How to Help Your Child Fall Asleep on Christmas Eve
- Laura Thompson | 22nd December 2021 -
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house … no one could sleep because they were just FAR TOO EXCITED!
I would say that at around age 3-4 my children really started to get what was going on at Christmas time, the magic was well and truly alive and it’s such a beautiful and special thing to see as parents. That is until 9pm on Christmas Eve when your child is still full of energy and you actually need to go and peel some spuds and maybe drink a Baileys!?
So get ready for my top tips to help excited little one’s sleep on Christmas Eve!
Stick To Routine
Of course you are going to have some extra special traditions to include in your bedtime routine on Christmas Eve but let’s try and keep the basics the same. Try and keep the general structure and timings of your bedtime routine as this will help your children relax and wind down.
Avoid Screens
Watching Christmas films on Christmas eve is a beautiful, cosy Christmas tradition but generally my advice is to avoid screen for 1-1.5 hours before bed. The blue lights supress the production of the sleep hormone melatonin and for a child who is already over excited that’s the last thing we want! Consider having your Christmas film in the afternoon and spending the evening doing some other lovely Christmassy activities! Crafts, colouring, puzzles, baking, stories or winter walks!
Don’t Push Bedtime Too Late!
As I mentioned above your best bet for a silent night on Christmas eve is to try and stick to routine where you can! That means keeping bedtime as close to regular time as you can, pushing it later could just cause over tiredness and even more difficulty settling down to sleep … plus probably a grouchy child on Christmas day!
Reset
If you have done all the above, you put your child to bed and they just still seem far too over excited after 20 minutes or so then try a reset. Bring them downstairs and spend 20-30 minutes doing some calm, quiet activity with them such as reading, colouring or jigsaws. Then repeat your final bedtime step and try again when they are a little more relaxed.
You know what, your little one might just surprise you! Last year my then 4 year old could not WAIT to go bed and wanted to go to bed at 5pm (we didn’t put him to bed quite THAT early!) because he just wanted to go to sleep and wake up again on Christmas day!
I let you know how we get on this year with a 5 year old and 3 year old!
