Christmas Eve Bedtime: Getting an Excited Child to Sleep

To get an excited child to sleep on Christmas Eve, tire them out outdoors in the daytime, keep the evening calm and screen-free, and then do the normal bedtime steps in the normal order, just slower. Use bath time to talk through what happens tonight, including what to do if they wake, and remind them Santa only comes once they’re asleep. Agree the morning rule before lights out, not at 5am. Then do the stocking once they’re properly asleep, in a way that doesn’t mean you’re up until two.

When you’re the only grown-up, it’s the longest bedtime of the year with nobody to tag in.

Christmas Eve day: use the daylight

The Sleep Charity’s Lisa Artis, in a Christmas Eve sleep tips piece written with the National Bed Federation, says keeping children active during the day “helps to tire them out, burn off excess energy and get them sleep-primed”. She suggests a family walk or a themed treasure hunt “in the fresh air”, then “calming hand-eye coordination activities for the evening”.

This year Christmas Eve is a Thursday. Get the last shopping done earlier in the week, so the day can be a walk, a park and a free lights trail rather than a queue. A puzzle, colouring or Lego counts as a calm evening activity; a film marathon followed by straight to bed doesn’t. If you want a Christmas film, have it in the afternoon. Betteroo has an age-sorted list of Christmas films if you need a gentle one for a little one.

Two things that work against you:

• The sugar. Artis suggests keeping chocolates, snacks and mince pies “high up to avoid temptation”. The Sleep Charity’s own Christmas sleep advice says to “limit sugary snacks and avoid giving caffeinated beverages close to bedtime”. Give the chocolate coins in the morning, not at 7pm.
• Screens. Artis says “turn off screens an hour before bedtime”.

Make the Christmas Eve box part of bedtime, not a warm-up act

A Christmas Eve box doesn’t need to be expensive: a shoebox with pyjamas, a Christmas book and something for a warm milky drink. Artis suggests leaving “a festive milky drink for Santa (and carrots for the reindeer)” and having one yourselves.

What matters is when it’s opened. Opened at 4pm, a Christmas Eve box is another present that winds them up. Opened at bath time, it becomes the start of the routine:

1. Bath, kept “quiet and calm”, as Artis puts it.
2. Open the box. New pyjamas on, which Artis reminds us should be comfy, “not scratchy”.
3. Milky drink and the Santa snack put out together.
4. Teeth.
5. The new book in bed, or a carol instead of a story, which Artis also suggests.
6. Lights out at roughly the usual time.

Artis says it’s fine to consider “a slightly longer wind-down routine if your child is particularly excited”. So keep the steps but stretch them, rather than skipping straight to “in you get”. If you want the routine itself to be shorter on ordinary nights, my single-parent bedtime routine covers that. On Christmas Eve, the length is the point.

If the budget’s tight this year, my Christmas on a budget plan treats pyjamas and small extras as their own pot, so the box doesn’t come out of the present money.

Talk about the night before it starts

Artis says bath time is a good chance to “chat calmly about what the night might bring – and what they should do if they wake up in the night”. She adds that young children “are more sensitive and easily scared than we realise”. For a small child, a stranger coming into the house in the dark can be frightening rather than magical.

Some things worth saying out loud:

• “Santa only comes once you’re fast asleep.” That one’s straight from Artis.
• “If you wake up and it’s still dark, it’s still night.” Then give them the rule for what to do: lie down, cuddle the toy, call for you if they need you.

If your child is genuinely scared of Santa coming in, rather than excited, put the stocking somewhere that isn’t their room this year. Downstairs by the tree is fine. My piece on bedtime after a fright has more on settling a child who’s worked themselves up.

The room

Artis recommends a room temperature of “ideally 16 – 18 degrees Celsius” and blackout curtains. For babies, the Lullaby Trust recommends 16 to 20°C.

If you’ve got a baby, keep the cot clear on Christmas Eve too. The Lullaby Trust says “the safest cot is a clear cot” and to keep it free of “any items that could cover your baby’s face and head”. That includes the new soft toy, the fluffy blanket and the Christmas cushion. They can live on a shelf where your baby can see them.

Doing the stocking on your own

Nobody’s coming to help, so plan for that.

• Have everything ready by the afternoon. Wrap it, put batteries in and cut toys out of their packaging. Do the batteries in daylight, not at midnight with a butter knife.
• Fill the stocking in your room while they’re getting ready for bed. Then it’s one trip, not ten.
• Wait until they’re properly asleep. That means still, heavy breathing, and not answering when you whisper their name. Give it longer than you think. The first half hour after an excited bedtime is when they pop up.
• Hang it outside the door or downstairs if their room creaks or they’re a light sleeper. A stocking doesn’t have to be on the end of the bed to be magic.
• Then go to bed. The tidying can wait for Boxing Day.

The 5am wake: decide the rule tonight

You won’t stop an excited child waking early on Christmas Day, but you can decide in advance what happens when they do.

A few options that work:

• The stocking is the deal. They can open the stocking in bed, or in your bed, but downstairs and the tree wait until it’s light or until a set time.
• A clock that does the telling. A colour-changing sleep-trainer clock like the Tommee Tippee Groclock gives them a visible signal for when it’s morning. Betteroo’s guide on how these toddler clocks work suggests sticking with the same wake-up time for one to three weeks for it to work. Start it in mid-December, not on Christmas Eve.

The Sleep Charity also suggests that if your child “is younger or needs extra sleep”, they should get the chance of a nap in the day “to compensate for any missed sleep at night”. On Christmas Day that might be a buggy walk after dinner. For older ones, it might be a quiet hour with a new book.

If they’re at their other parent’s on Christmas Eve

Agree the morning rule with the other parent if you can. If you can’t, let it go: one different Christmas morning won’t undo anything.

Then, after Boxing Day, bring bedtime back the way you would after a half term: in small steps, not all at once. My half term bedtime reset has the method.

Little one's sleep all over the place? If the run-up to Christmas has scrambled a baby or toddler's naps and nights, Betteroo builds a gentle plan for their age that you can manage on your own. Take the 2-minute sleep quiz →

FAQ

How do I get my child to sleep on Christmas Eve?

Keep them active outdoors in the day and calm in the evening, with screens off an hour before bed. Do the usual bedtime steps in the usual order, just slower. Talk through what happens overnight, and agree the morning rule before lights out.

Should Christmas Eve bedtime be earlier or later?

Aim for roughly their usual time, with a longer, calmer wind-down rather than a different lights-out. The Sleep Charity’s advice is to keep bedtime and wake-up times as consistent as possible over the holidays.

What should go in a Christmas Eve box?

Pyjamas, a Christmas book and something for a warm milky drink. Open it at bath time, so it starts the routine rather than winding them up.

What time should kids be allowed to get up on Christmas morning?

That’s your call, but decide it the night before. Many families allow the stocking in bed and save downstairs for a set time or for daylight. A colour-changing sleep clock, started in mid-December, makes the rule easier for small children to follow.