Q. My six-year-old child gets over excited about Christmas especially on Christmas Eve when he is excited about Santa coming. Last year he couldn’t get asleep and got really worked up. He kept us all awake. How can I help him this year?
A. Excitement and difficulty sleeping are all part and parcel of Christmas for children and in many ways you wouldn’t want it any other way as it shows how special the time of year is for them. For some children, however, it can all get a bit too much and they need help to manage their excitement so it doesn’t take away from their enjoyment ( or yours as a their parent!) Here are some ideas that might help
Try and build a good Christmas Eve routine with your son. Plan with him what is going to happen and include lots of things that he can get involved in. It is nice to include family rituals that are only done on Christmas eve (e.g. final preparations, visiting a relative or going to the shops to buys something special for the next day). The aim is to make sure that he is involved with things and that all his excitement is not invested in waiting for the next day. Indeed, if the Christmas Eve rituals are chosen well they can become as important (well nearly!) as Santa coming
Make sure to have a good bedtime routine. Rather than letting him go to bed early, (and be over excited in bed) plan with him some things to do in the evening. Include a special ritual to prepare for Santa arriving (e.g. putting his stocking up and leaving out a drink for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph)
Finally, be prepared for your son getting over-excited and think through how you can handle this – gently reassuring him and coaxing him back to bed. It is a good idea to ensure your son can’t access his gifts until morning (locking the room where Santa comes does the trick!) and let him know what time you will all get up to see what Santa brought.