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Hallmark Channel favorite Tyler Hynes is sharing his favorite Christmas gift — and it’s not something that could ever fit under a tree.
The actor, 39, stars in Three Wisest Men, the third installment of the beloved Three Wise Men trilogy, which premieres on Saturday, Nov. 15. During a Facebook Live chat hosted by PEOPLE to celebrate the movie, Hynes, along with costars Andrew Walker and Margaret Colin, shared memorable gifts they’d received or given over the years.
Hynes, who recently returned from the sold-out Hallmark Christmas Cruise alongside 17 of his fellow network stars and more than 4,000 fans, began by recalling his desire for a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe ride-on car as a child, but soon shifted to a more recent gift he shared with his mom, Betty Hynes.
Allister Foster for Hallmark Media
“My mother’s birthday is the night before Christmas, and so my favorite sort of Christmas present thing is these last two years,” he began. “My mom is an avid cruise person, she loves going on cruises, and the fact that she’s now come on the last [Hallmark Christmas Cruise], and now we just did this one, There was a feeling at the end of this.
“We were having dinner on the last night in the room, and I asked her, ‘So, what was your favorite part?’ And she’s like, ‘Oh, this is gonna be like tradition? You’re gonna, like, recap the thing?'” Hynes continued. “I’m like, ‘Yeah.'”
Tyler Hynes/Instagram
The actor, who also starred in Christmas Above the Clouds earlier this month, went on to explain that part of spending the time on the cruises includes quality time with Walker and his wife, Cassandra Troy, who is also Hynes’ cousin, along with the other actors and Hallmark staffers.
“To be in this circumstance with my mom in an activity that she loves more than anything with these movies, which she’s now come to love, with all these people she’s gotten to know, that is, by a mile, the greatest gift that I’ve ever had,” Hynes concluded.
Hynes is also thrilled to be given the gift of a third movie in the Wise Men franchise.
Craig Minielly/Hallmark Media
“It feels good,” he told PEOPLE during an exclusive set visit. “I think the audience has become very familiar with the family and these characters. I think it’s a big challenge for [costars and co-writers] Paul Campbell and Kimberley Sustad and the entire team to try to do something that feels new and fresh while still capturing the same feeling that people are showing up for. And selfishly, it’s another chance to spend time with my friends and run amok.”
As for his role in the film, Taylor Brenner “is in a different place at the top of the movie when we first see him,” Hynes said. “He is deeply in love with Caroline, who we met in the last movie, and we see a different shade of him in this movie, which I’m excited about. He’s matured over the years, and that’s always good to see in a degenerate young man.”
Craig Minielly/Hallmark Media
Ultimately, Hynes added, “Taylor’s just a big softie in this movie.”
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Three Wisest Men premieres on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, Nov. 15, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. An extended cut of the film — complete with a slightly different ending — will debut on Hallmark+ on Sunday, Nov. 16.
