Ellie Kemper Has the ‘Perfect Solution’ for Hard-To-Shop-For Moms This Holiday Season (Exclusive)

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While we all know and adore Ellie Kemper as the plucky TV Queen, she has two other roles she covets: being a mom of two, and being a proud Kohl’s mom! For the 2025 holiday season, Kemper is teaming up with Kohl’s for their Kohl’s Mom campaign, and highlighting all the amazing deals fellow Kohl’s parents can snag to make the season of giving stress-free!

Now, for those who don’t know, back in 2012, Kemper and comedy writer Michael Koman got engaged, and married that same year. They have two sons, James, born in Aug 2016, and Matthew, born in Sept 2019. And every year, they go all out for the holidays!

When you speak to Kemper, you instantly feel in the holiday mood: that undeniable cheer and excitement you get when the festive season is nipping at your nose. Like many of her beloved characters, that enigmatic zest for life she emulates is who she is off-screen as well.

She has the flair, the jokes, and the eye on all the best gifts to grab for the holiday season; all of which we desperately need this time of year!

Below, see what Kemper said about Kohl’s, her hacks for gift-giving, and what the holidays look like for her and her family of four.

SheKnows: Now I know you’ve called yourself a proud Kohl’s mom, what’s the ultimate Kohl’s mom move you’ve pulled during the holidays?

Ellie Kemper: I’m already ahead of the game. I am trying to introduce a new tradition into our family right now, which is that we’re big ice cream fans in my house. And I thought, what if I show off by how well I make my own ice cream? So I got the Ninja CREAMi, which is a phenomenal kitchen gadget where I’ve been making my own peppermint ice cream, and it’s so good that suddenly I’m known as this incredible chef and mom. I’m very impressed with myself.

SK: That is awesome! I love that you decided to take that role.

EK: I need respect in my household, and that peppermint ice cream is a family pleaser!

SK: Now you got me craving ice cream at one in the afternoon.

EK: Oh, there’s no wrong time!

SK: I like that mindset! Now I know Kohl’s is all about finding joy and giving. What’s your go-to gifting strategy to make everyone happy without the stress?

EK: I actually think because I’ve fallen prey to this too, where I think, ‘Oh, it’s gotta be the best gift. It’s gotta be the biggest gift.’ But I actually think smaller feel-good gifts, like a cozy candle or a throw, are wonderful solutions for that. Sonoma Goods for Life has some great candles and some great throws, like throw blankets.

EK: For our family, we tend to dance a lot. We have many family dance parties, and there are these JBL portable speakers that won’t break the bank, and also can add some holiday cheer and holiday festivity to your home. It’s all about keeping it sensible. You don’t have to go overboard. You can get these smaller gifts that will make everyone on your list happy.

SK: That is so sweet, and I love hearing the dance party because that’s what my family and I did growing up is random dance parties.

EK: It’s so fun. My family also did that! My boys are now six and nine, and we’ve been dancing since they were born. We’ve been dancing a lot. It’s such an easy way to bring the stress down, just kind of unwind.

SK: Oh, I love that. I know you mentioned that smaller gifts, cozy gifts are great go-tos, but what words of wisdom do you have for people who are shopping for their hard-to-shop-for family members or pals, and are so confused on what to get?

EK: I am one of those people. I have some very hard-to-find people who are hard to shop for on my list as well. I think the mindset is to find a meaningful gift that, again, won’t break the bank. I think that keeps expectations in check for you, for yourself, [and] brings your own stress out. It’s a perfect solution to keep everyone happy.

SK: Definitely. Now, what is actually an underrated gift that people should consider for the holiday shopping?

EK: I wanna sing the praises of pajamas. I think you cannot go wrong giving people pajamas. Like, everybody wants them. Everybody wears them. There is a tradition that I have in my household. Both my nuclear family, like my husband and my two kids, but also my extended family, we’re a big matching pajamas crew. With the extended family, there are more voices, more opinions. It can get a little trickier. But with my nuclear family, this year, it’s Peanuts. We’re fans of many cartoons in our household, but Peanuts and the Grinch are huge favorites of ours. So Kohl’s has matching pajamas in those of those characters, and I already have them for the four of us, and they’re adorable. So, that’s a gift I think that is underrated.

SK: Oh my gosh, that’s so cute! Along with the pajamas and the dance party, what other family traditions get you and your family right in the holiday spirit?

EK: I think once we start donning those matching pajamas, we know that it’s time. There’s also just the playlist changes, it segues into holiday tunes.

SK: So I gotta ask, what is your biggest holiday hot take?

EK: I have been thinking about this. I think, for better or for worse, sometimes people think, ‘What am I gonna get mom for the holidays?’ I am a mom. I have a mom. So I’ve been in this on both sides of this question, and I wanna tell you that a robe will always be a success! Giving a comfortable robe to your mother is a perfect solution. At Kohl’s, there’s a Simply Vera Vera Wang bathrobe that is so comfortable and so soft and luxurious. I always want this gift. So I feel like it’s a hot take because sometimes people are ambivalent. They think, ‘Oh, I don’t know. Do I need to do something really out there for mom?’ No! You don’t! You need to get her a soft robe that she can lie down in. It’s great.

SK: Yeah! Moms work hard. Give them comfort!

EK: Like there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s all that we want.

SK: I love it. Now, is there a holiday memory from your childhood that you’re excited to recreate with your sons that you haven’t done just yet?

EK: I have to say, a running theme from my childhood and into adulthood is just the happy chaos of this season. There’s a lot packed into these few weeks and there’s a lot of family getting together, a lot of friends getting together, and I think sort of that joyful chaos is part of our tradition. But a specific memory is: My mom is a huge baker. Year-round, she makes delicious food, but especially on the holidays, I am trying to recreate the coffee cake that she makes. So that’s a holiday tradition that’ll be new this year. I’m going to attempt it in our own kitchen, so wish me luck.

SK: Oh, I have no doubt. I mean, you’re already the ice cream mom! I have no doubt you’re gonna be the coffee cake mom too.

EK: Thank you for dubbing me that. I appreciate it. I’m gonna take that. I’m just gonna manifest that!

SK: Of course! Now we’re gonna transition a bit to some sillier questions, which is, if your sons were in charge of the holidays, what do you think would happen?

EK: I think we would be awake at 04:00 in the morning. I think we would have hot chocolate for breakfast, along with our peppermint ice cream. I think, every gift would be toys. I think there would be, let’s see, there are two of them. So I think there’d be 400 presents, all toys. I think that’s what would happen.

SK: That is the very typical childhood mindset, and you know what, I was like that till I was like 10, so I get it!

EK: I know! I’m actually treasuring this. I’m like, ‘Guys, as chaotic as it is, please stay this age, it’s fun.’

SK: Now, if you could describe your holiday vibe in three words, what would they be?

EK: Cheer, sparkle, and upbeat. It’s a unique time of the year, and so I am on a mission to celebrate it to the full fullest extent. [I love] whimsical items that you don’t really have necessarily all year long, but just for the holidays. I recently discovered the Saint Nicholas Square line at Kohl’s, and I am telling you, I cannot decide which items to get. They are adorable. There are all these table decorations. I saw a serving tray, but it’s like a sleigh. It’s this wooden sled, [and] it’s absolutely adorable. All these little, model toy houses, gingerbread houses, and candy cane glasses. It’s like all of these little touches really can heighten the holiday cheer. So I’m a big fan of those little pops here and there. You need to check it out!

SK: I definitely will, especially during the holiday shopping that is inevitably going to shake my house. And also the three words, I feel like they totally describe you. I feel like you are definitely the human embodiment of sparkle.

EK: That’s very generous of you. I’m gonna again, I’ll take that, and then when I’m not so sparkly, I’ll be like, ‘Oh, no. But remember what Delilah said.’

SK: I love it! No, this is my last question. With your most iconic characters, Erin Hannan, Kimmy Schmidt, and Becca from Bridesmaids, what role do you think they’d each play in holiday planning?

EK: Oh my gosh. Yeah. This is interesting; those ladies are all upbeat in different ways. I think Erin Hannon is a bit more naive, and I think she might be in charge of just the decorations. I think she’d wanna do a good job, and she’d wanna have a lot of tinsel everywhere. Kimmy Schmidt is a bit more street smart. I think she’d be the one who is looking for those good deals without breaking the bank. Becca would definitely be in charge of the matching pajamas for sure.

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