I don’t about you, but as the kids got older it seemed Christmas morning went by faster and faster.  That is at least the opening gifts and stuff part went faster.  The kids got better at sorting the gifts, and opening them.  It was bad enough that they would get a head start a couple of times.

My wife and I wanted to really enjoy Christmas more as a family, so we found a handful of ways to slow things down a bit on that important holiday.

• No gift opening before 8 AM – believe it or not this is a big stress reducer.  We get to sleep in and so do the kids with no fear anyone will miss anything.
• Each gift has to have the giver recognized – this is as simple as reading it aloud from the gift tag, but we added note taking to make sure the children could say appropriate thank you.
• Pictures – the pre-opening tree and presents must be captured, and then the event of opening and giving gifts is captured as well.  Makes for real memories anchored by the photos as well.
• Everyone gets some clothes on – no half dressed, shirtless, or underwear clad bodies sitting around the Christmas tree. This is good for many reasons; use your own imagination.
• Food – yeah, we fix something easy on Christmas morning – usually like those cinnamon rolls in a tube. The more intriguing to the kids, the better. Some will want to eat a hot roll before doing anything else.

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