Brenda Song Shares The Everyday Way Macaulay Culkin Makes Her Swoon

Brenda Song has long been a familiar face on our screens — from her early days on Nickelodeon’s 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd to recent favorites like Running Point on Netflix. In addition to juggling acting projects, Song has officially entered her mom-on-the-move era, exploring the world in her downtime with partner Macaulay Culkin and their two young sons.

With travel playing such a big part of her family’s story, it makes sense that she recently teamed up with Citi and American Airlines for the launch of the Citi/AAdvantage Globe card (“It’s like killing two birds with one stone,” she says of using it to rack up AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points).

We caught up with Song to talk about how motherhood has changed the way she travels, her favorite holiday traditions with her boys, and what it’s really like being married to the Home Alone king himself.

Scary Mommy: You've traveled a lot for work (and fun). How has travel changed for you since becoming a mom?

Brenda Song: I've always been quite type A. I'm an over-packer. I overanalyze. I've already thought about all the things that can go wrong. I check for my ID and passport 17 times. I think now it's just even more so.

But the interesting thing is, since having kids, I've actually learned to enjoy the travel experience more. When I was younger, I think traveling was in and out — I was just like, OK, just get to the airport, get on the plane. I was kind of rushing through it. Having kids has made me sort of remember that a lot of things I do with my boys, it's the first time they're actually experiencing something, so I want to make it as enjoyable and exciting as possible because traveling is such a privilege.

I forgot that. I've actually spent more time at the airport with kids, which is really weird because I know people are like, "Don't do that." But I just want my boys to enjoy traveling because traveling is so much fun.

SM: What items do you never, ever travel without?

BS: I mean, all I really need is noise-canceling headphones and my Kindle, and I'm good. It's my favorite thing to do. I feel like I get the most reading done on a plane ... I still pretend like there's no Wi-Fi on a flight. I pretend like the world doesn't exist for whatever time I'm on a plane. So I usually read, or I'm listening to an audiobook.

One of the other things I love on a plane is the Tower 28 SOS spray. It's anti-microbial, and it's refreshing.

SM: Slight detour — what book are you reading? What do you recommend?

BS: I never read The Housemaid, and because the movie's coming out, I really wanted to... So I'm reading that right now, and it’s really good. I love a classic thriller. And I just read The Silent Patient, which was really, really good. These books, I know, were on everyone's list five years ago, but I'm so behind.

SM: OK, what items do you always travel with for your boys?

BS: There are so many things. We found amazing luggage that has a seat you flip up and you clasp them in. They think it's a rollercoaster ride. They love it, and you don't have to worry about bringing a stroller through the airport. That's a game-changer.

In my bag, I just have activities for my kids all the time … I do a lot of mess-free coloring for my boys. Noise-canceling headphones for the kids is a huge one, not just for in-flight entertainment, but we have some headphones that you can just turn on noise-canceling for taking off and landing so their ears don't pop.

And snacks. My bag is 90% snacks for me and for my kids, because I feel like when I'm getting a little moody, or my kids are getting a little moody, it's because we're hungry.

I actually keep it pretty simple, but it's always about snacks and activities.

SM: The most important tools in a mom's arsenal! Well, we're all obsessed with you and Macaulay's love. What's something he does as a partner or dad that still makes you swoon?

BS: I'm really lucky; he's a romantic at heart. He's very, very thoughtful. One of my favorite things that he does all the time — and it's so sweet because it's a tradition for our boys as well — is anytime we go to the grocery store or anything like that, he always, always gets me flowers. He always has the boys pick me flowers, and have them pick each other flowers. So my boys love flowers, and I think it's so sweet. When we go on walks, they'll pick flowers. They go in the garden and our backyard; they pick flowers for me all the time. It's just so thoughtful because, for me, in a partner, you want someone who sees you and is paying attention. It’s the little things.

That's the stuff that makes me swoon: seeing that I need that extra half-hour of sleep in the morning, and he won't wake me up, and he'll go down and start the routine. Or seeing that I need something without me really expressing it, because sometimes I'm so overwhelmed. That's the kind of stuff in a partner that is so incredibly meaningful, and it just shows how much he cares. And that, to me, is the most special.

SM: Something that recently occurred to me is that it could be tricky for you to go out this time of year and do things because of how much people freak out over seeing Kevin McCallister. Is that a thing that happens? How do you, as a mom, sort of reframe that for your family?

BS: Honestly, I think Mack has been Mack for a very long time, so he handles it very well. Most of the time, people are very, very respectful and polite.

When we're with our family, we have very different boundaries because our children do not understand what we do; they do not understand that their dad is Kevin McCallister. I think that's the hardest part and the part that, even for me, I still am trying to figure out. When we get approached in public with our kids, they don't get it.

We just try to be really respectful because I understand. I've been on the other side of it, meeting people that I absolutely admire. I always want to be mindful of that because it's so important with what we do — we directly connect with people, and that's a huge part of our job. So I want to be mindful of that, but also respectful of our family boundaries. But people are really great and, most of the time, very respectful.

SM: Being a self-professed Christmas person, do you have any traditions or annual trips you've started with your kids to make the holidays extra special?

BS: We do. We're a little late — we usually do it the weekend right after Thanksgiving, but Mack is also on the Home Alone tour right now, so he's been going back and forth — but we go out and get my ladder out with my dad, and we do all our outdoor decor. We spend a whole week doing it little by little. I want our boys to have that experience like I did.

We do mall Santa photos every year. I did it as a kid growing up, and I used to be annoyed with my mom. Now I absolutely love it. I have my kids doing it, and it's so much fun. We also try to do Disneyland or something like that. And every year, we drive around our neighborhood to look at lights, because I loved doing that as a kid. So we do that with our boys.

I just love the Christmas spirit.

SM: Love that. One final bonus question, this or that style — Home Alone or The Ultimate Christmas Present?

BS: Oh, I mean, that's unfair. It's hard because, as much as I love The Ultimate Christmas Present — I love that movie — Home Alone was my favorite Christmas movie growing up, so I have to say Home Alone. Don't tell Mack I said that. He'll never let me live it down.

SM: Your secret's safe with us… and the internet.

BS: Oh God.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.