Some children fall asleep with relative ease most nights, while some put up a bedtime fight every evening. Your little ones may habitually beg for ten more minutes, or they may regularly climb into bed ten minutes early. Whatever the case, the night before Christmas is usually one of the hardest nights of the year to get your children to go to sleep; even the typically well-behaved sleepers may be too excited for their morning gifts or too eager for a glimpse of Santa to settle down quietly. But if you are already dreading the Christmas Eve bed battles that are sure to come, there is good news! A well-planned Christmas Eve may help send your rowdy revelers off to sugar plum land faster than you ever thought possible.
A great Christmas Eve usually starts with a great Christmas Eve meal. If your night before Christmas usually includes an all-American Thanksgiving type dinner, then you are already on the right track. Turkey, chicken, and ham are known for their soporific properties. If you want to feed your little ones light dishes like salads or vegetables, make sure they are coupled with heavier foods, such as casserole dishes like potato or green bean casserole that help keep hunger down hours after eating. You don't want to eat too close to bedtime, of course, but it is always easier to sleep on a full tummy.
Give some consideration to your children's dessert as well. A small slice of chocolate cake or pie about an hour before bed will give your children a little extra energy to run off before crash time. With a big glass of milk, it will also help renew the full feeling in their bellies so you know they won't go to bed hungry. However, you should try to avoid an excess of sugary foods such as sweet potato casserole, corn bread, or pumpkin pie. A little sugar is helpful, but a lot of sugar becomes a hindrance.
The night-time activities that your children take part in are a big factor in how well they will sleep. This year, try to put away the movies and video games and let your children run around outside. Exercising in the cold burns more energy than exercising in warmer temperatures; a twenty-minute game of flag football in December may have the same benefits as an hour-long game in June. If the weather is prohibitively cold, however, try to come up with some constructive indoor activities that still allow your children to move. Younger children may enjoy dancing, gentle wrestling, or simply running up and down the hall; older kids could play games like Twister, motion-activated video games, or indoor freeze tag if you have a big enough living room.
The last ten or twenty minutes before bedtime should be devoted to calming down after an evening of activity. Now is a good time to read a book, watch a short film, or just relax on the couch with a cup of warm milk and talk. If you are musically inclined, you could break out the piano or guitar and sing a few Christmas carols, or even try it a capella if your children seem to be into it. A few minutes of relaxation before sleep will remind your children that they are, indeed, tired; and every child tends to sleep better if they get to spend a little bit of quality time with their parents just before bed.
The Christmas Eve night-time wars don't have to happen this year. No matter how excited your children are, with a belly full of good food, an evening of exercise behind them, and the assurance that their parents love them and want to spend time with them, they will be ready to fall asleep. Hopefully this night before Christmas will see not a creature stirring, not even a rambunctious toddler.
'Twas the Night Before Christmas