How do I get my child to sleep on Christmas Eve? Sleep expert shares 7 top tips for parents

• Christmas Eve is one of the most exciting nights of the year for many young children.
• Often children will try and stay up late hoping for the chance to spot Santa Claus.
• Parents can find themselves struggling to get their little ones to go to bed.
• Sleep expert Dave Gibson shares his top tips for helping to get your child to sleep this Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve is the most magical night of the year for many children. From the time off school, to all the sweet treats and the anticipation of a visit from Santa Claus, it can be a challenging time for parents when it comes to young children getting a good night’s sleep.

Speaking to Vitabiotics, renowned sleep expert Dave Gibson has shared his top seven tips to help parents navigate sleep during the festive season. Gibson explains: “For parents with young children, Christmas Eve is possibly the most difficult night of the year for getting a good night’s sleep. The excitement of Santa's impending arrival overstimulates children, making it harder for them to fall asleep.”

He continues: “Add the broken sleep patterns, early waking to open gifts, and the fear of missing out on the festive fun downstairs, and you have a challenging combination.”

How to get your child to sleep on Christmas Eve

Getting your child to sleep on Christmas Eve can be a challenge for many parents. The excitement that children experience ahead of the festive season triggers the release of neurotransmitters in the brain, including dopamine and adrenaline, which make them feel more alert and can make it harder to fall asleep.

Gibson explains: “This process increases wakefulness and suppresses the calming signals naturally occurring at night. However, understanding this process and implementing the right structures and routines can help you and your child get a great night’s sleep.” Here are his top tips on how to get your children to sleep this Christmas.

Stick to your regular routine

Consistency is key in your child’s sleep schedule, even during the holidays. Gibson explains: “Maintaining a consistent sleep routine amidst all the excitement, activity, and changes during the Christmas holidays helps to anchor our brain into feeling calm.”

He adds: “With routine, our brains anticipate what follows and then prepare for and expect this to happen. Whether it's the regular bedtime story or the usual winding-down activities, your child will automatically expect to sleep by sticking to their normal bedtime routine, even during the excitement of preparing for Santa.”

Make bedtime later in the days leading up to Christmas

Holiday plans may require slight adjustments to accommodate your child's sleep schedule. Gibson explains: “If you plan to allow your child to stay up a few hours later on Christmas Eve, possibly in the hope they will wake later too, I recommend staggering the change during the nights before with smaller steps so their body clock naturally adjusts to this time.”

Strategies to help manage anxiety and excitement

The holiday season can be a really exciting time for your children, so it’s important to incorporate calming activities into their routine, such as a bath, gentle music and bedtime stories.

Gibson explains: “Acknowledging the excitement and reminding children that a good night’s sleep will help them have the best Christmas possible encourages them to embrace getting to sleep.”

For older children, mindfulness techniques can help calm their minds and relax before going to sleep.

However, for some children the excitement of Christmas can cause anxiety, Gibson advises: “If they are anxious at bedtime, writing a note on a piece of paper about what they are worried about and putting it away in a ‘worry box’ overnight can often help children with specific worries.”

Adding: “Their worry is safe in the box overnight and can be taken out in the morning to talk more about after a good night’s sleep. Often, we don’t need to do this as everything always feels better in the morning, having slept on the problem overnight.”

Cut down on sugar

Gibson recommends parents to reduce sugar intake across the day, especially closer to bedtime and having an evening snack about an hour before sleep.

He explains: “Good bedtime snacks for young children include fruit, protein and fat, with protein and fat taking longer to digest and likely to fill them up more. Bananas work well as they contain magnesium, which is beneficial for sleep.”

Adding: “Oatmeal with Greek yoghurt or cheese and crackers are excellent snacks to try. Combining carbohydrates and dairy is a great way to release an amino acid called tryptophan. Tryptophan aids sleep as it is a building block of melatonin, our sleep hormone. Warm milk with honey is the perfect soothing bedtime drink, as the honey helps release tryptophan from the milk.”

Set expectations to avoid late bedtime negotiations

Managing expectations is crucial in ensuring a smooth sleep this Christmas Eve, discussing holiday plans, bedtime expectations, and potential changes in sleeping arrangements with children well in advance of Christmas Eve will help “garner cooperation, especially with older children who may want to negotiate an extension of their usual bedtime.”

How to tackle waking up in the night

If your child wakes up during the night, remain calm so that you can reassure them that whatever is on their mind can be sorted out in the morning. Keep your interaction as simple and straightforward as possible to avoid stimulating their mind.

Gibson advises: “Always keep the lights dimmed as bright lights can prevent them from getting back to sleep, and never turn on technology or electronics as this will stimulate their brain, even if the blue light filters are used. Have a relaxation technique or two that you can use, which involves slow breathing and calming visualisations which can help them settle again.”

The ‘first night away’ effect

If you are staying in another location for the holidays your child may have trouble sleeping due to the unfamiliar surroundings, this is often called the “first night away” effect. Gibson recommends making things as familiar as possible, such as sticking to their usual bedtime and “incorporating familiar elements, such as their bedding, pillow, and cuddly toy, to help your child feel more secure.”

How to create a sleep-friendly Christmas Eve

Gibson recommends structuring your Christmas Eve plans so that your activities gradually become more calm as it heads towards bedtime. Here is a suggested sleep-friendly plan for Christmas Eve:

Morning

Start the morning with outdoor activities, which Gibson explains allows children to "expel energy and benefit from natural tiredness at night." Getting sunlight first thing is also an important component for strengthening our body clock, which in turn helps us get to sleep more easily at night.

Afternoon

After lunch is a good time for your child to enjoy screen time but you will want to stop any screen time two hours before bedtime. Gibson adds: “Having family time with a digital detox, where everyone in the family is off tech, including mobile phones, is a great way of setting this up.”

Evening

To gradually transition into the evening, Gibson suggests embracing quieter activities for a soothing wind-down. He says: “Playing cards, engaging in a family board game, or participating in a gentle craft like drawing can help make things more relaxing as part of a wind-down period and try to avoid stimulating activities like party games.”

You can find out more tips on how to improve your children’s overall sleep at NHS.UK.