Eva Mendes loves “playing Santa” for her daughters

Eva - who has her kids with boyfriend Ryan Gosling - said: “Christmas morning is pretty special, for sure. In a way, I get more excited. I mean - [my kids are] very excited, don’t get me wrong, but it’s like the joy of life. Playing Santa is quite something.”

The ‘Hitch’ star picked up tips on how to make Christmas exciting for her brood from her mother, as she says she now “appreciates” the effort her family went to in creating the perfect Christmas she remembers from her childhood.

She added: “My mum went really big with me when I was little. She would make Santa noises while we were asleep. Really sweet stuff. Now that I’m a mom, I just appreciate so much, like all the wrapped presents. [My mum] would hide some presents, and so I’m taking on some of her traditions and taking them to my daughters.”

But one thing Eva will never do is use the threat of Santa’s naughty list to make sure her children behave.

Asked if she’s ever told her kids she’ll phone Santa to make them behave, she said: “Oh no, no! I don’t end up using it that way!”

Meanwhile, Eva is keen to head back to work now that her daughters are getting older.

Speaking to People magazine, she said: “They’re starting school and so I’m feeling like I finally have a little time to myself. But also, I’m starting to find that ambition again that I lost a little bit. I was fine with losing it, it was a natural thing, but it transferred - the ambition was in the home.

“I’m still in the home, but I’m getting more of that call to work again. That’s exciting because it’s happening naturally. It’s exciting to feel that again.”