Actor Colin Farrell will be spending his first Christmas away from his native Ireland after deciding to invite all of his family to celebrate in Los Angeles instead.

The Phone Booth star reveals his mother, Rita, recently wed and she and his new stepfather, Joe, wanted to experience the holidays abroad for a change.

He explains, "Usually (I go home to Ireland), not this year, it'll be the first because mum's gonna be here with Joe... It'll be the first (Christmas in Los Angeles). There'll be about 14 (people) over at my house..."

However, Farrell admits waking up to sun instead of the usual chilly wind and snow on Christmas Day will be a "bit weird", adding, "It's a great time of year, the two weeks around Christmas, I'll miss (spending) it (in Ireland) this year, I must say."

And the father-of-two confesses this Christmas will be a lot less raucous than previous holidays, now that he's clean and sober: "It's not as loud, it's not as chaotic, but I do have more fun now, genuinely, and I can be there for certain people in my life in a way that I couldn't be there before."