Very Pressley Christmas

Just a happy holiday check-in with the sugarplum fairy of our hearts.

- By Katherine Hammer

It may be sunny and a million degrees outside our Los Angeles photo studio, but inside it's wall-to-wall winter holiday madness: racks of sparkly dresses, piles of decorations and an endless assortment of accessories (antler headband, anyone?). And Pressley Hosbach is *here* for it.

"My favorite holiday is for sure Christmas because of my family," says Pressley, 17, the multi-hyphenate megastar (think: dancer-actress-singer-influencer). "My cousins are basically my siblings, but we live in different places. Christmas is when we all get back together. It's so fun and I just love it."

While her holiday plans may be the same again this season, a lot has changed for Pressley in the last year: She's put in some serious studio time (her first single comes out in January, though she's still trying to settle on the perfect track: "You only have one first impression-and I want to make it good"), debuted her dancewear line ("I partnered with Jo+Jax, which has been a dream") and shared even more of her life on social media ("At first, it was scary, because you don't know how people are going to react to who you are").

One thing that didn't change for Pressley in 2023? Staying true to herself. "I'm positive. I look for the best in every situation. I've been like that my whole life...and I hope I always am."

It's hard to believe that it's already been five years since Pressley popped onto the scene, first on Dance Moms (she credits the scandal-plagued series with helping her develop a thick skin, something that has served her well in Hollywood), then on Brat TV's series Stage Fright as Roxie (a role she reprised on Attaway General the next year).