Angelina Jolie on 'The Best Thing' About Parenthood

Evan Agostini/AP

Next month, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie will reportedly be spending the holiday abroad in one of the birth countries of their three adopted children. The 33-year-old actress admits that with six children in all, the couple is "usually exhausted by Christmas Eve." It’s an exhaustion she looks forward to, however. Calling the holiday season "kind of the best thing about being a mom and dad," Angelina adds,

"We love it — it’s that fun of sitting up in the middle of the night and wrapping the presents together and doing the stockings and all that kind of stuff."

Together, Brad and Angelina are parents to Maddox Chivan, 7, Pax Thien, turning 5 this month, Zahara Marley, 3 ½, Shiloh Nouvel, 2, and twins Knox Léon and Vivienne Marcheline, 4 months.

Source: BBC

Comments

I would like to see the Jolie -Pitt family on the people magazine again.

- (LOVE- J ) on November 24th, 2008

I just love this family They just seem so real and down to earth. I love to see more pics of the twins. They’re probably to adorable by now. God bless and I wish them all the happiness in the world.BAMPZSKV.

- paige on November 24th, 2008

I love xmas!! I love seeing how happy my daughter gets when we put up the trees and decorations and how her face lights up when she wakes up in the morning and sees the xmas tree with presents…it makes me tear up just thinkin about it.

- Bren on November 24th, 2008

I agree that Christmas is one of the best days of the year for parenting. It’s really difficult not to go overboard. Even Brad said in his Oprah interview, “The kids each get one gift Christmas Eve and then Christmas day we go crazy.”

- UggaMugga.com on November 24th, 2008

I have to say, we, as in my siblings and I, still do the same thing. One present on christmas eve after baths and new pj’s and then after mass in the morning it’s madness. And the youngest in our family is 15 lol
I think it’s why Christmas is still magical for us.

- Daisy on November 24th, 2008

I can’t WAIT for Christmas when I have kids!

- natasha on November 24th, 2008

Christmas must be really cute and exciting with all those kids.

- Jade on November 24th, 2008

X-mas is for kids I guess, all their excitement is the real joy of the holiday. Too bad I’m neither a kid, nor have one

- Artemis on November 24th, 2008

Artemis I agree, I don’t have that christmas feeling anymore either. It’s quite sad! When I have children it will be back in a whole new way I guess.

- Sarita on November 24th, 2008

I totally agree with her… it’s exhausting, which is why I try to start shopping early to spread out the stress so it doesn’t overwhelm me.

But seeing them that morning with all their stuff and seeing how grateful they are is just so worth it.

- Kat on November 24th, 2008

Artemis- You don’t need to be a kid to enjoy Christmas. I don’t feel the same way about Christmas as I did as a kid, but I still find it to be a very magical, fun time a year!

As my dad once said, “Christmas is for children of all ages!” (meaning for the child in all of us! )

- CelebBabyLover on November 25th, 2008

Some of my best memories from childhood was Christmas when my brother, and I were little. It was definitely the best. Then my brother/I got older, and my cousins were born. It was def. better just the two of us lol.

I bet Christmas is fun in the Jolie-Pitt household. All the cute kids I’m sure they get many presents, but still on a level that keeps the kids grounded. They seem like a very down-to-earth family. Hope we see some holiday pics of the family soon!

- Mia on November 25th, 2008

Oh, and I think they will be spending Christmas in Ethiopia. Angie apparently mentioned in one of her recent interviews that they’ll be in Ethiopia in a few weeks’ time.

On the one hand, I’m afraid that them going to Ethiopia will send the tabs into overdrive with adoption rumors (unfourtnately, the tabs are likely going to ignore the fact that Angie said they can’t even start the process until the twins are six months old, which is Janaury).

On the other hand, a big part of me hopes they are going to Ethiopia, as I believe it will be Zee Zee’s first visit back to her birth country. Mad has been back to Cambodia at least twice, and it hasn’t even been two years since Pax was adopted, so he probably still has a clear picture of Vietnam in his head (especially considering the fact that he was already 3 1/2 when he was adopted).

Zee Zee, on the other hand, hasn’t been to Ethiopia since she was adopted, to my knowledge. Angie and Brad have always spoken about bringing Maddox and Pax back to their birth countries for visits, and they’ve even mentioned bringing Shiloh back to her birth country (Namibia) for visits but I have never heard them say the same for Zee Zee.

I’m glad they are apparently going to keep her connected to her birth country as well. I do wonder though about taking such little babies into a country like Ethiopia. Four months seems too young for them to be vaccinated against all the dieases prevelant in most of Africa (then again, Shiloh was actually born in Africa, so maybe it is safe!).

Or Ethiopia one of the safer African countries to take young babies to?

- CelebBabyLover on November 25th, 2008

What a lovely sentiment, Christmas is a lovely time. Especially with a big family.

I wish this family well in all their endeavours.

- taegan on November 26th, 2008

I actually don’t think Pax remember that much of his time in Vietnam. I have a friend who was adopted at the age of five from a foreign country, and he does not remember very much. U actually forget kinda fast when you are that little and 31/2 is not much.

- Jenny on November 30th, 2008