Christmas Morning Magic

Christmas morning is a magical time. There is nothing more magical than seeing the twinkling in your children's faces as they first glance at their over flowing Christmas stockings and the Santa gifts. Christmas music fills the air and the warming glow from the fireplace adds to the magic of the moment. The excitement grows as the children investigate the simple treasures hidden in the debts of their stockings. Now the excitement escalates as the children spy the larger gifts that Santa has delivered. The realization that their dreams and wishes have come true vanquishes all the mayhem it took to create this magic.

Creating Christmas morning magic does take some pre-planning. Christmas morning can be magical year after year if you prepare for the moment. Most major events take preparation in order to have the outcome you are expecting. Christmas is no different.

Do assembling tasks ahead of time.

Make sure that any toys or gadgets that need assembling are done prior to Christmas morning. If your children have to stand around waiting for you to make time to assemble their gifts, they become very antsy. The children want to play with their new gifts now, not later. Also make sure that you have plenty of batteries and have them installed. We always like to put things together ahead of time to make sure the gift works, nothing worse than giving or receiving a gift that does not work properly. If you end up with a malfunctioning toy, you will have time to exchange it before it is too late.

Avoid a hectic Christmas morning.

Try to avoid having as hectic a Christmas morning as possible. Plan a Christmas morning breakfast that can be prepared ahead of time. While the children are planning and preparing for Santa to visit, make what you can ahead of time so in the morning it only has to be cooked or heated.
If you use special Christmas china or tableware, set this all up the night before. A decorated table helps to add to the Christmas morning atmosphere.
Make sure the camcorders and cameras are fully charged the night before Christmas.
Set up the room that you will be using on Christmas morning so that it is all set in the morning. Put the logs in the fireplace. Put your favorite Christmas CD in the player. Have the cameras handy.

If you drink coffee, have the coffee pot ready to go.

Have your children set alarms to get up to in the morning. This way they will know when it is alright to get up. This avoids them getting up and down all night wondering if it is time to get up.

Set your alarm earlier. You need to get up earlier to get the coffee going, start the fire and get the Christmas music going. The kids will find Christmas morning more magical when the mood is already set up.

After the children open their stockings, have the children open their gifts one at a time. This way every one gets to see what the other has received. This also cuts way down on the chaos of trying to watch each child's expression as they express their excitement and pleasure. This also makes picture taking a lot easier and you will end up with a lot better photo memories.

While the children are playing with their new toys, this is the perfect time for you to get the Christmas breakfast going. Your spouse can be cleaning up the wrapping paper and helping the children understand how to operate their new toys.

Enjoy the Christmas morning magic.

Christmas morning only comes around once a year. Enjoy it. With just a little planning and preparation, there will be Christmas morning magic to remember for years to come. Christmas morning is always going to be a little chaotic. It's bound to be with all the excitement that is going on. Try to make time to remember what this day is truly about and that this is a very special birthday.