From playing Kelly Kapowski and Valerie Malone to being a full-time entertainer, home chef and mom,Tiffani Thiessenknows how to do it all.
“Holidays, from the momentHalloweenstarts and the whole rest of the year, is my favorite time of year,” Thiessen, who is partnering withJoannstores to help decorate her homefor the holidays, tells PEOPLE. “It’s always about spending time together and it very much means crafting.”
“It means spending time in the kitchen — my daughter and I cook a lot together now that she’s a lot older,” the actress adds ofHarper Renn, 9.
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AP for JOANN Stores
Tiffani Thiessen.AP for JOANN Stores
Thiessen has two children — Harper and her 4-year-old little brotherHolt Fisher— with actor husbandBrady Smith, whom she wed in 2005.
With Thiessen hosting bothThanksgivingandChristmasat her Los Angeles home this year, she’s “upping [her] DIY,” especially since Smith’s family is flying in from Texas for the latter holiday.
From making her own Thanksgiving table décor to Christmas wreaths to ornaments, Thiessenis not one to shy away from addingher own personal touches, admitting she has around “15 hot glue guns in [her] house.”
RELATED VIDEO: Tiffani Thiessen Reveals How Acting Influenced Her Love for Cooking and Entertaining
Speaking of her house, the formerBeverly Hills, 90210star describes the spaceas a “very old, traditional home.”
“A lot of brick, a lot of white — we have an old home, so our aesthetic is very traditional with a classic kind of modern sort of feel,” Thiessen says.
Though the actress wears many hats, she still finds it difficult to manage her time and make it work. When asked what her biggestchallenge as a mother has been, she replies, “Balancing it all.”
Earlier this year, Thiessen and Smith, 47, released a children’s book together calledYou’re Missing It!,a comedic “cautionary tale” of all the things a person could miss if their eyes are fixated on a screen. The idea spurred from a family policy of their own, where not only Thiessen and Smith monitor their children’s screen time, but also vice versa, so that each family membercan be fully present in family gatherings.
“When they’re at school, that’s when it’s all about mom stuff. I go to the gym, or I’m at work shooting or I’m doing my [phone calls] and emails and photo shoots,” theAlexa & Katiestar tells PEOPLE. “Then when it’s time for kids, it’s no screen. This is when we connect and start making homemade crafts and spend time together without it.”
With her two children growing up, Thiessen hopes that of all things she and her husband have taught Harper and Holt, what they take away the most is to “just be kind.”
“I feel like sometimes we’re living in a very busy world where people get in a bubble and it cantranslate to being slightly selfishat times,” Thiessen says. “Especially this time of year, it’s all about kindness, and I just want my kids to be kind.”
She adds with a smile, “When I have teacher conferences and I hear teachers telling me, ‘You have the sweetest children,’ literally, that makes my day.”
source: people.com
