You may know Adrienne Bailon-Houghton as one-fourth of The Cheetah Girls, one-third of girl band 3LW, Emmy-winning host of the talk show The Real or founder of the luxury brand, LA VOÛTE. But now, the actress and singer is getting prepped for the holiday season and giving her best tips on how to stay organized and calm during the impending craziness.
Where do you best remember Adrienne Bailon-Houghton from?
As a new mother, Bailon-Houghton has partnered with baby detergent brand Dreft, which feels very on-brand for her as she stays on top of holiday messes while looking after her two-year-old son, Ever James.
“I feel like definitely having go-to products that actually work allow you to enjoy more of the festivities during the holidays,” she shared.
But that’s not the only thing keeping the multi-talented star neat and organized during the midst of the holiday madness, and the actress shared her top tip for keeping everything in order.
“I am a list girl,” Bailon-Houghton pointed out. “I either do wildly detailed lists on my phone or I actually have a bunch of notepads around my house, in my nightstand, kitchen drawers. I’m constantly making lists of the things that I have to get done.”
She also recommends maintaining a clean space to keep things in order. “I know this sounds crazy, but for me cleaning is therapeutic…I feel like I have so much chaos up here as a mom that I need it to be spotless out here, so that my mind can function properly… I get to start my day with a fresh start and a clean home. That, to me, is everything.”
Adrienne Bailon-Houghton’s top holiday organization hacks
Bailon-Houghton has a few more tricks up her sleeve when it comes to surviving the holidays, including staying ahead of the game. Preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmas can be a time of panic and frenzy trying to get everything done in time, but she says it doesn’t need to be.
“Being ahead of schedule,” the singer shares of how to stay on top of things. “I think so many of us think, ‘Oh, Thanksgiving is so far away’ or ‘Christmas seems far away’ — no, get started yesterday… I think knocking out your list early instead of being a procrastinator, you will find some peace.”
The star also suggests that having a few hours to yourself at night is a great way to get things done and stay ahead of schedule. “I have been trying to figure out this hack of joining the 5:00 AM club and also trying to put my son to sleep and still knock out some things that I have to get done around the house,” she shared. “Something about that allows me to wake up with peace, instead of waking up with anxiety.”
Family traditions Adrienne Bailon-Houghton is passing to her son
As far as holiday traditions go, Bailon-Houghton is continuing one that was started while growing up in the Lower East Side in New York.
“[My mom] would take us to Macy’s Herald Square, and we would take our photos with Santa Claus. I have so many terrible haircuts and photos of every single year,” Bailon-Houghton explained. “But that was our yearly tradition that I absolutely love, and I’ve started it with my son.”
She continued, “We did it last year and I have already made his appointment online to take his pictures with Santa Claus at Macy’s. I feel like it’s the ultimate New Yorker thing to do. So, I’m very excited about that and when he gets older, he’ll just have, like, a book of every year with Santa…it’s just going to be amazing.”
Behind-the-scenes memories from filming ‘The Cheetah Girls’
The former Cheetah Girl also had a moment to reminisce on her days in the girl group. Bailon-Houghton was a member from 2003 to 2008, along with Sabrina Bryan and Kiely Williams. Raven-Symoné joined the girls in the musical group for two of three films produced by Disney, as well as the albums associated with the movies.
When asked what her favorite memories from The Cheetah Girls era were, Bailon-Houghton had a sweet response.
“I would say one of my favorite Cheetah Girl memories would be, honestly, the first movie,” she shared. “The first movie, the bonding that we did in our trailers. It was the first movie I’d ever filmed in my life. So just being a part of that, to me, was just the coolest thing.”
The former girl group star also shared a few behind-the-scenes secrets from the film. Bailon-Houghton pointed out that although the movie appeared to be filmed in New York City, it was really shot in a freezing Toronto.
“It was supposed to be jean jacket weather, but we were freezing,” she detailed. “And that emotional scene that I do with Dorinda (Sabrina Bryan), where I tell her you’re a Cheetah Girl because of what’s in your heart…I had to always suck on ice, and the moment they started seeing the heat come out of my mouth from how cold it was, they would call cut and I’d have to suck on more ice to cool off my mouth so that hot air wouldn’t come out of my mouth because it was so cold.”
