Burlesque’s Tyne Stecklein Tells Family First about Her Holiday Traditions

With the movie “Burlesque” opening tomorrow, you will see a young rising star in Tyne Stecklein. In our third feature focused on family holiday traditions, she speaks to Family First about her experiences growing up.

A dancer from the age of 3, she has appeared in “High School Musical 2”, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Stepbrothers” with Will Farrell.

Stecklein is a Colorado native who moved to Los Angeles to dance and act. Here are her answers to Family First’s questions about her family’s holiday traditions:

Where did you grow up?

 I grew up in Aurora , Colorado  

Any traditions around preparations for the holidays?

Around Christmas time, my brothers and I always enjoyed decorating the tree with my mom. Then on Christmas Eve we would go to church together as a family. That night, we would leave out milk and cookies for Santa by the fireplace. We would all sleep upstairs, and wait for mom and dad to tell us we could come down to where the presents were the next morning. We have a picture from every year of the three of us kids, racing down the stairs to see what Santa brought. 

For holiday dinners/celebrations, was there a specific place you would go as a family when you were a child?

For Thanksgiving, my family usually went to Ness City , Kansas , where my dad was from to spend the holiday with his family. On Christmas morning, my immediate family would open our presents together at our house. That evening our whole extended family, on my mom’s side, would all go to my grandparent’s house for Christmas dinner! Most all of the family still makes it back there every year for Christmas. For me now, I go not only back to Colorado to spend time with my family for the holidays, but to Wisconsin to spend time with my fiancés’ family as well!

Was dinner casual with paper plates and plastic cups or was it formal with nice china and sterling silver?

Thanksgiving in Kansas was always more casual with paper plates.  However Christmas dinner was always more fancy!

What’s your favorite holiday dish?

My favorite holiday dish is stuffing! I also LOVE pumpkin pie, with whip cream on top, especially my grandmothers :). 

What’s the strangest tradition your family either had when you were a child or has now?

We always opened our gift from my dad’s parents on Christmas Eve. Every other present had to wait until Christmas morning! 

Any traditions from childhood you miss either because the things don’t exist, the same people are gone or you live in a different place and can’t continue?

I miss that we do not go back to Kansas for Thanksgiving anymore. Both my dad’s parents have passed away, and most everyone else who lived there has moved. My aunt and uncle who used to live there had horses I loved to ride, and there were fire flies at night. I miss those things. 

What’s the most important part of the holidays for you?

The most important part of the Holidays for me is spending quality time with my family and loved ones. It’s nice to get out of LA for a bit, and remember where I came from!

What new projects do you have coming up that you would like the readers to know about?

I just finished working on a film called “No Strings Attached.” It is directed by Ivan Reitman. I play the role of Victoria in the film, and I am also a dancer. Currently, I am getting ready to perform on the American Music Awards, Dancing With The Stars, and X-Factor show in London , all of which are promotion for the release of “Burlesque”(which also stars Cher and Christina Aguilera).