Isn’t it every kid’s dream to sleep under the tree on Christmas eve?! I’m pretty sure my kids ask every year, and not once have I caved. They wake up early enough as it is without being right next to their stockings and all the presents not to mention they would never fall asleep. Nope. Not going to happen! But they’re getting older and it won’t be long before they stop asking to sleep by the tree – so my friend offered a suggestion: Let them sleep under the tree the night before Christmas eve. Almost as exciting and as magical but way easier on us!

We offered two surprises that night. They could open their sibling gifts (the gifts they purchased for each other) and they could sleep under the tree (which we later amended and said they could fall asleep by the tree but when we went to bed we would move them each to their own beds!) They were ecstatic. I mean parents-of-the-year-material ecstatic!

They each purchased a gift for the sibling just younger than them or in Briggs’ case his oldest sibling. They weren’t much, but they were perfect and everyone was perfectly happy with their little gift; a car, a memory game, a squishy, socks and letters for a letter board.

We read some Christmas stories with a fireplace burning on our TV screen. (That’s the only fire we were having in a fireplace in Arizona!) And the kids slowly drifted off to sleep, much faster than anticipated, some even clutching their gifts from earlier in the evening. It was quiet, the fireplace was crackling and the lights were mesmerizing. No wonder the kids ask to fall asleep by the tree. It is magical – so magical even I dozed off as I was watching the kids from the couch.

Its hard to tell from the picture but he’s got his beanie boo lion tucked under his arm, his new squishy is tucked under his chin and his stuffed snake is wrapped around his hand.

It’s safe to say our trial run sleeping under the tree was a success. Perhaps next year we will be even nicer parents and let them stay there the whole night! 🙂