Kelsey Grammer is celebrating a heartwarming milestone as he embraces life as a father of eight. The beloved actor recently shared with PEOPLE the joy and excitement surrounding the arrival of his newest child, Christopher, born to him and his wife, Kayte Walsh.

At 70 years old, Grammer is loving every moment of fatherhood once again. He describes life with his fourth child with Walsh as “awesome and fantastic,” adding, “The family’s ecstatic. We’re all really having a great time. It’s really lovely.”

Christopher Joins a Big and Happy Family

Grammer announced the birth of Christopher during the October 27 episode of the Pod Meets World podcast with Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, and Rider Strong. Christopher joins a bustling household that includes Grammer and Walsh’s children: Faith, 12, Gabriel, 10, and James, 8.

From previous relationships, Grammer also shares Spencer, 41, Greer, 33, Mason, 23, and Jude, 20, creating a blended family of eight children. Reflecting on the past year, the veteran actor shared, “We are closer than we’ve ever been as a family, and I’m proud of that.”

On Set Bonds and Fatherhood Insights

While filming Karen Kingsbury’s The Christmas Ring, Grammer’s co-star Benjamin Hollingsworth shared stories about bonding with the actor over fatherhood.

“My kids came to set and met Kelsey, and he was very kind to them,” Hollingsworth said. “We had talks about being a dad and it’s crazy, but he welcomed his eighth child just this year. So, he’s got a newborn at home. I was giving him lots of crap about that.”

Hollingsworth added that the film explores the nuanced relationship between father and son, highlighting how Christmas can be both joyful and complicated, with family dynamics that sometimes require reconciliation.

Kelsey Grammer’s Holiday Traditions

Despite a busy home life with a newborn, Grammer maintains cherished family traditions during the holiday season. He shared, “We do a Christmas roast dinner every year. The family doesn’t like turkey quite so much, but I try to do prime rib and a turkey and a chicken. We do Yorkshire puddings and mint sauce and all kinds of stuff.”

Decorating the Christmas tree is a highlight for the family, often done three weeks before Christmas, right after Thanksgiving. However, Grammer jokingly notes the challenges of celebrity life in California: “There’s a thing I call celebrity pricing…I’ll find an eight- or nine-foot tree I like, and a guy will say, ‘Mr. Grammer, for you that’s going to be $1,700.’ For my friend, they’ll say, ‘About $600.’ So, I stopped going.”

Gift Giving and Favorite Presents

Grammer has a soft spot for thoughtful gifts, especially books. “I love books. If somebody gives me a book that you can tell they spent some time thinking about what I might love about it, that means a lot to me,” he says. Over the years, he has received classics such as Shakespeare, Aristotle, and Civil War history books, some in first editions, which remain prized possessions.

The Christmas Ring: Spreading Holiday Spirit

Grammer’s latest project, Karen Kingsbury’s The Christmas Ring, aims to convey messages of selflessness, forgiveness, and the true spirit of Christmas. The film premieres in theaters on Thursday, November 6, offering audiences a heartfelt story about family, reconciliation, and the holiday season.