Alyson Hannigan Looks Back at 'How I Met Your Mother' on Show's 15-Year Anniversary (Exclusive)
Alyson Hannigan is recalling one of her favorite memories from her time on How I Met Your Mother. In honor of the show's 15th anniversary later this month, the 46-year-old actress tells ET about some of the silliness that took place on the set of the sitcom, which ran for nine seasons from 2005 to 2014.
"We used to have amazing pun runs on the show. I don't know why. I think it started with somebody mentioning Cat Fancy, the magazine Cat Fancy. I think it was a guest star and I don't know why that started a pun-off, but [there were] years of puns," she shares. "Oh my goodness, we would laugh so hard at the puns that would happen... We got really good at punning."
"I remember there was a day where we did puns on U2 songs and we laughed so hard," Hannigan continues. "Every time I hear a U2 song now I think of that day. It's just so silly, but it was really funny at the time."
Though she doesn't speak with her former co-stars, Neil Patrick Harris, Cobie Smulders, Josh Radnor and Jason Segel, every day, Hannigan gushed that "they're always going to be people I love."
"As soon as you do talk to them, it's like no time has passed," she notes.
People Hannigan has been spending time with as of late are her husband, Alexis Denisof, and their daughters, Satyana, 11, and Keeva, 8. Now that the kids have begun their school year, all their attention has turned to Halloween, a holiday that's going to look a little different this year due the coronavirus pandemic.
"The kids are gonna go to every single door in the house. I said they have to go slower than they normally do. They can't run. My husband and I will be at every door and we will give them treats," Hannigan shares of how her family will celebrate the holiday this year in lieu of their typical party. "In my imagination, I want there to be costume changes for my husband and I. He's got a lot of different character voices and he's really good at accents, so in my mind, there will be wig changes. Obviously, I don't think we'll have time for that, but at least he can do different voices."
"I think we'll have a lot of fun," she adds. "They're excited because we do have a lot of doors, so they'll still get a large amount of treats... But we're gonna stay safe."
As for how they'll dress up this year, Hannigan said no decisions have been made just yet.
"Before they decided they want to chose their own costumes, we would always do family-themed costumes. Sadly, a few years ago they were like, 'No, we want to start picking our own [costumes].' That was a sad day in my life," she says. "They like [to] peruse through the, like, costume magazines and then get ideas and then start throwing out things that I want to make them. There were a couple years where they really wanted store-bought ones, which kind of broke my heart a little. But luckily, last year they got back into letting me make them, which makes me happy."
Another way the family will celebrate the holiday this year is with Hannigan's Food Network show, Outrageous Pumpkins. The actress serves as the show's host and oversees seven pumpkin-carving contestants as they compete for a $25,000 prize.
"This is probably the best show, especially for right now. I usually have these huge extravagant Halloween parties, so obviously I can't do that this year. So now it's just all about the pumpkin carving," she says. "These pumpkin carvers are beyond incredible. The things that they can do, it is so incredible, it is outrageous. They're artists and their canvas are pumpkins. It's staggering."
"I just was in awe. The tricks that they use, all the different tools, I was really inspired. It's definitely going to amp up my carving this year," she adds. "It really is inspiring and it just gets you in the mood for Halloween. It's such a great show. It just looks so cool and the things that they can do and the challenges were so incredible. I'm so excited for people to see this show."
Outrageous Pumpkins premieres Sunday, Sept. 20 on Food Network.
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