How to get your kids to sleep on Christmas Eve

Stick to any pre-established routines

Don’t deviate from any normal bedtime routines just because it’s Christmas. Sticking to your routines will allow your children to start getting tired around the same time as any pre-arranged bedtimes. If they need to wake up early on Christmas morning, perhaps send them to bed slightly earlier the night before, or prepare them for their wake-up time by waking them up slightly earlier a few days before Christmas to get them used to the earlier times. A study by the National Library of Medicine found that, with an established bedtime routine, children’s sleep patterns and duration improved, and a consistent routine is most effective.

Cut down on sugar

We understand that limiting sugar on Christmas Eve seems borderline impossible; however, cutting your child’s sugar intake can help them sleep much better. To avoid any sugar highs that’ll prevent your children from falling asleep, limit sugar or cut it out altogether until Christmas Day to help them get to sleep. 

Give your children a dinner that is filling enough to leave them satisfied until bedtime, or give them a healthier or sugar-free snack before bed to satisfy any hunger pangs. Warm milk is usually a good pre-sleep drink, as it contains the amino acid, tryptophan, which is known to optimise and speed up sleep - especially amongst those suffering from insomnia. 

Another study by the National Library of Medicine found that tryptophan converts into important sleep-signalling hormones like melatonin and serotonin, both of which play an important role in helping your body relax and fall asleep. Therefore, giving your child some warm milk before they go to bed can enable them to fall asleep much quicker and easier. 

Tire them out during the day

Having an active day by going on a big walk, going to visit family, or heading out for a last minute Christmas shopping trip can help your children feel much more tired in the evenings. Exposure to sunlight goes hand in hand with exercise and will also help your kids to fall asleep much easier and feel tired earlier, as it’ll allow them to associate darkness with sleep. Similarly, exposure to the sun has been shown to increase Vitamin D concentrations, another essential element for optimal sleep.   

Limit screen time

Take away your children’s screens to help them sleep better. You can limit their screen time slowly throughout the day leading up to bedtime, which will help them expect to be fully off their phones or screens before bed. The blue light from screens can affect sleep in adults and children, so it’s important that you limit their screen time and get them to read a festive themed book or do an activity that is mentally stimulating, such as an activity or game, which could induce tiredness. 

Plan ahead

If it becomes a recurring problem that your children are not sleeping on Christmas Eve, you may want to set some expectations of when you plan on sending them to bed, so they can begin to wind down for the night. Agreeing on a pre-set bedtime can make their bodies feel more tired ahead of sleep time, rather than enforcing a sudden bedtime when they don’t feel tired enough to sleep.