The holiday season is often painted as a picture of cosy evenings, magical moments and quality family time. And while those moments do exist, parents of babies and young children know another truth sits alongside them: routines slip, bedtimes stretch, naps disappear, and sleep can start to feel fragile very quickly.
If you’re heading into (or already in) the holiday period worrying that sleep will unravel completely - take a breath. Sleep challenges during holidays are not a sign that anything is going wrong. They are a normal response to a season full of change, stimulation and excitement.
With the right expectations and a few steady anchors, families can enjoy the holidays without sacrificing sleep entirely - and without spending January firefighting exhaustion.
Why Sleep Feels More Difficult During the Holidays
Sleep relies on predictability. During the holidays, predictability is often the first thing to go.
Later nights, visitors, travel, skipped naps, festive events, sugar, screens and overstimulation all stack together. For young children, whose nervous systems are still developing, this extra input can make it harder to switch off, settle calmly and stay asleep.
What often looks like “bad behaviour” or a sleep regression is usually overtiredness or overstimulation showing up in the only way a child knows how.
The key thing to remember is this: sleep isn’t broken — it’s temporarily disrupted.
Sleep Fundamentals That Do Not Change (Even During Holidays)
One of the most reassuring things for parents to understand is that the foundations of sleep don’t disappear just because it’s Christmas or holiday season.
These fundamentals always apply:
- Sleep pressure still builds throughout the day
- Wake windows still matter
- Predictable wind-down cues still support melatonin release
- Environment still influences sleep quality
- Emotional regulation is still co-regulated with caregivers
- Overtiredness still leads to more resistance and more night wakings
Holidays don’t require perfection, they require consistency where possible and flexibility where needed.
Babies Under 12 Months: Protect Timing Over Location
For babies, naps and feeding rhythms are the biggest protective factors during the holidays.
Naps
It’s unrealistic to expect every nap to happen in the cot during a busy season — and that’s okay. Motion naps in the buggy or car absolutely count.
What matters far more than where your baby sleeps is when they sleep. Keeping naps within appropriate wake windows helps prevent overtiredness from building, which in turn supports better night sleep.
A baby who is kept up too long because “it’s the holidays” will often show that cost overnight.
Feeding
Busy days, travel and visitors can easily disrupt feeding schedules. When babies don’t meet their nutritional needs during the day, night waking due to hunger becomes more likely.
Prioritising regular feeds, even if it means stepping away for a quieter moment, supports longer stretches of overnight sleep and helps babies regulate more easily.
Settling in a New Sleep Environment
Holidays often involve unfamiliar sleep spaces: grandparents’ houses, hotel rooms, travel cots or shared bedrooms.
Children settle best when familiar cues travel with them. Bringing:
- a sleep sack
- a comforter
- white noise
- a bedtime book
- familiar pyjamas
helps recreate the feeling of home sleep, even when the environment is different.
If settling takes longer or your baby needs more reassurance, that’s a normal response to change, not a setback. You can always reset once you’re home.
Feeding, Sleep and Travel: Keeping Things Balanced
Travel days are often the most disruptive to sleep. Timings slip, naps are shorter and feeding can feel rushed.
Rather than aiming for perfection, focus on:
- offering feeds at regular intervals
- avoiding long stretches without nourishment
- keeping bedtime feeds calm and unhurried
Meeting nutritional needs during the day reduces night wakings driven by hunger and supports smoother settling overall.
Toddlers: Connection First, Structure Second
For toddlers, holidays are emotionally intense. There’s excitement, disruption, unfamiliar faces and a lot of stimulation — often all in one day.
The most effective approach with toddlers during this time is connection before correction.
Three anchors make the biggest difference:
- Protect the wind-down routine - Even if bedtime shifts slightly, keeping the same sequence helps signal safety.
- Offer extra reassurance - Clinginess often increases during busy periods. Meeting that need now doesn’t undo independence later.
- Don’t fear flexibility - Temporary adjustments don’t create long-term problems.
Clear, kind boundaries paired with connection help toddlers feel safe enough to sleep.
Older Children (Ages 3–10): Managing Stimulation and Expectations
For older children, sleep challenges during holidays are often linked to:
- later bedtimes
- increased screen use
- sugar
- busy days and social overload
Protecting a consistent wind-down routine is key. Even when bedtime is later, the way you arrive at bed should remain familiar.
Talking openly about “holiday sleep rules” can also help:
- explaining why sleep still matters
- setting clear expectations
- reassuring children that routines will return
Managing expectations, both yours and theirs, reduces power struggles and bedtime tension.
Travel, Time Zones and Late Nights
Travel and time zone changes can temporarily shift sleep patterns.
For short trips or time differences of one to two hours:
- morning daylight exposure helps reset body clocks
- gradual adjustments work better than sudden shifts
- consistency upon return matters more than strict rules during travel
Late nights may happen, but balancing them with earlier nights or protected naps in the following days helps prevent cumulative overtiredness.
Temporary Sleep Arrangements: Sharing Rooms and Hotel Setups
Room sharing or temporary co-sleeping often happens during holidays. When handled calmly, it doesn’t undo independent sleep.
Recreating familiar sleep conditions where possible, white noise, darkness, bedtime cues, helps children settle even in shared spaces.
Temporary arrangements are just that: temporary.
The Rule of 3: Resetting Sleep After the Holidays
One of the most powerful reassurances for parents is understanding how quickly children recalibrate.
Three steady days of predictability is usually all it takes for children to slip back into their familiar sleep patterns.
This predictability comes from:
- starting the day at a regular time
- re-anchoring naps
- offering earlier bedtimes for a few nights
- returning to regular meal times
You don’t need to “fix” sleep, you simply need to reintroduce rhythm.
What Parents Do Not Need to Worry About
Holidays often bring:
- extra feeds
- contact naps
- temporary co-sleeping
- increased night wakings
- teething or illness
These do not create lasting sleep issues. The fear of “bad habits” often causes more stress than the disruption itself. Children adapt quickly once routine returns.
A Final Reassurance
The holidays are not a test of your parenting or your child’s sleep skills. They are a season of connection, memories and flexibility.
Sleep doesn’t need to be perfect - it needs to be supported gently and realistically.
With calm anchors, realistic expectations and trust in your child’s ability to reset, families can enjoy the holidays and move into the New Year well-rested.
We also have a brilliant masterclass Surviving the Holidays with Young Children that you can access for more in depth information from our founder Erica Hargaden.
Need More Support?
Inside Thrive, Babogue’s sleep and parenting membership, families are supported through holiday disruption, resets and real life with:
- age-specific guidance
- the Sleep Series Program
- the 7 Steps to Better Sleep Framework
- weekly support sessions
- and a calm, experienced community
Because sleep isn’t about doing more - it’s about knowing what matters.
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