Vanessa Morgan Reveals Her Family’s Unique Christmas Tradition as She Shares Her ‘Foresty Vibe’ Holiday Card (Exclusive)

Vanessa Morgan can’t wait to celebrate her first holiday season with her two little ones.

While partnering with Shutterfly on her “foresty” holiday card, Morgan tells PEOPLE how she’s preparing for her first Christmas as a mom of two, and dishes the holiday traditions she plans to keep alive.

Earlier this year, the Riverdale alum, 32, welcomed her second baby, daughter Kaia, 3 months, with her boyfriend James Karnik. The baby girl joined the actress’ firstborn son River, 3, whom she shares with her ex-husband Michael Kopech.

As for how Morgan plans to spend the actual holiday, she tells PEOPLE, “I think for Christmas we’re going to go visit my partner James in Europe, which I think will be so fun and exciting. I’ve seen Europe at Christmas and the little Christmas towns — I’m really big on Christmas and the holidays, so I’m excited to experience that with them overseas.”

While there, Morgan and Karnik plan to recreate their new favorite holiday tradition for their children.

“We started this with James last year, where the kids wake up and you put wrapping paper on either a door or the hallway entrance to the living room, so they can’t see the Christmas tree,” the proud mom explains. “So it’s like they wake up and they have to knock down the wrapping paper to get to the room with the Christmas tree.”

The actress can’t take credit for the fun activity, as she admits, “I saw it on TikTok last year and we wanted to try it.” After watching River’s excitement the first time around, she and Karnik added it as one of their own traditions.

Before heading to Europe, the mom of two got her 2024 holiday card all prepped and ready with a little help from Shutterfly. “I live by the beach, and we took beautiful Christmasy beach photos,” she explains.

In addition to the beachy background, Morgan had a very clear vision for the brown and burgundy color scheme of the card. “My whole thing was browns for a wood, foresty vibe, and burgundy for a Christmas touch.” The color combination and local location made for a holiday card that’s “very much our family’s aesthetic,” she says.

During the photo shoot, Morgan was excited to share that her “kids were really good,” especially River, who “was loving it.”

“We were on the beach. He got to throw rocks in the ocean, which he loved.” Baby Kaia, on the other hand, “got a little upset at the very end just because it started raining.”

Despite some poor weather and a few tears, Morgan says, “Honestly, it didn’t really even feel like a shoot. It felt like just fun little time with my family, so that was nice.”

When it came to picking a favorite photo to send to friends and family, Morgan says the one she chose was “such a nice, natural moment.” She adds, “It wasn’t a posed moment, just something the photographer just caught in action and I find that really beautiful.”

As for picking the perfect personalized gifts, Morgan has the line-up impressively planned out.

“My family has always done a photo book for me growing up and it’s something really nostalgic,” Morgan says, sharing that she’s now paying it forward with a Shutterfly Photo Book for her parents filled with pictures of Kaia and River. “I find that this generation, because we have Instagram, we don’t really do that much, but it’s something that is nostalgic to me and I want my kids to have that.”

Karnik and Morgan “are super into tea,” she tells PEOPLE, and “he’s requested a large mug for Christmas. I love it because he’s a very large person, he is 6’9, so I’m going to do a large personalized Shutterfly Mug with some cute photos of us on the mug. I feel like he’ll find that really cute.”

She adds, “I’m one of those people who love sentimental gifts that mean something, like the little home touches for myself and my family members — memorable stuff you can actually hold in your hand and not just virtual on your phone. It’s just so special.”