Let's face it – there is no such thing as a relaxing Christmas morning once you become a parent.
And if you know of a way to get excited children to get to stay in their beds until after 5.30 am on December 25th, do share – I think we'd all like to hear that one!
However, Carol Middleton – herself a mother-of-three and soon-to-be grandmother-of-five, recently shared a clever little hack on Instagram about how to – maybe – catch yourself a few extra moments in bed on Christmas morning. And honestly, it's really rather simple. And we are so taking this on board.
On the Instagram page for her online business,
Party Pieces, Carol shared an image of a tiny stocking filler toy, and explained what it is about these particular play things that make them ideal when you are trying to calm over-excited children down a notch.
If your children have their stockings having at the ends of their beds, this trick might be more effective than if the stockings ar in the living room with all the other toys Santa left, but still – it's worth a shot, we think.
In the post, Middleton shared that this toy was one of her favourite go-to stocking fillers, as it was just the kind of thing that would keep young kids entertained for ages on that early Christmas morning.
"I find that the smallest present can be the one that gives the most enjoyment and entertainment to children.," she wrote.
"I remember that when they were young, my children found flexi-figures like these totally absorbing. A good choice of stocking fillers can give one extra time, undisturbed in bed on Christmas Day. Invaluable!"
Parents, do you have any special Christmas morning tricks on how to get the kids to stay in bed until it's actually morning? Do share in the comments, please! 
