Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year as the song says, it is also very, very exciting for children. Perhaps a little too exciting and as the Christmas decorations go up in the town so early these days, the supermarket shelves are full of Christmas it can seem a long time for children to wait for Christmas Day. However, it doesn't have to be, this can all be part of the fun of preparing for Christmas, so how can you do that without your child expecting it always to be Christmas tomorrow?
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| Image by candice_rose from Pixabay |
An Advent Calendar
The first thing to do to help children do that is to get an advent calendar. This is exciting in itself as kids love to get up in the morning to go and find the window and open the little door and getting their chocolate each morning. It is the best way to countdown for Christmas, and the kids can see clearly how many more doors they have to open until the big day.
The Christmas Tree
Make sure you tell your children what day you will be getting the Christmas tree and decorating it. This again is another activity that they will love. Get them to make some Christmas decorations if they haven't done so already at school and make the whole day special. Play some Christmas tunes, put a Christmas film on and make some hot chocolates with marshmallows to get everyone in the Christmas spirit.
Tell The Kids Exactly What To Expect
Make sure that not only do the kids know that Santa is coming, but who else is coming and what else you have to do. Are they only allowed to open one present first thing? Are you going to their Grandparents' house? What is the plan? Let them know so that they can prepare themselves for the events, so they know who's coming to the house and where they will be going and when. That way, they can also prepare themselves for the old lady jokes from Gran and snoring from Grandad after Christmas dinner.
Tire Them Out On Christmas Eve
Make it a tradition to go out on Christmas Eve and get those kids tired out, so they go to sleep. Knowing that there's only one more sleep is just too exciting for anyone, so perhaps go on an outdoor adventure like a family walk through the woods looking for reindeer or go to a play center. Whatever it is, keep busy, do something special, and have some fun.
Before Bedtime
Follow their normal bedtime routine, but of course, make sure you put out Santa's drink and mince pie and a carrot for Rudolph. Check out the Norad Santa tracker so that the kids can see where he is and then get to bed. Have some hot milk, get the Christmas pajamas on, and read 'The Night Before Christmas' in bed. Finally, make sure the kids know that Santa won't come until they are asleep, which we all know is true.
Kids do get a little bonkers before Christmas, lol. It can be hard to keep the excitement tamped down, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteThese are all great ideas. Decorating the tree was always a really special event for us when my kids were young. It usually took a few days, since we also put up our outdoor decorations at the same time, so it kept them busy for a while.
ReplyDeleteYou can tell that you have experience in this area!
ReplyDeleteMy kids used to get so excited that they didn’t want to go to bed either! We tried to get them to calm down. We watched Christmas movies and played some games together. They would put out the cookies 🍪 that they made and a glass of milk. We finally ended up telling them that the big guy wouldn’t come unless they were sleeping. Your tips are great too! I pinned them for my kids. I wished I could have known some of this stuff while my kids were small!! Thank you for sharing!!