As a Child of Immigrants, Zoe Saldana's Holiday Traditions Blend Old and New

Actress Zoe Saldana’s home is a mixing pot of cultures as she and her husband, Marco Perego, rear their three boys in a multi-lingual and multi-customs family. It’s especially vibrant over the holidays when the house is bustling with American English, Italian, and Spanish, foods that celebrate Afro-Latinx, Caribbean, and Italian traditions, and even games and bonding activities that honor nostalgia and downtime.    

The actress affirms that sons—Zen, 6, and twins Cy and Bowie, 10—are her favorite people.

 “They're incredibly intuitive. They're wild, free, curious, stubborn in their own right,” Saldana says. “They're definitely just my favorite people right now.”

Growing up in a girl family didn’t do much to help the #boymom prepare for being the only woman in her home. While she says everything in theory is daunting when you have no experience, the transition has been joy-filled. Owning the power of being a boymom, she says, is humbling.

“It is a gift, but it is a lot of work,” the box office star says. “I want to work on it because it has to do with me dealing and putting my traumas aside to give them a clean runway so that they can create their own stories. In 2023, that's quite scary. So, I'm very protective of my boys and greatly celebrate them. And I praise them and challenge their emotional maturity because I want them to be verbal about their emotions. The highlight of my life is mothering men.”

 But more important than just recognizing and celebrating the complexities of gender, gender neutrality, and inclusiveness, the Hollywood phenom has that melting pot of cultures to uplift in her home, which is a place where everyone’s background is celebrated, especially as descendants of many lands and languages.

 “I am a child of immigrants, and my sons are a second generation through me and sons of an immigrant through their father, so it is about celebrating everybody's culture and theirs—and they're American,” Saldana says.

While the home is full of culture, the pressure to submit to every one of them is nonexistent.

 “I am very protective of not having my boys feel pressured to speak another language,” Saldana says. “I want them to be able to communicate with their grandparents, but I don't want them to feel forced because then they're going to have a negative relationship with it.”

 During the holidays, however, there will be a variety of world foods and traditions to choose from, creating inclusivity for the whole family to enjoy what they love most.

 “It's always going to be [lots] of foods and languages and music and storytelling,” Saldana says. “Because the American family is such a diverse diaspora of people, countries, and worlds, it is your own personal interpretation of [the holidays] and what it means to you. And for me, it's just about everyone that I have loved and chosen to be in my life who has also chosen me. It's for them to be as comfortable and authentic as possible. At the end of the day, it's like, let's just all feel happy to be together and seen by each other.”

 Saldana says her sons are at an age when they're becoming increasingly curious about gaming. Cultivating new traditions around their interest meant building family time around games they could play together. So, after much consideration and a little research into screen time pros and cons, the family now enjoys playing Super Mario Bros. Wonder on Nintendo Switch, and they’re looking forward to the downtime of the holidays to dig even more into the classic.

 “This will be the first holiday where we are finally opening the conversation for video games and gaming. And my boys couldn't be more excited—it’s something they've wanted for a very long time,” Saldana says.

 It isn’t just to see smiles across their faces; the game also allows for family time.

 “Making them happy [while] doing something with them is so important,” Saldana says. “The boys are having so much fun; they're being entertained. We have peace of mind because it's safe, super positive, and not traumatizing. We've done our research around screen time, and what we want is that if we're going to play the game, we want their nervous systems and their psyches to remain stable and harmonious and enjoy the event, the activity and not be tormented by it.”

 The game features the same concept from when Saldana was a child, but nostalgia aside, as an actress, she also loves the storyline and animation.

“You still have to get all those coins...fight the big villain, and save the princess,” Saldana says. “The quality of the game has improved, and the animation is beautiful—we're huge film buffs and always like to discuss the quality of the imaging and animation.”

Other holiday plans include pajamas and lots of relaxation.

 “The goal for this Christmas is to take our foot off the gas and ease up on the rules, restrictions, and censorship as long as it's always within reason and working towards the benefit of mind, body, and soul,” the sci-fi sensation says. “Sometimes, taking a break from all the rules and the routines is beneficial. So, it's just a lot of PJs, catching up on a lot of old Christmas movies, [and playing] Super Mario Brothers. And I can't tell you how excited I am because any kind of activity where I get to interact with the boys, and they feel good to interact back with me means that I get to have their attention for a little longer, and that means everything to me.”

 While she plans for a peaceful holiday enjoying her family, Saldana wants other parents to recognize the need for grace and tranquility.

 “I feel like we've been through so much as a global human race, so just be kind to yourself and others around you and give everybody the benefit of the doubt. But give yourself first the benefit of the doubt. You're doing a good job; we're all doing our best.”