Lacey Chabert on Her Favorite Holiday Traditions & the Genius Way She Gets Her Daughter To Sleep on Christmas Eve

Lacey Chabert loves everything about Christmas — and given the way she describes her childhood holidays, it’s no wonder. But these days the most magical thing about the season for the actress, designer, and mom of one is celebrating with her 7-year-old daughter Julia.

Chabert, who stars on the cover of SheKnows’s latest holiday issue, opened up about her favorite childhood holiday traditions and how she’s recreating them — as well as starting new ones — with her own family.

“I love the feeling of walking downstairs and seeing the Christmas tree lit up and [the] ornaments and it’s glowing,” she says. “It reminds me of my childhood and it brings back so many good memories and it gives me just this warm feeling. And I’ve really enjoyed being a mother [and] now recreating that for my daughter. The most special thing for the holidays for me, now, is passing on those traditions that I grew up with and seeing the magic through her eyes.”

From Christmas Eve cookie baking to Elf On the Shelf, Chabert delights in ways to make the holiday extra special for her daughter leading up to the big day. “We get very excited for Santa’s arrival,” she says. And fellow parents of little kids, take note: Chabert also shares a pro-tip for getting her daughter to sleep on Christmas Eve. After laying out all the cookies and carrots for Santa and the reindeer, she says, “We go to bed early after we’ve watched a Christmas movie by the fireplace with the beautiful twinkling lights on the Christmas tree. And then, it’s amazing, when we’re going to bed we always hear Santa’s bells. So we know the sleigh is nearby. So we know we have to go to sleep.”

Umm, genius! So let that be Chabert’s gift to parents everywhere. And for more of her favorite holiday traditions watch the full video, above, and check out our holiday issue cover story, The Queen of Christmas.