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Christmas

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Original poster

OK, how do you deal with the getting up 6 times a night on Christmas Eve??

44 replies

fartmeistergeneral · 06/12/2006 09:20

I'm sure it was one of the things that I thought of fondly when I was pg with my first, but last year was bloody awful! They didn't get to sleep til 11pm, up at 1am, up at 4am (opened stockings) and I don't know if they got back to sleep after that. They came through to me at 7am and were knackered, hardly spoke for the whole of Christmas day!!!

OP posts:

Tortington · 06/12/2006 09:21

are you a lone parent?

Original poster

fartmeistergeneral · 06/12/2006 09:22

no, no, but my husband has crafted the art of 'dad sleeps through everything'!!

Anyway, even if he did get up and deal with it, I wake at the drop of a hat. I could cope the next day, but the kids were comatose.

OP posts:

wrappingpaperBOwZZAndribbons · 06/12/2006 09:26

Maybe not have stockings in bedroom? Hang them by the fireplace? A good long walk on Christmas Eve to get them ready for a good night's sleep? Dire threats of what happens to children who don't go to sleep?

How old are they? I have never had a problem with either of mine. Although to be fair, DD is only 2 so last year at 18 months she was hardly going to be getting me up to ask if Santa had been. DS is 5 though so at the excitable age.

WonderCod · 06/12/2006 09:27

you dont hype them up
we always hava totoally normal night

Bugsy2 · 06/12/2006 09:28

I've cracked this by putting the leaving Santas presents downstairs in front of the fireplace & telling the children that Santa doesn't leave anything at all unless they stay in their beds.
I'm quite scary about this, because the thought of a crap night's sleep before Christmas day is unendurable. And I am a single parent!!

frogs · 06/12/2006 09:30

"If you are awake in the night Father Christmas can't come to you. So if you wake up in the night you have to lie very still with your eyes closed until you go back to sleep".

And it's only morning when it gets light. Not before.

Miaou · 06/12/2006 09:31

Some people swear by letting them open one present before they go to bed, so that it brings the hype down a peg or two. Might be worth a try ...

yoyo · 06/12/2006 09:31

Normal evening here too. We have an established ritual for the day - long walk, make mince pies, cook ham, children go to Crib service with DH, tea, bath, hang stockings (away from bedroom), leave out refreshments for FC, read "The Night Before Christmas", bed.

Tortington · 06/12/2006 09:31

wake dad up then. literally wake him up and say "oi your turn its my festive season too you know - get your arse in there and sort them out"

yoyo · 06/12/2006 09:32

Oh, and of course FC only visits if children are asleep doesn't he?

WonderCod · 06/12/2006 09:34

i think some paretns totally go oever baord tbh ( as witneessed on mn) and htey create a rod fro their ow n bakcs

Gingerbear · 06/12/2006 09:40

My brother wakes up at 4am to wake his children up! (FFS, he is 41).
When we were young, he was always the one to wake my sister and me at 3am to sneak downstairs to see if 'he'd been'.
My poor mum and dad. They ran a pub at the time, and would have finished working at 1am, put out the presents under the tree and crashed into bed, when brother would wake us all up.

santasaltire · 06/12/2006 10:36

My two have never been too bad, usually because we go a long walk on the beach to tire them out. DS1 has always been an early waker, this morning he was awake at 6am.
We usually have visitors on Chrismtas eve, staying over, so they are in seperate rooms, and DS2 will sleep longer in the morning if left.
However, the past few years DS1 has woken early for the loo, realised Santa has been and tried to start opening his stocking, so i usually end up getting up, letting him open one thing and then being really cruel and taking stocking into our room. He's 8 now though so might just let him get on with it

NotAnOtter · 06/12/2006 10:37

cod i do love you !!!

themulledSNOWMANneredjanitor · 06/12/2006 10:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

wrappingpaperBOwZZAndribbons · 06/12/2006 10:46

I heard of someone who used to lie to their children and tell them that it wasn't that day.

NotQuiteCockney · 06/12/2006 10:49

Lying sounds good.

Seriously, my DS1 has blackout blinds, and a little night light that comes on to tell him when he's allowed to get up. (Otherwise, yes, even on normal nights, he will sometimes get up at 3am for no apparent reason!)

NotAnOtter · 06/12/2006 10:51

with my 'big' set of children i never told them it was their birthdays until the day for years
Nothing was lovlier than waking them up and saying ' its your birthday' and their little faces!!!
They were all lovely all day due not having been hyped up and having had a good nights sleep!

paulaplumpbottom · 06/12/2006 10:57

Surely its all just part of the Christmas Tradition.

themulledSNOWMANneredjanitor · 06/12/2006 11:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

WonderCod · 06/12/2006 11:01

otter our kdis forgot it was their birthdays regularly

WonderCod · 06/12/2006 11:01

paula no wonder your arse is large

wrappingpaperBOwZZAndribbons · 06/12/2006 11:09

nqc we do the light coming on thing. Neither of mine would get up before their light came on at 7 even on Christmas Day. This is my one true success as a parent.

PinkTinsel · 06/12/2006 11:19

i would have been shot if i got up before 6/ am and the same rules will apply with my 2. stockings were never in my room, all the presents were downstairs and i simply wasn't allowed up before then on the threat that xmas would be canceled if i did.

i was always sick with excitment the night beofre and couldn't get to slepp but the close your eyes and pretend usually worked by about 2am so my parents got a good 4 hours out of me

fgs, it's xmas, they'll sleep for 6 hours straight the next night they'll be so tired so just go with the flow! are you honestly complainibg that your kids are calm and tired on xmas day? be grateful! dd was a hyperactive lunatic all day last year and she didn't even understand what was happening!

PinkTinsel · 06/12/2006 11:20

'16 hours straight' wouldn't be much of an improvement otherwise would it

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