As the oldest of four siblings, I was the first to find out that the supplier of Christmas presents isn’t the holly-jolly man in red that I thought it was. While of course that revelation was a little disappointing, learning the truth brought with it a sense of pride: I was a big kid, I was on my parents’ team now. And, therefore, I was so much cooler than my siblings.
That said, when you have multiple kids, being the keeper of the Santa secret can get a bit complicated. But does it have to ruin the holiday magic? Tiffani Thiessen is here to say ho-ho-no.
We sat down with the actress, author, and mother of two to discuss all things festive for her new partnership with JOANN, and let’s just say, when it comes to creating holiday magic for her family, Thiessen goes all out.
In fact, Thiessen — who spoke at our annual BlogHer Creators Summit in 2018 — described one year when she actually had her husband grab one of his boots and “put a bunch of dirt and mud on it” and place boot prints trailing out of her chimney. Now that’s commitment.
Thiessen also shared that she starts decking the halls with holiday decorationsbefore Thanksgiving. That’s right: Right now, her L.A. home is stocked with a fully decorated Christmas tree, DIY wreaths, and festive couch pillows. To Thiessen, Thanksgiving is “just another extension of Christmas,” and she just loves “having the house looking festive.”
And when it comes to keeping the Christmas spirit alive, Thiessen tells SheKnows that having her 9-year-old daughter “in on the magic” held more fun than she anticipated. While the big Santa’s-not-real moment can evoke some bittersweet feelings for a lot of parents (kids grow up so fast!), Thiessen looks at it as a positive and describes the new dynamic between Harper and her Santa-believing 4-year-old brother Holt to be “very sweet.”
Similar to my own childhood pride in being in on the secret, Harper has also enjoyed “being able to feel like she’s a big girl and she’s on our side,” relays Thiessen.
Plus, when you still have a little one who’s experiencing the magic of Santa for the first time, it can (almost) be just as fun to live vicariously through them.
“I know as an adult, I feel like I’m reliving it all over again,” Thiessen tells SheKnows. “So, I know that’s sort of what it’s like for her — [she] gets to relive it with him.”
And if we’re being honest, while, yes, Christmas is about Santa, it’s also about spending time with family, which Thiessen says she enjoys most about the holiday season. This year, she is soaking it all up by spending quality time with her kids to prepare for the big day and is looking forward to crafting a new DIY advent calendar (her family makes a new one every year).
So, if you’re the ringleader of Christmas magic at home, don’t fret: No matter who believes and doesn’t believe, it’ll be a merry little Christmas all the same.
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