mitigating holiday stress. One of her steadfast household rules is tackling costume selection and procurement early in the season. By organizing the costumes well in advance and staging a trial run, she ensures that any necessary alterations can be made comfortably, thereby preventing any tear-filled meltdowns on Halloween night.
Admitting that she is prone to anxiety and prefers proactive troubleshooting, Ricci notes that a single past costume disaster cemented this rule for good, ensuring she will never again face a situation where a child hates their costume on the big night. This meticulous planning has completely reshaped her relationship with the holiday. While her pre-children routine consisted entirely of handing out candy and marathoning horror films, she now enthusiastically joins the neighborhood crowds for traditional trick-or-treating.
Ricci’s lifelong affinity for the holiday stems from childhood memories of the sheer thrill of nighttime adventures. Growing up, the prospect of running around the neighborhood streets after dark felt wonderfully unhinged and exciting. Additionally, strict household rules regarding sweets made Halloween the one magical night of the year when unlimited candy consumption was permitted, heightening the anticipation and joy of the season.
Now navigating the holiday as a mother, Ricci finds herself on the other side of the screen as her own children discover her extensive filmography. While her son viewed her classic films at a young age and is now relatively unfazed by her career—frequently keeping her grounded by asking random pop culture questions like whether she ever met Rihanna or was alive during the era of Tupac—her daughter has yet to dive into her mother’s cinematic archive. Still, her son remains genuinely proud of her work, particularly enjoying the Addams Family films and the first season of Wednesday.
Away from the world of goblins and ghouls, Ricci has also been preparing to say a permanent farewell to one of her most complex characters: Misty Quigley from Showtime’s Yellowjackets. As the critically acclaimed series approaches its final season, Ricci admits she is fundamentally not a nostalgic person and typically does not retain keepsakes from her projects. However, the production and wardrobe departments intervened, shipping her a thoughtful care package to ensure she held onto a piece of the show. Thanks to their insistence—and her self-described ADHD doom pile currently occupying a corner of her bedroom—she remains in possession of several props, a signature leather jacket from her own wardrobe used on set, and one of her character’s wigs.
As an Aquarius, Ricci jokes that her self-professed aversion to standard Hollywood nostalgia and her quirky tendencies align neatly with astrological stereotypes. Looking back at her extensive film career, she acknowledges the public’s endless appetite for nostalgic intellectual property. When considering potential reboots of past projects, such as the 1990 comedy-drama Mermaids, she muses on how fun a revival might be and where her character Kate would fit into a period-accurate narrative today, though she humorously notes she hasn’t crossed paths with co-star Cher since she was just 13 years old, while occasionally running into Winona Ryder.
Bringing her seasonal expertise to a close, Ricci offers her definitive stance on a final, crucial debate. Asked whether Wednesday Addams or Misty Quigley would outlast the other in a haunted house, she believes both characters would handle the terrifying environment with ease. As for her confectionery loyalties, she firmly stands as a champion of Reese’s holiday shapes, declaring her profound love for the themed peanut butter cups—whether shaped like pumpkins at Halloween, trees at Christmas, or bunnies at Easter—especially when kept frozen in the freezer and tossed into her purse for later.