Mark Wahlberg’s Favorite Part of the Holiday Season Is So Relatable

Published: December 5, 2025

By India McCarty

For Mark Wahlberg, spending time with his family is the best part of the holiday season.

“[I love] just getting together with the family,” the actor told PEOPLE. “All the kids being in one place at one time, for a good amount of time, where we have breakfast together, lunch together, dinner every night, and we’re all hanging out.”

Wahlberg and wife Rhea share Ella, 22, Michael, 19, Brendan, 17, and Grace, 15, and as the kids get older, everyone is pulled in different directions.

“It’s hard to get them all together these days,” Wahlberg told PEOPLE at the premiere of one of his recent projects, PLAY DIRTY. “I’m so excited that all of my kids [are here], because my daughter’s been away at school, everybody’s kind of doing their own thing at this age. I really want to just spend time with them. So it’s great that we all got to get together, even if it’s just for the night.”

He acknowledged that, with his children growing up, it’ll be harder to get together as a family, joking, “We’re trying to figure out, in, say, four or five years, how can we be at four places at once?”

Mark Wahlberg Wants His 4 Kids in ‘One Place’ Together for a ‘Good Amount of Time’ During Holidays (Exclusive) https://t.co/35CphwVq3a

— People (@people) November 25, 2025

The Wahlberg family’s time together is full of plenty of teasing, according to the actor.

“They will make fun and they’ll imitate me,” Wahlberg told Fox News. “The thing that I enjoy most is the imitations, right. Them making fun because they’ll get up and they’ll actually perform and they crack each other up, which makes me laugh to no end.”

He continued, “They do a little bit of the Boston, they do a bit of ‘the angry dad,’ you know, they do a little bit of everything. They do a little bit of, ‘oh, I think I’m tough,’ and you know.”

They even joke about which fictional characters could take him down, Wahlberg said, adding, “They’re talking about, ‘Dad, you can never beat Jason Bourne, you can never beat this one.’ You know, it just, it’s endless. It’s endless, and I enjoy it thoroughly.”

Wahlberg also spoke to Fox News about raising kids, giving them guidance while still allowing them to make their own choices and mistakes.

“We want to make sure that they are going live up to their full potential and just trying to raise them the right way. But most importantly, being an example. To be an example, to go out there and walk the walk,” he explained.

Wahlberg continued, “I’m trying to pursue a relationship with God, live a purpose-filled life, you know, continue to make amends. If I could go back and do a lot of things differently, of course I would, I can’t, so all I can do now is continue to try to touch people, inspire people and make sure that I use the talents and gifts that have been given to me to help others. So, I just want the best for them. And you know obviously, kids grow up, they make mistakes. Hopefully they don’t make too many bad choices, but you know.”

As his kids get older, it looks like Wahlberg is enjoying every minute his family can spend together.

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