Steal these 5 holiday hacks from Chrissy Teigen and John Legend to make the season merry and bright

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Chrissy Teigen and John Legend are the ultimate Hollywood power couple. She's a model and best-selling cookbook author; he's a Grammy Award-winning musician. But, while the two lead very busy lives, they make a point of create a special holiday experience for their kids Luna, 5, and Miles, 3.

"There's so much newness happening at our kids' ages," Teigen says as part of the Yahoo Life Holiday Home and Tell series. "They look at everything so bright-eyed and excited."

The couple don't always get every detail perfect, though: "We definitely blackened a turkey on accident in a deep fryer, which is near impossible," Teigen says. "It was a mess," Legend agrees. But they put a lot of heart, soul and fun into the experience.

So, how do the holidays work in the Teigen-Legend household? They follow five simple steps for making the season next-level for everyone involved — and you can steal their tricks, too.

1. Start playing holiday music ASAP

While their kids want to listen to Christmas music year-round, Legend tries to hold off until the actual holidays hit."I started playing a Christmas playlist the day after Thanksgiving," he says. "It feels good to get in the mood."

2. Decorate whatever trees are available

There's no rule that says you need to schlep to a farm or stand to get a tree. "We have a tree that already is in the house," Legend says. "It's just kind of in the middle in a place where you might put a Christmas tree, and so we just decorated that tree."

3. Enjoy the holidays someplace chilly

The family tries to get away from balmy Los Angeles each year. "We grew up in colder weather and we feel like Christmas isn’t Christmas if it’s not cold," Legend says. "That will be part of our tradition."

4. Go big with family PJs

Teigen and Legend are into putting the whole family into matching festive pajamas. "We love the matching onesies," Legend says. "We love doing that on Christmas morning when we open presents with the kids. It’s just corny and sweet."

5. Don't forget the food

"Food is so important," Legend says, noting that the family makes his "granny's greens" with a recipe his grandmother taught him and Teigen. "We definitely have some of those soul food traditions," Legend says. "Chrissy comes from a multicultural house where she learned Thai food, American food — all kinds of stuff. We’re able to bring it together and just have some of the coolest food in the world."

Another thing the family loves to do is to have the kids make Chex Party Mix. "If you're having a holiday party, it’s so fun to be able to do a Chex Mix bar," Teigen says. She likes to put out an assortment of treats and let people (and her kids) DIY. A family favorite involves Corn Chex, nuts, bite-size pretzels, bagel chips, marshmallows, popcorn, mini peanut butter cups, caramel cubes and white chocolate flakes, topped with melted butter and Worcestershire sauce.

Christmas is going to be amazing. We love getting away for the holidays together and just enjoying the kids."John Legend

"It makes me happy to see them creating something delicious and fun together," Teigen says. "We try to find little things like that where they can just remember the experience," Legend says.

Now, the family is looking forward to another memorable holiday season. "Christmas is going to be amazing," Legend says. "We love getting away for the holidays together and just enjoying the kids."

— Video by Olivia Schneider

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