‘Little House’ Stars Alison Arngrim & Dean Butler on Why the Cast ‘Are a Family’ (Exclusive)

ReMIND Magazine chatted with Little House on the Prairie cast members Alison Arngrim, who played Nellie Oleson, and Dean Butler, who starred as Almanzo James Wilder, about the upcoming holiday weekend event Little House on the Prairie Cast Reunion at Strathearn Historical. The holiday three-day event runs from December 12 to 14, 2025, in Simi Valley, California.

The weekend is filled with the spirit of the season and includes cast meet-and-greets, autograph sessions, holiday photo opportunities, screenings of classic episodes, and the documentary Little House Homecoming. Family activities plus VIP ticket holders will enjoy priority access, gifts, and exclusive events such as a Friday Holiday Party and Sunday Breakfast with the Cast. Tickets are available here.

 

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At the upcoming Little House on the Prairie cast reunion, what are you most looking forward to: the tree trimming, the caroling, or Santa.

Alison: Santa! I know Santa personally. Santa is coming! The event will be held at Strathern Park, and they have real 1800s buildings. Not like pretend ones on Little House. It’s really cool. We’re doing this whole event there, including the panels, the VIP presentations that will be held in the church building, it’s just gorgeous. The dinner event will be held in the barn. Santa will be in the town’s Gazebo.

Dean: Santa, for sure. I mean, who doesn’t love to see Santa at an event? We’re hoping that we are creating just a happy holiday atmosphere for people 10 days before Christmas.

Will the cast be doing something super special for the fans?

Alison: We’re actually doing a show the Saturday night, “Prairie Follies” at the barn. Dean’s going to sing, I’m going to do some comedy. I think Patrick Labyorteaux‘s going to MC. We have several people doing various sorts of holiday-themed musical presentations. It’s kind of bonkers. We’ve never done anything like this before.

Dean: We’re doing what we’re calling the Little House cast follies on Saturday night. The goal is to give our fans something that they don’t normally see from us. It’s something just a bit different and something more personal from the cast members.

During this Little House holiday event, does the cast go hang out by the pool? What does the cast do when they get together?

Alison: Some of us are staying at the same hotel. We wind up hanging out often. We’ll get together to have breakfast, lunch or dinner. Maybe a big sleepover with everybody… making Christmas cookies. That’s the thing; we are a family. These are like the little family reunions. ‘Who’s coming? Okay, are the cousins coming? Did somebody make potato salad?’ [laughs].

Any fun Christmas stories from the Little House set 50 years ago?

Dean: I remember doing an episode called “The Christmas They Never Forgot,” where different characters remembered special Christmases. That was really a beautiful episode. Basically, the entire episode took place inside the Little House. The family is snowed in, and the fire’s burning with a blizzard going on outside, and we’re inside recounting these special stories. The stories told during the episode were about childhood memories. I totally related so much to the stories. That’s a really special memory for me of being on the set with everything beautifully decorated in Little House-style, very austere, a sincere presentation of Christmas cheer. Yeah, that was lovely.

Alison: We had the best Christmas parties. We all got each other Christmas presents. We always received a big present from Michael [Landon] and NBC. The cast & crew would all chip in and buy Michael something huge, like a golf cart or something. Then we’d all go to the store and buy each other’s stuff. I still have goofy things people gave me 50 years ago.

Catherine McGregor and Richard Bull, my TV parents, they would, at Christmas, go get stuff made. There was an apron, there was a coffee mug, there was a calendar, and it was from Olsen’s Mercantile thanking you for being loyal customers with their picture on the item and it was hilarious. I gave people a lot of cheese, which is really funny because I’m giving people cheese again. Have you ever had Cougar Gold? It is amazing. It’s cheese from Washington State University. They have a big agricultural program, and they have this, like, insanely addictive cheddar cheese. When I first had to give large numbers of people gifts, cheese was the answer. I’m the lady with the cheese. So yes, I’ve been the lady who gives the cheese since I was 12.

Why are you obsessed with cheese?

Alison: I don’t know. I guess it’s, well, what on earth do I get everyone? I’d get personal gifts for Melissa and the gang and then I go, Oh man, I gotta get something for a lot of the guys on the crew. Oh, geez. I’ll get the really, really nice cheese packets and the cheese baskets and stuff. You’re going to eat it. You can always use more cheese.  Now I’ve discovered this Cougar Gold and I got addicted. So now I can eat more cheese at Christmas again.

Do you have a favorite Christmas cookie?

Alison: Anything gingerbread!

Dean: Well, who doesn’t love chocolate chip cookies? My wife, Catherine, makes the most spectacular chocolate chip cookies. We inevitably end up making chocolate chip cookies for Christmas Eve dinner.

Will you be selling Christmas-themed items?

Alison: I stocked up on red and green bonnets, and I do have some Nelly-themed Christmas ornaments.  I am premiering them at the Christmas event, and nobody’s seen them outside of my house yet. A bunch of people will have ornaments on their tables. I think everyone has different Christmas-themed and homemade ornaments. It’s going to be bonkers.

Dean: I will not have a Christmas ornament at my table. I will have Almanzo spice jars from an episode that we did where Laura ruins chicken by putting cayenne pepper over it [episode: “Back to School,” part 2 – Season 6]. So, I’ve got Almanzo’s cayenne pepper and Almanzo’s cinnamon.  I just sell the jars. I do not want to get into it with the FDA by putting spices in the jar. We’ve had fun with that. I’m also going to have something I’ve never done before, which is a chocolate-covered Oreo with Almanzo’s picture on it. I think that’s going to be fun.

Credit: Mike Pingel

Tell me bit about the special showing of The Little House on the Prairie: Homecoming documentary.

Dean: Well, Little House Homecoming is really a love letter to all Little House fans. I say to people that if you love what Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote, or if you love our series, or if you love both. Yet there are people who feel very differently about each one of them, and then there are those people who love both. But if you love the messages that Laura tells, you’re going to love this movie because it’s completely affirmational of what is good about Little House. Karen Grassle [Caroline Ingalls], Alison Arngrim, Charlotte Stewart [Eva Beadle] and even Baby Grace who was played by Wendy Lou. We all share what we think are the positive and aspirational things about Little House. Plus, the fans confirm it with people of common value who share a common view of the world when you’re at a Little House event. It’s a very positive experience.

Do you have a favorite Christmas gift as a child or an adult?

Dean: Oh boy. It’s a lot of Christmases you’re talking about. As a kid, thinking back to those Christmas mornings that were so magical. As you wake up the next morning, and you come down and there is the slot car set or the new bicycle or those kinds of transformational things. For me, a beautiful Schwinn bike was probably the one thing that really jumps out as being memorable because it was magical. The trees are all lit up and you see on the mantel where Santa’s been there, eggnog’s been consumed, and the cookies are gone. I just love those kinds of traditions growing up. It was a very special time.

NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection

What do you feel is the legacy or the longevity of 50 years of Little House?

Dean: I think the longevity of Little House is its ability to speak to people in this very foundational way about what is best in being human. All our episodes were written pretty open, so that the audience always knew what the problem was, who was affected by it, and the audience got to watch as the characters involved worked out the problem. In working out the problem, characters are always tested by what’s the right way to do something or what would be not so positive way to address a problem.

Little House really presents a fundamental, basic level of spiritually good values. They weren’t always presented in religious terms, and I didn’t view them that way, but I think people know what’s good. Little House really stressed [that] by being able to share both sides of that line, what was admirable, good, positive behavior that is ennobling for your family, for your community, for your colleagues that you work with. Just good behavior is good behavior. I think people continue to respond to those lessons, because I think today, we are so challenged by what is good and what is not good. I think Little House made those lessons about what’s positive very clear. So you get to choose who you want to be in the world as you watch a Little House on the Prairie episode.

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