How To Have A Smart Start To Your Christmas Morning

Did you give yourself a smart start to the day?

By the time Christmas morning comes around, you may be exhausted and done with the Christmas season altogether.

I don’t ever want to get up before the sun comes up, and I truly feel like I would enjoy a nice day off.

I’m ready to hang out in my pajamas, while my kids create mountains of wrapping paper trash in the living room.

But over the past few years, I found simple tweaks that I could make that really allowed me to look forward to Christmas Morning and gave me a smart start to the day.

These Christmas morning ideas for families are great so that everyone shares in on the fun and the work. Your Christmas morning routine doesn’t have to be planned down to the minute, but can give you an idea of how to slow the day down so you’ll enjoy it more.

So I’m sharing ways that this year you can enjoy Christmas morning, without dreading the Christmas breakfast and other responsibilities!

You ready for this? The secret is in the plan ahead for a happy Christmas morning!

Create A Gift Wrapping Station

You will be wrapping a ton of gifts! And for years I waited until Christmas Eve to wrap all the gifts… even with only a few presents to wrap, I’d be up half the night! And I was always worried about making all that noise!

The other side of that is being prepared and having to drag out all of your supplies and gifts every time you need to wrap something can be a real pain!

This is where you make a smart start. Make one area of your home the gift wrapping headquarters for the year, and keep all your supplies in this one place.

We set up a foldable table and I include all wrapping supplies nearby. (Just remember to stock up on gift wrap and gift tape when it’s on clearance after Christmas.)

This will make things much easier, and you won’t constantly be searching for the scissors or tape. Since this is no longer part of my early Christmas morning routine, I’m a much happier and well rested mom on Christmas.

Set Up A Wrapping Paper Trash Bin

This smart start Christmas morning ideas for families was actually made out of necessity after one of my children actually threw a gift away on accident.

You don’t have to create something fancy, in fact, this could just be a large cardboard box.

As those presents are delivered to your home, set one box aside and put some trash bags inside. Hide it behind a chair in the room where you’ll be opening presents.

Put all wrapping paper in the box (or extra bags if you fill the box) after each present is opened. This will make clean up a breeze, and the person who opens the gift is responsible for the mess!

You will be picking up wrapping paper for years to come if you don’t have a central place for it to go. Save your sanity and set this up right away. It’s a great Christmas morning routine to set up because all that wrapping paper gets messy fast!

Set The Table 3 Days Ahead

If you want to go all out for your Christmas morning breakfast, set your table early!

This happy Christmas morning smart start is a great idea because they table also becomes a part of your holiday decorations. Doesn’t your table look so pretty all decked out?!!

Bring out the fancy dishes and holiday decorations and have your table ready to go. You can do this about 2-3 days in advance without feeling like you need to rewash everything.

We use the same plates and table decorations for Christmas Eve, Christmas Morning, and Christmas Day Dinner.

When the dishes are cleaned, they go right back on the table, and we replace the napkins. No more stressing over setting and resetting the table, it’s all ready to go!

Stick To Simple Recipes

When you are planning your Christmas Day meals, pick easy recipes that won’t take much effort or time.

If you want to take it a step further, go for a meal you can make ahead of time. We make biscuits and gravy for Christmas Morning. But I make the gravy the night (or several days) before! That way, that morning I only have to heat up the gravy and bake the biscuits (yes, right out of the can).

Serve your breakfast with some fresh fruit, coffee, and juice, and you have a happy Christmas morning meal!

If you are short on time, make something easy like frozen waffles and add fresh fruit & whip cream toppings. It will still be a great breakfast, and it will still be just as fun.

You can also make a breakfast casserole and freeze it days or weeks in advance giving you a super early smart start to your morning!

These Christmas morning ideas for families are great especially since the kids are always ready to get in on the presents even before everyone is up already!

Take It Slow

When it comes to Christmas morning, we sometimes tend to rush through the whole thing instead of keeping with a Christmas morning routine.

Take time to savor those moments with your kids.

Take turns opening each present one at a time and make Christmas morning last a little longer.

This is one of the few times where you can sit back and relax, so savor the moment! Don’t rush into the next thing!

After breakfast, watch a Christmas movie together in your pajamas.

With all the time you have been saving yourself with these smart start tips, now is the time to soak in those special moments with your family. Don’t forget to take pictures too!

Assign It Ahead

There are many things your kids and even your husband can help out with on Christmas morning.

Don’t leave all the work for yourself while they sit back and play with their new toys or go back to sleep.

This last Christmas morning ideas for families smart start tip should happen well before Christmas morning comes, tell each person what they will be responsible for (or write all the tasks on several pieces of paper, put them in a hat and “draw” names for who gets to do what!).

Leave the tasks that only you can do for you!

This will not only make clean up time cut in half, but it will also keep you from feeling overworked and stressed on this happy Christmas morning!

These Christmas morning ideas for families get everyone involved in the work and the fun on this happy Christmas morning!

If you follow these tips, your smart start to your Christmas morning routine will be something you look forward to each year and not something you are praying to hurry and be over.

Your Turn: What other ways to give yourself a smart start to Christmas morning? Share with me below!

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