Olivia Culpo Shares How Christian McCaffrey’s ‘Wild’ NFL Schedule Will Affect Their First Thanksgiving Married (Exclusive)

Olivia Culpo and Christian McCaffrey have a holiday game plan.

With respectively busy schedules as a full-time content creator and a professional NFL player, the newlywed couple has to be flexible around Thanksgiving and Christmas since the San Fransisco 49ers are in season.

Although this will be their first Turkey Day as a married couple since tying the knot in June, the pair are no strangers to coordinating around the football-centric holiday having dated for four years prior. This is especially true given that games can fall on the same day.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Culpo — who’s teaming up with PayPal to help shoppers save money around the holidays — broke down the untraditional way she plans to celebrate Thanksgiving with McCaffrey this year, despite not having a game.

“Having a husband in the NFL, you do have to base your holidays around their schedule,” Culpo tells PEOPLE exclusively. “Every time we get the new schedule, you have to check out… every year is very different and exciting. There’s not really one way to plan for consistency, which makes it interesting.”

While the 49ers don’t play again until Dec. 1 against the Buffalo Bills for an away game, Culpo says the team is very strict about players leaving town during the season. Still, they plan to make it work like they’ve previously done.

“So the past few years, my whole family’s actually been coming up to the Bay Area because they know that I’m kind of stuck up there because Christian can’t travel,” the fashion influencer says. Now, try to imagine the degree of strictness if there was a game.

“They have to sleep in a hotel the night before the games no matter what… so you’re not with them as much as people think,” Culpo explains of players and their partners in the NFL. “It’s always funny to me when people think he’ll roll out of bed the day of a game and show up an hour before.”

She adds, “It’s like it’s a whole situation, 48-hour lockdown, can’t go anywhere type of thing.”

Although McCaffrey doesn’t have a Thanksgiving game, Culpo says the team still treats Nov. 28 as a “normal work day,” noting that “they don’t get days off.” She explains, “After all of his meetings and everything that they do… he’ll probably finish around 6:00 or 7:00 p.m.”

“Then, hopefully, we’ll be able to give thanks around then,” Culpo foresees. “I know. I know. His schedule is wild.” Still, she proudly states, “I love married life. It’s so fun!” She explains, “I feel like you can really make the most out of the little moments. Everything feels easy to romanticize, in a way.”

After Thanksgiving, Culpo will set sail for an elongated holiday adventure with her brood. The Rhode Island native has four siblings: older brother Pete, older sister Aurora, younger brother Gus and younger sister Sophia.

“We’re actually going on a family cruise for Thanksgiving,” she shares. “It’s the new Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection… We’re so excited. I’ve heard so many great things,” she says of the all-inclusive luxury voyage at sea.

McCaffrey won’t be on board because he’s “very much in-season mode,” reveals Culpo. “He’ll be in the Bay Area for all of the holidays — and then, hopefully, he’ll be able to get to see his [Los Angeles] house at some point.”

Culpo’s extended family, meanwhile, will join her on the trip. “Our family is growing. We have so many nieces and nephews and they’re going to come also… I feel like a cruise is a good way to make sure that the kids are occupied, but the adults can also have fun.”

Ultimately, the social media personality ensured that she and her family will “definitely” be “spending a lot of time together” around Thanksgiving and Christmas. “We love the holidays. It just wouldn’t be the same without our matching pajama tradition!”

Well, matching pajamas — and of course Culpo’s love for holiday gift-giving, which she starts “super early” compared to the average shopper. “I usually start planning everybody’s Christmas gifts at least a week before Thanksgiving,” she reveals.

This is why Culpo’s partnership with PayPal makes so much sense! “I love a good deal,” she admits, stressing that shoppers “have to take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday and deals like the PayPal debit card, 5% cash back… You will save so much money!”

She adds, “And then, you get it out of the way.”