Jonathan Bennett Reflects on 2024 Being ‘the Best Year of My Life’ and Details What He Wants to Accomplish in 2025 (Exclusive)

Jonathan Bennett had a major 2024!

“It was probably the best year of my life,” the actor, 43, who rang in the New Year with Snapchat, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview.

“I got to do so many things that I’ve always wanted to do. I got to launch my new Hallmark show, Finding Mr. Christmas, I got to make my Broadway debut, I got to be in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” he continues.

“There were so many bucket list moments,” adds the Mean Girls alum.

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According to Bennett, he wants to go even bigger in his career in the new year.

“For 2025, I am going to work hard to try to find ways to match 2024 — or even beat it and make it better,” he explains.

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One passion project he has his eyes set on is to step away from being in front of the camera and go behind it to “direct something,”

“That would be my next thing that I’d like to add to my bucket list,” he says, adding, “I’d love to direct a Christmas movie or romantic comedy.”

As for 2025 resolutions that involve his husband, Jaymes Vaughan, Bennett tells PEOPLE they want to find more ways to collaborate professionally.

“We got to do something super special [in 2024], which is, in my Hallmark Christmas movie that came out, Season’s Greetings from Cherry Lane, we actually got to use my husband’s Christmas song as the song of the movie,” he says.

“There was that moment when you are watching your Hallmark movie that you’re starring in, and then your husband’s voice comes in as the soundtrack,” Bennett, who married Vaughan in March 2022, continues. “I just thought it was such a neat moment, and it made me want to have more moments like that where we kind of intertwine our art together.”

He adds, “There’s literally no more perfect Hallmark moment than your husband’s song playing during the emotional part of your Hallmark movie.”