Guest post fromDaniel of Dadsolo.com, where he creates resources for single dads, like him.

The holidays can be a chaotic time of year. However, you can be prepared for this by using a morning routine that gets everyone up and going. When you’re ready for the day, you can deal with whatever comes your way. Here are ways to de-stress your morning routine:

Prep the night before. Pick out clothes, pack lunch boxes, and make sure homework is where it belongs in your children’s backpacks. Put older kids in charge of their own stuff.

Set and enforce bedtime. Preschoolers need between 10 and 12 hours of shut eye each night. Older kids can manage on the lower end of this scale. Make sure everyone is in bed, with their teeth brushed and stuffed animals in place, at a time that allows for their recommended hours of sleep. For instance, if you’re 10-year-old wakes at 7:00AM, he should be under the covers by 8:30PM to allow time to enter dreamland before his “timer” kicks in.  Here is a handy bedtime chart from Good Housekeeping. 

Get up before the kids. You’ll need time to get your own day started without being asked 1,000,000 questions and breaking up 56 arguments before the sun passes the horizon. Plus, they’ll talk to you before you’ve had coffee and no one needs that kind of pressure.

Grab-and-go for breakfast. Mornings are hard enough without trying prepare a full breakfast. Plan ahead and have plenty of healthy (and quick) meals on-hand. Bananas, boiled eggs, oatmeal, yogurt, and muffins make a great first meal. Try these make-ahead healthy muffin recipes from EatingWell.com.

Create a morning chore chart. This is especially helpful if you have more than one child capable of handling simple tasks that suck the time right out of your morning. Children should be given a list of chores to complete each sunrise. Aside from general hygiene (brushing teeth, washing face, etc.), let the kids take dirty clothes to the laundry room and take out the trash. Children as young as two can begin sweeping debris from under the table and putting their socks on their own feet.

Play music. If you really want to get things moving, add a little motivational background music to your morning. With your kids’ input, create a playlist of songs that put their little bodies in motion. Allow them to control when certain songs are played so they can use them to gauge time for specific tasks, such as brushing their teeth, which should take no less than two minutes, according to Colgate.

Avoid tech and TV: Sorry, kids, no Netflix first thing in the AM. While it’s tempting to stick older siblings in front of the TV while you get younger children ready for the day, don’t. Watching TV or playing video games is a distraction, and one that should be given as a reward once the day is done. If your kids wake early and have some free time on their hands, put a book in them. Reading not only helps their developing brains create crucial connections but will keep them calm and cool before school.

Image Source: DadSolo.com

Additional Holiday Morning Routine Resources:

• Prep the night before and other tips on how to establish a morning routine for kids that actually works
• Easy and effective home organization tips
• De-stress your morning routine tips
• Breakfast to go and other secrets to getting the kids to school on time
• Get plenty of sleep and other tips on how to establish a morning routine for kids that actually works
• Play music (Revolutionary morning routine hack for kids)

Now that you know how to organize your morning, you’re ready to take on holiday planning. Bring on the baking, decorating, and footy pajamas. You’ve got this!