John C. McGinley Reveals Family Holiday Traditions — Including One His Son Max Is Particularly Enthusiastic About (Exclusive)

John C. McGinley recently spoke about his son Maxs enthusiasm for the holiday season in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE. The Scrubs star revealed, "Maxie loves Thanksgiving, but he goes out of his mind for Christmas."

John, 66, shares Max with his ex, Lauren Lambert, and has two daughters, Billie, 17, and Kate, 15, with his wife Nichole McGinley. The actor highlighted how the entire family enjoys celebrating Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas together.

"Everyone out here loves Halloween," John said. Regarding Thanksgiving, he explained that when Nichole suggested traveling for the holiday, the family unanimously declined.

However, Christmas holds a special place in their hearts, especially for 28-year-old Max, who has Down syndrome. John described their festive traditions: "We put a tree in the big room, it looks like Rockefeller Center. It's a guilty pleasure of mine, and it's way too expensive and silly, but it makes everybody happy."

Nichole decorates the tree with nearly 4,000 miniature lights, a process that takes a day and a half, John said. The family uses only non-glass ornaments to ensure Max can safely participate. "It was a tactile fine motor skill exercise for Maxie at first to get the hook on the branches," he explained. "Now he can do it in his sleep."

Reflecting on Maxs early years, John recalled the surprise of discovering Max had Down syndrome at birth. "We did not have an amnio, so Max was to be a girl and all squared away. And then he showed up, and he was a boy," he said. "It was like getting hit by a cosmic hammer. It was very disorienting."

John described Max as a "high-functioning, largely non-verbal, beautiful little boy and now young adult, whose biggest challenge is language." Max has since played in a rock band with other individuals with Down syndrome, worked at Starbucks, and is now learning new communication skills through Spellers, a program teaching spelling and typing to nonspeaking or minimally speaking individuals.

"He's a loving older brother," John shared. "He enjoys trips to the beach with his sisters. We recently got a new dog, Duke, a black lab, and Max adores him."

Author: Sophia Brooks