Martha Stewart Is Leaving the U.S. for Thanksgiving with Her Grandkids: ‘We Have Such an Itinerary’ (Exclusive)

The lifestyle mogul opened up about holiday hosting, travel plans and her festive new collection for JCPenney in an interview with PEOPLE

Martha Stewart will be celebrating Thanksgiving in the Eternal City.

“We're going to Rome,” the lifestyle expert tells PEOPLE. “We decided the kids wanted to go away, the grandchildren, and so we're all packing up and going to Rome for a few days to visit the sites.”

Stewart is grandmother to Jude, 13, and Truman, 12, the children of her only daughter, Alexis Stewart.

“We have such an itinerary,” Martha added. “My grandchildren will get mad at me. They think they're going on vacation for five days, but in fact, we are going to see everything. I've planned quite a trip.”

The domestic diva is also marking the holidays with a new collection for JCPenney that includes a patchwork quilt, kitchen and dinnerware and bath products, sold both in-store and online.

Related: Martha Stewart's 2 Grandchildren: All About Jude and Truman

“We have lovely tabletop and we have lot of cookie jars, and salt and pepper shakers,” she says. “Just kind of very, very indicative of the holidays and just changes your table. It's only that time of year kind of stuff, but it's fun to have.”

“I store all of these kinds of things in my dishware basement,” she adds. “I have a basement lined with shelving where I put all my holiday stuff.”

The celebrity chef’s go-to Christmas confection is buche de Noël, a traditional yule log cake.

“I make a really good one with an almond cake with a chocolate ganache filling,” she says. “Oh, I love that cake and meringue mushrooms. It was a little hard and a little fussy, but it is so pretty and people love it. I like croquembouche for Christmas, the big mound of pastry choux puffs filled with a nice creme that's held together with caramel, but fancy, but really tasty.”

As for decorating, Martha says Christmas lights are a must at her Bedford, N.Y., farm.

“I love my shooting stars and we put them in the peaks of all the outside buildings, so the roof peaks and they're just so beautiful-looking,” she says.

“I make a lot of Christmas ornaments and a lot of pre-lit Christmas trees,” she adds. “I'm all for artificial trees that are pre-lit with beautiful battery-run lights that you can put on timers and they can light up and they're safe. You never have to worry about fires. Those are very important features for me since I live in a lot of old wooden houses. I think it's also neater, and it's a good investment to buy a really good artificial tree and keep it year-to-year, change the decorations.”

After traveling for Thanksgiving, Martha will make time to host at home for the winter holidays.

“If somebody comes over in the afternoon, you have to have homemade Christmas cookies lying around,” she says. “You just have to, and you have to have a couple dinners for your family and friends.”

Related: Martha Stewart Says Her Autobiography Will 'Be Even More Revealing' Than Her Documentary: 'Watch Out'

The soundtrack for her holiday bashes might include Eartha Kitt’s “Santa Baby” or Christmas music "sung by great sopranos or baritones.”

“Sometimes we even have somebody come and play the piano and we all sing Christmas carols,” she says. “That happens at my Christmas parties.”

Other than a “creepy guest,” she says there’s not much that can ruin a festive gathering.

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“I think the holidays are sort of the time when people come to see you and exchange presents and have a little fun,” she says. “I try to keep it very light-hearted and pleasant around the holidays. Family arguments, there's no place for that at the holiday time.”

She recently received a memorable gift from her good friend Snoop Dogg.

“He gave me a horse blanket for one of my horses,” she reveals. “It was a very thoughtful and nice gift. After we did the equestrian events at the Olympics, I thought that was very appropriate.”

Once Christmas is done, Martha, Jude and Truman will be back to jet-setting.

“It's not completely planned, but we usually go away,” she says. "The kids like to go away for 10 days or so. It's all about the grandchildren. That's where we are now. Grandchildren time.”