Start This Fun Tradition Christmas Morning Plus 5 Ways to Get More Sleep
Ahhh. The elusive sleep Christmas morning.
For many parents, sleep doesn't come until the teenage years. They long for the morning that they aren't awoken to pokes from tiny fingers or toes in their back before the sun starts rising over the horizon.
This is especially true on Christmas morning.
The night before, most parents pull all-nighters. Reminiscent of their college days. Putting together bikes, dollhouses, and tiny kitchens. Wrapping each present perfectly and setting it under the tree only to be ripped to shreds in a few short hours.
After all the work is done, and the last drop of coffee is gone from the cup, they sit back and stare at the beautiful sight.
The stillness of the night, lit by the tree, is a sight to be seen.
The Christmas tree shining in all its glory. The presents are all wrapped up in pretty papers and tied with shining bows.
STOP spending hours searching for Christmas Ornaments to make with your children on Pinterest!
Here are 30 Red Ted Art readers' FAVORITE Christmas Ornaments brought together in one book.
These ideas are tried and tested and can be enjoyed by the whole family!
Then they look at the clock. In horror, reality sets in. In just a few short hours, their tiny ones will be awake.
Scurrying to bed, they get settled, and fall asleep, only to be awakened an hour later with children bouncing on their bed. Eyes wide open, ready to open the much-anticipated presents laid under the tree.
Begging for just a few more minutes, the tinies don't back down. They will not give up until the parents are headed downstairs.
Thankfully, the coffee pot was set on auto-brew.
While that is the story for many who will wake up on Christmas morning, it doesn't have to be you! Here are five ways you too can get more sleep on Christmas Morning.
5 Ways Parents Can Sleep Christmas Morning
1. Set your clocks back an hour.
If your children are accustomed to watching the clock to know what time they can get out of their room, set the clock back an hour. It will make a funny story when they are older.
2. The last kid up gets to open the first present.
While it's possible, they could work together and wake up at the same time, it's still worth a shot.
3. Blackout curtains.
Do you have (affiliate link) these? You should. I will never forget the time we were on vacation in a timeshare that had the best blackout curtains ever. Seriously, they were the best. I was pregnant with our second child and we had our toddler in the other room. Since she was usually our alarm clock, we didn't set one. When we heard her stirring, I looked at the clock and it was 10:30 in the morning. It was the best sleep I can remember. LOL
4. Cuddle in bed watching a Christmas movie.
While they watch the movie, you can take a catnap. Don't have a television in your room? See if you can get the kids to cuddle with you before going to the tree. Sometimes, they will and fall back asleep.
5. Take care of breakfast the night before.
Try a breakfast casserole in the crockpot, or overnight oatmeal. By doing the prep the night before, you can catch a few more Zzzz's. You can also make this delicious and quick Creme Brulee French Toast that everyone will love.
Epic Tradition to Start to Get More Sleep Christmas Morning
Want more sleep on Christmas morning? Say the last one up gets to open their presents first.
While these won't work for all families, it's worth a shot.
The magical morning of Christmas won't be ruined by making your children wait just a little bit longer.
In fact, it might be more magical if the parents can be awake enough to remember to grab the camera and put creamer in their coffee instead of the pumped bottle of breastmilk in the fridge.
I grew up in Brazil and we always open presents on Christmas Eve at midnight, never on Christmas morning, so everybody can sleep in after the Christmas Eve party! 😉 So here at home, we do the same, my kids open their presents on Christmas Eve and on Christmas day we sleep in then have french toast (Brazilian way) for breakfast.
It’s so funny how Christmas traditions can change from country to country.
I’m glad I don’t have this problem anymore. These are great tip though.
I think we’re almost at the end of this season. It makes me sad, but I like sleep too. LOL. Thanks for stopping by!!
Oh man. I wonder how exhausted my folks were the Christmas Eve night they not only wrapped presents, but put up the tree and Christmas lights. It was the best Christmas ever, though. We (me and my brothers) were disappointed that no tree had been put up, or any decorations. We thought Christmas wasn’t coming that year. But lo and behold, we wake up and the house is decked out with the tree and presents and the lights/garland strung up. It was amazing and can’t wait to do it with my daughter (and hopefully other future children, if I ever manage to freaking conceive again) in the years ahead.
That is the best Christmas memory ever! I love that. I’m sure the look on your faces that morning was well worth the sleepless night.
Oh, Boy! These are some great ideas. I think I’ll have to try #2, I just wish I had thought of it 20 years ago. Good thing I still have kids 6-11 in the house.
My parents used to fill our stockings and place them on our door handles. We were allowed to open and play with whatever was in them until our parents woke up. We were allowed to go to each other’s rooms, but we were not allowed in the living room where the tree and presents were until my parents awoke. There were usually a couple small toys or, in my case, a much sought after book, that would occupy us, at least for a little while.
These are great ideas.Christmas comes so early!
These are really great ideas
Those are great tips.
Ha ha I loved this post! Great, great ideas to keep in mind, thanks!
At my house it is not the kids but my husband that is the first person up. He LOVES Christmas and wakes early and gets everyone up. I am lucky if the sun is up. It is really cute though.
My 2 older sisters and my Dad were the late sleepers. My mother was as excited as I was. We opened our stockings, and and played until breakfast was ready, then opened presents. Mom made sure everyone else got up for breakfast early. With my own child, the big hand had to be on the 12 and the little hand had to be on the 7, before he was allowed to wake us up.