Christmas is one of the best days of the year. Spending quality time with family and friends and the chance to relax and over indulge.

Christmas is also a time for children seeing their faces light up on Christmas morning is the best gift any parent can receive.

The trouble is getting them to sleep on Christmas Eve.

We’ve all been there, willing the hours until morning to fly by, counting as many sheep as our minds will muster, but it’s always a struggle. (And that’s you as an adult; imagine what it’s like for the kids!)Thankfully, help is at hands for parents; follow these useful tips to get your kids asleep.

Christmas Eve sleep tips

A warm drink

Although it’s an old cliché, a warm drink is a great way to get to sleep at night. Try warm milk with a bit of cocoa to entice your kids or even add marshmallows, they certainly won’t say no!

Fill up their day

Kids get bored very easily and the restlessness boredom causes will be multiplied when it comes to Christmas Eve. Fill their day will games and activities to get them excited and worn out, but don’t let it continue till late as the excitement may undo all your hard work.

Bath time!

Washing is the bane of any small child’s life, with scrubbing and cleaning very low on their list of priorities. However, us adults all know the soothing benefits of a bath before bed, getting out a bath bomb and kicking back to a bit of Enya…..(just me?) is definitely an option.

Kids need to be relaxed to sleep, especially at Christmas, so make sure they have a warm bath to sooth them before bed time. They’ll be out like a light….hopefully.

Don’t force them

The worst thing you can do is force them to sleep, it isn’t going to happen. Allow them to watch a movie in bed or play on their game consoles. You might as well get your money’s worth, they’ll be obsolete tomorrow.

Instil in them the value of going to sleep as early as possible i.e. “Telling them the earlier you go to sleep, the quicker you’ll wake up and it will suddenly be Christmas morning!”

You can’t get a good night’s sleep without a comfortable bed, so try The Odd Mattress Company and view their extensive of the highest quality mattresses and bed frames.

Featured Image Credit: iStockphoto.com / jojof (Via Custard Online Marketing)