Keep lights out close to their usual time on Christmas Eve: the usual time under 3, fifteen minutes late at 3 and 4, half an hour late at 5 to 8. A late night won't buy you a later Christmas morning. Pick their age below and the evening is counted back from lights out.
Christmas Eve bedtime by age
For kids who are usually up around 6:30. Pick their age and wake-up time below for the evening, counted back.
Alerts on the 24th for dinner, cookies, PJs and lights out. On the night, tap any of them and Nightlight opens with the plan.
How late is fine
Under 3. Keep it to their usual time. They won't know it's Christmas Eve, and a normal night is what gets you a normal morning.
3 and 4. Fifteen minutes late is plenty. The excitement keeps them up anyway, so start winding down earlier than you would, not later.
5 to 8. Half an hour late is fine. Settle the rule for the morning before bed. A kid who knows when presents start goes to sleep easier than one who's wondering.
Don't count on a late night for a later morning. Most kids wake at their usual time after a late night, and a lot of them wake earlier on Christmas. A later lights out mostly gets you a more tired kid at the tree.
Christmas morning
Say the rule out loud before lights out: nothing until the clock changes, then stockings, then presents when you come down.
An ok-to-wake clock does the arguing. Set it for their usual wake-up time, not earlier.
If someone is up at 4:30, treat it like any other night waking: lights off, quiet voice, back to bed. The clock hasn't changed yet.
Leave the stockings where they can reach them. Once the clock changes, a stocking buys you twenty minutes.
Keep the lights low and the blinds shut until it's time. Bright light at 5am tells their body it's morning.
Christmas night, and the day after
Friday, Dec 25
Christmas morning
Plan on an early start. Set an ok-to-wake clock for 6:30: nothing before it changes, stockings after, presents when you come down.
Christmas night
Lights out 7:00
Half an hour before usual. After a long, loud day, early goes better than on time.
Saturday, Dec 26
Back to normal
Up at 6:30, lights out 7:30.
Under 3, keep the nap at its usual time, even if the house is full. A skipped nap is usually how Christmas afternoon goes wrong.
If they're falling apart by dinner, go earlier still. One early night costs nothing.
An ok-to-wake clock Set it for their usual wake-up time. Nothing before it changes. Find one
The Night Before Christmas, as a picture book The one book for Christmas Eve. Find one
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Usual lights out is the middle of the window on the age pages and the bedtime calculator, which comes from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine's recommended sleep hours for each age. Every kid is a little different. If you're worried about how your child sleeps, ask their pediatrician.
On Christmas Eve, Nightlight turns this into a plan on your phone: a dinner that fits the energy you have left, then every step with a time on it, back from lights out. Every other night it does the same, back from your usual lights out.