As the holiday season begins, Sadie Robertson Huff is looking forward to family traditions new and old. The best-selling author, speaker, actress, and “Duck Dynasty” family member will be figuring out how to fit in all the family holiday gatherings with her husband, Christian, after they celebrate their first anniversary the day before Thanksgiving.
“As a married couple, one of the biggest questions you have to ask is how you will spend the holidays,” Sadie says. “Christian and I both love our families so much, so we’re going to try to split the difference as best as we can.”
The holidays bring a sense of normalcy as we embrace traditions and create new memories. We need that more than ever this year with the challenges 2020 has brought with a global pandemic. Sadie recently shared that she had COVID-19 and urged people to take it seriously. But despite the downs of this year, Sadie has seen 2020 as a unique season with new ways to grow personally and experience God during this time as she and her husband look forward to welcoming a baby girl into their family in 2021.
Before she announced her growing family and COVID-19 diagnosis, we spoke with Sadie about how she’s spent her time this year and why she decided to partner with World Vision this Christmas season.
What’s something new you did during the pandemic?
I did some random things in quarantine; I don’t know about you. The most random was I joined the TikTok train for a little bit. So every day I was like, “I can’t be cooped up in the house. I need to workout somehow.” I decided TikTok would be my workout, and I spent 30 minutes a day learning a new dance just for a few weeks. Now I look back on my 30 minutes a day, and I kind of miss it. My dance moves definitely improved during quarantine.
What I also learned, that contradicts that, is I tried to cook a lot more. You kind of had to. I was Pinteresting all the time “what to cook,” looking up all the ingredients, going to Walmart, trying to figure out what to buy.
What’s your favorite dish to cook?
What I’m the best at is super chill, but I can make really good shrimp quesadillas with fresh guac. And that’s a skill I’m proud of.
Super chill is good, given how busy you are. Were you able to spend more time relaxing?
I learned about myself in quarantine that I have a really hard time just chilling. I told my husband, Christian, “Everything is canceled! I’m just going to rest.” Then the next day I’m like, “Okay, I want to go to college. I want to read these books. I want to learn a dance every day.” And he’s like, “Remember that time you said it’d be really great to rest?” I had to learn what it looks like to just chill and have that balance.
What moment did you feel Jesus near the most in this season of finding balance?
I felt Jesus the most, and this might be kind of funny to some people, but at sunset and sunrise. It was because everything is changing so much, but there was something so significant about the faithfulness — the sun kept coming up and kept going down, insinuating that there was purpose to new days. That really struck me during quarantine.
How would you describe your season in quarantine?
This may sound crazy, but content. I really was content in where I knew the Lord had me. … We have a lot to just be content with where we’re at. It was challenging in a lot of ways, and then I also did have fun.
How do you carry those sentiments into the holiday season?
This holiday season will be a unique one just like 2020 has been a unique year. But I encourage you, be more intentional about how you love people. There are people who are hurting; there are people who have had tough years — maybe you haven’t seen it on the outside, but man, so many people are walking through things we couldn’t even tell from the outside. Love deeper; love more intentionally; 24/7 keep your eyes open to how you can be a good example to somebody else or how you can spread holiday cheer.
Do you think giving back is even more important this year because of those burdens people are carrying?
I think giving back this year is hugely important, maybe even more important that we’re in a global pandemic. That may be scary to us. The first thing that happens when panic sinks in is you get a little bit of scarcity — you want to hang on to the stuff you do have. But it’s so important to think about the people who literally have nothing, who don’t have a choice between if they’re going to get water that day or food that day or education in their lifetime. Now more than ever, it’s super important that we give.
How have you and Christian made giving back part of your lives together?
Christian and I definitely have a huge heart for giving to other people. The Bible talks about loving your neighbor as yourself. Who is your neighbor? I think everyone who we get put in contact with is our neighbor. So Christian and I, we try not to just have a decision, “Okay, we’re going to give to this at this point.” We, 24/7, have our eyes to God and say, “Who do we need to give to? Where do we need to give to? What things do we see making a huge impact?” And World Vision is certainly one of those.
You’ve designed a new ring for the World Vision Gift Catalog. What interested in you being part of that?
I wanted to be part of the World Vision catalog because I’ve seen the impact it’s made over so many different people’s lives in so many different countries. I think a ring is so beautiful. It’s such a good thing that you can look down at your hand and have a reminder that you’re doing something good. Just like my wedding ring, I get to look down at my hand and think, “Wow! I’m married to an amazing man — I’m committed to that.” You look down at your hand and you see this ring and you know, “I’m committed to a family across the world, helping out kids and helping out families to empower them for their future.”
That’s a great way to stay grounded. What final advice do you have for other families and newlyweds this season?
Let love be the celebration. Let all of you together be the celebration, whether your whole family gets together or just you and your husband, or you and your wife, or you and your kids. This could be a really sweet time. When we look back at this time, we’re going to remember something, so hopefully it’s that we embraced each other, we loved each other, and we continued to celebrate the reason for the season and each other in our lives.
