WITH Christmas just over three weeks away, you might think Matthew Broderick would be getting all hot and bothered about his shopping list. After all, what do you buy Sarah Jessica Parker, the woman who seems to have everything.
"Jewellery works," grins the 44-year-old actor. But he says he knows better than to buy his shoe-struck wife anything else to wear.
Sarah Jessica not only set trends on Sex And The City but also got involved in designing.
And she still receives the latest of everything from top designers.
"I never buy outfits for my wife - ever," he laughs, revealing their house already has a room full of Sarah Jessica's ultra-fashionable gear.
"She wears everything and she gets everything for free, so what am I going to do?"
But Sarah Jessica's passion for fashion has proved to be catching and now Matthew has been bitten by the shoe-collecting bug.
"Even before Sex And The City, I remember when I first got to know her, I asked 'are these all your shoes?'
"And now I have to admit, I have quite a number of shoes. It's infectious. And then you start thinking - well, those shoes don't really go with this. So I gotta get those shoes. I'm very embarrassed about that."
However, this Christmas he says the real focus of presents will be their four-year-old son, James Wilkie.
"It is great to buy something good for my son but he has a lot of stuff," says Matthew.
But nowhere near as many shoes as his parents, he admits.
Like most youngsters his age, James' obsessions are TV cartoon characters.
Matthew added: "He loves Scooby-Doo at the moment. He's obsessed, so I can get anything at all connected with Scooby-Doo and he will love it."
It's fair to say that Christmas has been on Matthew's mind since the summer, when he was filming Deck The Halls, a Christmas movie with more than a touch of bah humbug.
Matthew plays a super-organised dad, who likes his traditional Christmas to run like clockwork - then gets embroiled in a feud with neighbour Danny De Vito about his over-the-top Christmas lights.
Matthew's wife is played by Kristin Davis who, of course, starred with Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and The City. "I have known Kristin for a long time and it was easy working with her because it wasn't a big romantic movie - that might have been different,'' laughs the actor. "I have liked her so much for years, so I was very happy that she wanted to do it. I've never worked with her before and Sarah said she'd be great - and she was."
"It was amazing and fascinating watching the crew pump out the fake snow." Unlike his screen character, Matthew is laid-back about the upcoming holiday. "Sarah Jessica likes to do most of the work," he smiles.
"A typical Christmas for me revolves around family, as well as eating enormous amounts of food.
"We've only lived in our house for about four years, so it's all a little bit new and having a four year old, Christmas really revolves around him and what he likes."
He added: "My wife has an enormous family, lots of brothers and sisters, so they come over, and my family comes over, and we just juggle going to different houses.\
The star's 12-year marriage seems rock solid, despite the fact he and Sarah Jessica are one of the busiest couples in Hollywood - and that Matthew isn't quite fast enough for his fast-talking, fast-acting wife.
Sarah Jessica has said she thinks her marriage works because she does everything for him.
"I take care of him," she revealed. "I pack for him. I shop for him. I get his groceries. That's who Matthew is - people take care of him."
Matthew admits his wife doesn't like it when he puts stuff off.
"I don't always unpack in time. I don't make decisions quickly enough for her. We're different that way," he said.
"She's very like an executive who can quickly decide what to do and move forward, always moving. I'm slower, and that probably annoys her."
Deck The Halls is on release now.
'Even before Sex And The City, when I first knew her, I asked 'are these all your shoes?'