1.Go to late night Christmas church to drain the energy worked for me.

2.Think of it as a normal night. Do the same things you always do in your bedtime routine: brush your teeth, read a book, chat to the dog, etc. A technique, that, strange as it sounds, is to play a quiet game you can play alone (or with an also hyper and excited friend/ sibling) is Mad Libs, in bed.

3.Relax! If you are just jumping up and down and feeling hyperactive, you need to calm down; you're only feeding a build-up of excitement that it'll be hard to come down from. Try taking a hot bath. Relax and just close your eyes. Squirt bath toys at imaginary targets - anything to keep you relaxing in the bath. Think about how, the sooner you relax and fall asleep, the sooner it will be Christmas Day.

4.Get into a comfortable sleeping position. Try and stay still, don't move at all and you will become tired. This is important for anytime you try to get to sleep.

5.Try not to think about Christmas. It may be hard, but try it! Think of a best friend or think of your favorite song, video game, etc. Maybe write a song, a poem or a play.

6.Relax. Breathe slowly. Count sheep. Any of these methodical, centering and calming methods will help to move you out of being too excited into a calmer state, which may help you to feel sleepy.

7.Don't keep on peeking into the living room. This might spoil any surprises and will keep you - well, very awake!

8.Try exercising. Although this may seem counter-intuitive, exercise can help to calm you down. See how many push-ups, crunches, or jumping jacks you can do in your room. Exercise only for thirty minutes though; you don't want to stay up too late. Exercising is a great way to help you feel physically tired, so your body will want to sleep. Better still, it will take your mind off Christmas for a little while.


9.Lie in bed and say this in your head: "Relax my toes. Relax my arch. Relax my heel." It might sound corny but it really does work through the power of suggestion. Make sure to work all the way up to your head. Even keeping up the effort of concentration on doing this is a great distraction.

10.Drink warm milk or at least some eggnog. The milk provides calcium, magnesium, and tryptophan, which can help you sleep. You can also try hot herbal tea; it is very soothing and calming to drink.

Please post if you have any ideas will add them when back from school.

Merry Christmas