The 39-year-old actress - who has Nina, seven, and four-year-old Thomas with her husband Thomas Sadoski - makes a "girl's trip" out of visiting friends over New Year but will not travel during the height of the festive period because, to her, it would not be a vacation with children in tow.

She told People: "So the tradition is, really, we go, we get a tree, we decorate, and we’re home for Christmas. And then my daughter and I — for New Years — fly to my best friend's house down south and spend New Years with them. It's a girl's trip!

"I don't want to vacation [on] Christmas because vacationing with kids is not vacationing!"

The 'Dropout' star revealed that her son has had to learn that there are "very clear boundaries" when it comes to her sister, and she will not let him anywhere near her favourite toys.

She said: "My seven-year-old … she's very specific about the things she loves. The American Girl Dolls, he's not allowed to touch. She has very clear boundaries as to what he can touch and he can’t. But if it's outside of the private zone, then it's fair game, and they're pretty good at sharing

Meanwhile, Amanda is one of the biggest names in Hollywood having starred in the 'Mamma Mia!' films and 'Les Miserables' but admitted that away from the glamour of her job, she likes to sit at home and craft items by hand out of wool.

She said: "I sit and I crochet, or I go to the gym in the barn, or I go out to coffee with a fellow parent or a friend upstate. I get a lot of alone time on a train when I go to the city. If I have to go to the city, I take the train. And I get like an hour and 40 minutes alone time each way. And I'm always crocheting — knitting, crocheting, that's my lifestyle."