Jessica Biel Spends Christmas 'All Over the Place,' Says It's an 'Overwhelming' Day for Her Kids
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After a busy year, Jessica Biel is looking forward to spending the holiday season with her family.
"We spend Christmas all over the place," the actress tells PEOPLE exclusively. "We never know where we're going to be. We have no tradition really around it. Sometimes we're in snow, sometimes we're by the ocean. We have no rhyme or reason currently as to where we should be or where we're going to be."
The 40-year-old shares sons Silas, 7, and Phineas, 2, with her husband of almost nine years, Justin Timberlake, 41.
"Wherever we are, we will have some kind of tree and we will be up nice and early, and we will be enjoying that wonderful morning where they tear through a couple of presents and then get bored and don't want to do it anymore," Biel adds. "Then you spend days and days of presents still under the tree."
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Jessica Biel/Instagram
To keep the momentum of the day at a good pace for her children, the movie star likes to take things slow as she knows the holiday can be a lot for her children.
"I find that Christmas is kind of overwhelming for kids," Biel shares. "It's a lot of pressure. There's a lot of eyeballs on them, and they've got a lot of stuff to do. So, I like to slow-roll it. Sure, open one thing. We don't have to open anything else until tonight, and that sometimes happens for us."
Being a busy mom on the go, Biel gives herself grace when her mind slips on certain things for the kids this time of year.
"We usually do Elf on a Shelf, and I forgot this year," Biel admits. "I haven't done it once yet. We often go to spend time in the Caribbean for the holidays and I have an Elf on the Shelf there, so maybe when we get there. Elf on a Shelf only comes up for the last week or so, but that's just another mom tactic of, 'Oops, I forgot. How do I fix this?'"
Jessica Biel/Instagram
When the former 7th Heaven star isn't spending time with her kids, she's working on balancing life as an entrepreneur with her family health product lines KinderMed and KinderFarms, which she co-founded with business partner, Jeremy Adams.
"I wasn't even totally sure what I want in my life in terms of career-family balance," Biel says. "I wasn't even sure how that was going to pan out and I think when you have children, it just absolutely changes your mindset, your perspective, your goals."
Biel admits her priorities have shifted a bit since becoming a parent and she struggles just like everyone else on how to manage it all.
Jessica Biel/Instagram
"Everything is turned upside-down and your priorities change, of course," Biel says. "You're looking at what really is important and what's your best creative output in the world that can really make a change or make a difference or make it easier for people."
"I think I'm still as surprised as you, as this isn't necessarily what I had ever thought I'd be really passionate about," she continues. "Having kids just changes your mind about what matters and how you can be productive in the world."
The company offers everything from its KinderSprout plant-based protein shakes to KinderLyte electrolyte supplements and pain-reliever medications. Biel and Adams' products are available online and in 35,000 stores like Walmart and CVS nationwide.
"I was interested in getting more involved in entrepreneurship and business," Biel shares. "I had some ideas, he had some ideas, and so we were just connected through other colleagues, and this was the thing that really got us excited and thinking that this would be the space where we could work together."
Adams is impressed with how quickly Biel has adapted to her new entrepreneur title, too, making the partnership an easy win for them both.
"When we were introduced, we got on a phone call together, and we jumped on, and for 15 minutes we just were talking about family and had kids the same age, and it immediately went to the challenges of being a new parent," Adams tells PEOPLE. "Jess [was] looking to get into the space as well, it just seemed like the perfect match from day one. So, it was the only introduction that we had and it made so much sense. We just felt like it would be a great partnership and it definitely has been."
