How to Make Christmas Eve Go Faster: 9 Steps

If you’ve ever shared a house with an excited kid (or been one yourself), you
know this truth: Christmas Eve might be only 24 hours long, but it feels
like at least three business weeks. Time crawls, everyone keeps asking,
“Is it bedtime yet?” and the adults are secretly Googling “how to make
Christmas Eve go faster” between wrapping gifts and hiding tape.

The good news? You can’t actually speed up the clock, but you can make
the day feel shorter, calmer, and way more magical. The trick is to keep
hands and minds busy with simple Christmas Eve activities, cozy traditions,
and a bedtime routine that helps everyone actually fall asleep waiting for
Santa.

Below are nine fun, family-friendly steps (with picture ideas) to help
Christmas Eve go faster, plus real-life experiences at the end to inspire
your own traditions.

Why Christmas Eve Feels So Slow

When kids are counting down to Santa, their brains are basically running on
sugar, glitter, and pure anticipation. Psychologically, we experience time
more slowly when we’re waiting for something exciting and not actively
engaged. That’s why hours of “just waiting” feel endless, while a busy day
of baking cookies, watching Christmas movies, and visiting holiday lights
flies by.

So the goal isn’t to exhaust everyone; it’s to fill the day with a mix of
fun things to do on Christmas Eve and calming moments that naturally lead
into bedtime. Think: structured activities, simple traditions, and clear
milestones so kids can see and feel the day moving along.

The 9 Best Steps to Make Christmas Eve Go Faster

You can follow these steps in order or mix and match to fit your family,
your schedule, and the ages of your kids.

1. Step 1: Start with a Christmas Eve “Game Plan”

   

   Time passes faster when everyone knows what’s happening next. Kick off
   the morning by creating a simple Christmas Eve schedule. Use a big
   sheet of paper, a whiteboard, or a chalkboard and divide the day into
   fun blocks: baking time, movie time, craft time, Christmas lights
   drive, bath, bedtime story, and so on.

   Let kids help decorate the schedule with stickers or drawingsthis
   instantly makes them feel involved and less focused on “Is it time
   yet?” You can even let them put a big sticker over each activity once
   it’s done, so they see the day progressing toward bedtime and Santa’s
   arrival.

2. Step 2: Burn Off Morning Energy with Movement

   

   A huge reason Christmas Eve drags is pent-up energy. Especially for
   younger kids, getting outside early can set the tone for the rest of
   the day. If you have snow, build a snowman, shovel “Santa’s landing
   strip,” or have a mini sledding session. No snow? Take a holiday walk
   to look at decorations, hunt for pinecones, or count how many homes
   have wreaths.

   Even a 20–30 minute walk, dance party, or backyard game helps kids
   regulate their energy and makes the afternoon calmer. For grown-ups,
   movement also reduces stress, which means fewer meltdownsyours and
   theirs.

3. Step 3: Do a Simple Christmas Craft or DIY Gift

   

   Mid-morning is a great time to sit down and make something. Easy
   Christmas crafts keep kids focused, use up a solid chunk of time, and
   can double as last-minute gifts or decorations. Try paper snowflakes,
   handprint reindeer, DIY ornaments, or simple “thank you” cards for
   grandparents and neighbors.

   Keep it low-stress: set out a plastic tablecloth, a few markers, glue
   sticks, kid-friendly scissors, and let creativity take over. Craft
   time helps kids feel like they’re part of creating Christmas, not just
   waiting for it.

4. Step 4: Bake (and Taste-Test) Christmas Eve Treats

   

   Baking is one of the classic Christmas Eve traditions for a reason:
   it’s sensory, hands-on, and delicious. Choose one or two easy recipes,
   like sugar cookies, gingerbread men, or brownies. Let kids pour,
   stir, cut shapes, and decorate with icing and sprinkles.

   Designate a special plate for “Santa’s cookies” and let kids pick
   which ones belong to himand which ones must be “taste-tested” first.
   All that measuring, frosting, and nibbling can easily fill an hour or
   two, making the day feel shorter and cozier.

5. Step 5: Plan a Christmas Eve Lunch or “Snack Board”

   

   Instead of everyone grazing impatiently all day, turn lunch into an
   event. Create a festive “snack board” with fruits, cheese, crackers,
   veggie sticks, and a few fun holiday treats. Let kids help wash fruit,
   arrange the snacks in a tree or wreath shape, or design a “reindeer”
   made of pretzels and berries.

   When eating itself becomes an activity, time moves more naturally.
   Plus, a balanced snack board prevents the sugar crash that often turns
   late afternoon into meltdown o’clock.

6. Step 6: Have a Christmas Movie or Story Marathon

   

   After lunch, lean into screen timebut make it intentional. Pick one
   or two Christmas classics or short specials and create a mini movie
   marathon. Dim the lights, bring out blankets, and serve popcorn or hot
   chocolate. If you’d rather skip screens, stack up Christmas picture
   books and read them one after another.

   A couple of well-chosen movies or stories can carry you through a big
   chunk of the afternoon, and kids are often calmer afterward. Bonus:
   many families build traditions around watching the same movie every
   Christmas Eve, which gives kids something predictable and comforting
   to look forward to each year.

7. Step 7: Get Out to See Christmas Lights

   

   As the sun goes down, it’s the perfect time for a Christmas lights
   walk or drive. Pack everyone into the car with travel mugs of cocoa,
   or bundle up for a neighborhood stroll. Look for the “best” house,
   count inflatable snowmen, or play “Christmas Lights Bingo” with a
   simple checklistreindeer, nativity scene, snowman, candy canes, and
   so on.

   Being out in the crisp air while the world glows in red and green
   makes the evening feel magical. By the time you get home, bedtime
   suddenly doesn’t seem so far away.

8. Step 8: Set Up for Santa with a Little Ceremony

   

   Kids love rituals, and a small “Santa setup ceremony” can stretch
   20–30 minutes in a very satisfying way. Have them choose which cookies
   to leave, pour milk, and pick a carrot or two for the reindeer. Help
   them write a short note saying thank you to Santa, and, if they’re old
   enough, sign their names.

   You can also let each child open one small Christmas Eve present
   often pajamas, a book, or a small toy. This gives a sense of progress:
   Christmas has officially started, which makes waiting for the rest of
   the gifts a bit easier.

9. Step 9: Stick to a Calm, Predictable Bedtime Routine

   

   The fastest way to ruin Christmas Eve is letting bedtime slide so far
   that kids are overtired, wired, and nowhere near sleep. Instead, keep
   your routine predictable: bath or shower, pajamas, brush teeth, one
   last look at the tree, then into bed with a holiday story.

   Use calm cues: soft lighting, gentle music, and quiet voices. If kids
   are anxious that they’ll “miss Santa,” reassure them that Santa only
   comes when everyone is asleepand that the best way to make Christmas
   morning come faster is to close their eyes and rest.

Extra Tips to Keep Christmas Eve Low-Stress

While you’re using these nine steps to make the day go by faster, a few
extra habits can help keep things peaceful:

• Lower the bar. Your Christmas doesn’t have to look like a movie to be magical. Kids remember connection, not perfection.
• Rotate responsibilities. Older kids can read stories, help bake, or lead a game so parents aren’t “on stage” all day.
• Protect quiet time. Add short breaks for independent play, coloring, or puzzles to prevent sensory overload.
• Plan your own recharge moments. A cup of coffee in a quiet room or a short walk can reset your mood fast.

Common Mistakes That Make Christmas Eve Feel Longer

Sometimes we accidentally stretch the day in the worst way. Watch out for:

• Too much screen scrolling. Doom-scrolling holiday sales while kids get bored is a recipe for “Are we doing anything fun?”
• Unrealistic plans. Trying to cram in ten big events can backfire. Focus on a few meaningful Christmas Eve traditions instead.
• Skipping meals or naps. Hangry, exhausted children feel time drag even moreand they’ll take you with them.
• Talking about Christmas morning all day. It’s okay to be excited, but constant reminders (“Only 10 more hours!”) make those hours feel painfully slow.

A balanced mix of fun, rest, and routine turns Christmas Eve from endless
countdown into a day you actually enjoy, not just endure.

Conclusion: Make the Waiting Part of the Magic

You can’t change the calendar: December 24 will always be the longest
short day of the year. But with a simple plan, kid-friendly activities,
cozy family traditions, and a calm bedtime routine, you can make Christmas
Eve go fasterand even better, you can make it meaningful.

Whether you’re baking cookies, driving around to see Christmas lights,
setting out treats for Santa, or snuggling up for one last story by the
tree, you’re doing more than passing time. You’re building memories your
kids will carry into their own homes someday. And that’s a kind of magic
that lasts long after the wrapping paper is gone.

Real-Life Experiences: How Families Make Christmas Eve Fly By

Families everywhere have figured out clever ways to make Christmas Eve go
faster while keeping the focus on connection, not chaos. Here are some
experience-based ideas you can borrow and adapt.

One family treats Christmas Eve like a “mini holiday” of its own. The day
starts with a big pancake breakfast shaped like reindeer and snowmen.
While the adults clean up, the kids put on an impromptu Christmas play in
the living roomcomplete with makeshift costumes and stuffed animals as
wise men. By the time the “show” is over, an entire morning has passed,
and everyone is laughing too hard to notice how slowly the clock is
moving.

Another family swears by their Christmas Eve box tradition. In the late
afternoon, each child opens a box filled with new pajamas, a small snack,
and a holiday book or coloring pages. They change into their pajamas early
and spend an hour reading, coloring, or working on a Christmas puzzle at
the dining table. Parents love this because it’s calm and screen-free;
kids love it because it feels like a secret pre-Christmas gift.

Some families focus on giving rather than just waiting to receive. They
might spend part of Christmas Eve delivering cookies to neighbors, writing
thank-you notes to teachers, or dropping off a small donation at a local
charity collection point. Parents often say this is the moment when kids
really understand that Christmas isn’t only about what’s under the tree.
It’s also a fantastic way to shift their attention away from “How many
presents will I get?” and toward “How can we make someone else’s day
brighter?”

A lot of kidsespecially the super-excited onesremember the “Christmas
Eve drive” most vividly. One family loads everyone into the car with hot
chocolate in spill-proof cups, a playlist of favorite Christmas songs, and
a simple rule: each person gets to choose one street to explore. They
drive slowly, rate each house’s lights on a silly scale (“10 candy canes
out of 10!”), and take a family selfie in front of the most over-the-top
display they can find. By the time they get home, bedtime is suddenly
right around the corner.

Parents also talk about their own small traditions that help the evening
feel special instead of stressful. Some watch the Santa tracker online
together and mark his “location” on a globe or map. Others have a rule
that once the tree lights are turned off and the stockings are checked one
last time, no more questions about presentsjust stories, hugs, and
lights-out. Over the years, those repeated little rituals become emotional
shortcuts: when kids slip into their Christmas pajamas or see Dad bring
out the “Christmas Eve hot cocoa mugs,” they know it’s time to wind down.

What all these experiences have in common is simple: families create a
gentle rhythm for the day. There’s room for excitement, for silliness, for
treats and movies and glitterbut there’s also space for rest, gratitude,
and quiet moments. That balance is what makes Christmas Eve feel shorter,
sweeter, and much easier to enjoy in real time.

As you design your own traditions, remember: there’s no “perfect” way to
do Christmas Eve. If your kids go to bed loved, reasonably calm, and
excited for tomorrow, you’ve done it right. The clock may move at its own
pace, but with the right mix of fun activities and cozy rituals, the day
will fly byand you’ll be glad you were present for every slow, sparkling
minute.