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 David Gregory’s childhood holidays were quite different than his days living in Northwest D.C.
The “Meet the Press” host on NBC grew up in Los Angeles and was raised Jewish, part of a mixed family. He grew up in the San Fernando Valley and his interest in politics was sparked early on when he participated in lively discussions about current events in his government class. Gregory was also co-editor of his high school paper. “Being in California over the holidays every year definitely made for ‘warmer’ holiday spirit,” Gregory joked. This year he is excited to bring his three children, nine-year-old Max and a set of twins to California to show them where he grew up. As most Washingtonians know, the holiday season can get pretty hectic. Gregory sometimes whisks away his wife, lawyer Beth Wilkinson, to get their holiday shopping done together. "Yes, I actually do like shopping with my wife as long as I get something too!" Gregory joked. “It’s our little time to sneak away and do something alone,” he added. “You go through the rush of the season and sometimes it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed.” The Gregorys also like sitting down to watch holiday movies with their children to relax, and the family tries to catch a performance of The Nutcracker at the Warner Theatre every holiday season. “Giving back” is another theme to the holiday season, with many choosing to volunteer in some way. Gregory recently spoke at American University, his alma mater, in a “coffee talk” discussion, the first of its kind. “I loved going back to AU,” he said. “Talking to students and finding ways for professionals to be involved in their lives is great, I hope they benefited from hearing about my experiences.” Gregory also has shown his children a little about giving back to the D.C. community---they celebrate Thanksgiving by serving food to the homeless at Martha’s Table and every Shabbat they donate money to the charity. “I feel it’s good to show my children the neediness of the community and with materialism, for them to be aware of how many are still hurting,” he said. Gregory also helps them buy gifts for a needy family at their synagogue during the holidays to show them the joys of giving. “Having children around really adds to the excitement of the season,” he added. As far as his favorite gift growing up, Gregory said, “still pretty much a sports jersey.” It dominated his favorites list for many years. Of course, now that Gregory has grown to 6’5”, the jerseys of yesteryear have most likely been banished to the attic. With his 6'5" frame, Gregory did play basketball, but only for fun and in college, he played plenty of pick-up games. After Christmas and Hanukkah end, many begin looking toward the New Year. As moderator of Meet the Press, Gregory is looking forward to the elections and the debates. As far as problems that he hopes to see solutions being worked toward, Gregory would like to see politics working a little better, facing small challenges to help fix bigger problems. Meet the Press airs locally in D.C. Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m. ----Kate Oczypok
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