How to make Christmas even better this year

[starsparkle08]

Any ideas how to make Christmas special with the Covid restrictions . Lots of pantomimes being cancelled and I imagine Santa visits also .
Has anybody got any thoughts to make it fun and not seem to have lost its magic

[Isadora2007]

Indoor snowball fights
Cozy nights in with hot chocolates and Xmas movie nights
Roasting marshmallows at home.
Board games
Xmas family jigsaw to work on together
Tree decoration treasure hunt
Books t choose from each night
Advent candle and sing songs while it burns each night
North Pole breakfast
Making cards for family and friends
Posting cards they made
Making and baking for neighbours or teachers
Long walks.

[Isadora2007]

“ Maybe Christmas, he thought...doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps...means a little bit More”

Showing your children that pantos and stuff isn’t what makes Christmas magic- but who we spend time with and what we do with them is what matters.

[BunnyBerries]

I believe some places are still doing Christmas mini locomotive steam train rides (with enough distancing) as those are running at the moment. Check if one is near you to book, some sell out from September!

[Cherryrainbow]

I wonder how many elf on the shelfs will be wearing facemasks this year?

I like doing the xmas book advent type thing reading a different one to my son each night in december.

I think xmas movies from Netflix with hot choc n snacks will be a given!

I thought we could try games like pin the nose on rudolph/snowman, knocking cups over with paper balls, a candy cane hunt and stuff like that.

Going for a walk around the neigubourhood to see xmas lights or go for a drive to see them.

Maybe you could ask the kids to perform you a panto if they're at an age they can do that? If not cbeebies tends to do an annual one that gets televised.

[Stompythedinosaur]

I hope this will be the year we get to do all the things that we often run out of time to do - baking and making decorations and watching films.

I'm planning to read my dc the Box of Delights in December.

[starsparkle08]

All great ideas

My son still loves CBeebies so that panto on tv is a very good idea .

Hard to get him to engage in activities sadly but will attempt brownies

[Isadora2007]

Oh the Box of Delights is a good idea. I’ve got the Christmasosaurus and Michael Morpegos “the snowman” already though- how much reading do you think we could squeeze in?!?

[One2Three4Five6]

From the first of Dec we usually do the following:
Movies with popcorn/hot chocolate
Activities like wordsearches etc that I print off ahead of time, you can find LOADS online.
Reading Christmas themed books, I have quite a few now.
Drive round the local area to see all the lights,
You can find some good pantomimes on youtube, we watch the ITV ones every year.
I usually pick up a Christmas themed jigsaw each year, and either gift it to someone else for the following year or do a swap.
We have some felt snowballs for indoor snowball fights
Board games, we are board game geeks in our house anyway, but if I can find a Christmas themed one I am happy
Craft kits like make your own crackers/snowglobe, you can often find good ones in Home Bargains/B&M. Baker Ross also have a great selection of Christmas crafts.
Baking, while singing along to Christmas songs is also a hit in my house.
We also do Elf on the Shelf (I personally love it, but not everyone does) He doesn't just move about, he is usually found the next day doing something cheeky/naughty. Plenty of ideas on Pinterest for this.
Pinterest is fab for Christmas ideas in general.

We usually do a Santa visit, but I can't see that happening this year, but all of the above tends to keep my lot busy anyhow.
Even the teens join in with the majority

[UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername]

We've never done outdoor lights but I think this year we will, for the sake of all the people driving round looking at them.

[ShaunaTheSheep]

I think I’ll up my outdoor lights this year. Usually have white lights and a snowflake projector but will add some colours.

Tickets are on sale for our local panto so i’ve booked for Xmas eve.

Otherwise expect to do plenty of friends and family zoom calls.

For little ones you could do an advent calendar with an activity each day (decide what’s possible and add the detail the night before).

If your DC are into Lego or Playmobil or trains or dollhouse etc, help them to set up scenes with a Christmas theme.

[FoolShapeHeart]

We'll be doing an activities advent, starting with a reverse advent on Dec 1st. I've got apple juice, mulled cider sachets & gingerbread mix and tested my old flask, so we're going to walk home different ways & look at the lights with a hot drink & festive snack. Local department store Christmas window. Weekly nature walks followed by hot chocolate & marshmallows. Christmas books all month, Christmas films for me (no TV for ds yet), Christmas music (I initiated him today with a bit of festive pop and he LOVES it).

[AnnoyedStepGrownUp]

“ Maybe Christmas, he thought...doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps...means a little bit More”

I second this. We think that Christmas will be lesser than normal with Coronavirus but the truth is, that this is the opportunity to redesign Christmas as it is meant to be, without all the bullshit.

[Dogsaresomucheasier]

Oh my goodness I forgot all about The Box of a Delights! We have to read this!

[SnakesOrLadders]

This thread 😔
I’ve put off thinking about how we will have to do it differently this year. I love the festive period- we do 3 pantos, Christmas Eve party, Christmas school parties, the work dos, visits to the grotto, breakfast with Santa 😢
Very different this year but hopefully different in a good way A slow relaxing time with our little unit

[treeeeemendous]

Any ideas for teens? I'm hoping that the escape room might do a Xmas themed room. We don't have any family that we see at Christmas so it's just the four of us so it can be hard to make it special now that they are older and the Santa magic has gone.

[SummerHouse]

Unusual one but we always go swimming on Christmas Eve. It started when they were young and over excited as a way of keeping them entertained but turned out to kind of "reset" them. They come out calmer and ready for PJ's and hot choc. I hope the BBC are doing a "goes wrong" show. Me and DP have been crying laughing at those and the DCs love them. Suitable for all ages so even cynical teens @treeeeemendous

@Isadora2007 I love you. You should be in charge of Christmas!

[Wolfgirrl]

I think this year is actually a golden opportunity to rein Christmas in a bit and recapture the magic and avoid the usual commercialism.

OH and I have imposed a no present rule for each other, we will buy DD a few things but the idea is to spend less & put a bit more time into doing things for others. Current ideas are xmas baking for shelters/care homes; knitting for BLISS (me not him - will need some refresher classes with my granny first!); operation xmas child if it is running; etc

[notheragain4]

Omg I didn't even think about this, DS is 10 this year so it's likely the last year he would have done a Santa visit

[Isadora2007]

@SummerHouse awww thanks. I do love Christmas... 💕🎅🏻🌲

[treeeeemendous]

@SummerHouse thanks will look out for those. Cynical is the right word for my teens!!

[Yawningyawning]

I love Christmas. I’ve been thinking about how we’ll do it differently this year. I’ve not heard of the Box of Delights so I’ll get that thank you. I want it to feel magical still. I like the jigsaw idea too.

[Mutabilis]

We usually focus on nature so will be doing it even more so this year. We always go for a Xmas Eve walk in the woods with hot chocolate and gather greenery like pine, holly and ivy (the council chop it down as invasive weeds in our woods so I don't feel bad gathering a bagful), then we decorate the house and fill vases of it. We also collect sticks to decorate as magic wands. We star gaze in the evenings, the Geminids meteor shower is usually in the week before Xmas and can be amazing on a clear night. I'm also hoping some of the nature reserves and National Trust gardens will still be open as they usually have lights and decorations up. A big part of setting the scene for us is also the school plays and Xmas events so I'm really hoping some of this will still go ahead. What do you usually do OP?

[EsmeeMerlin]

I am actually looking forward to a quieter Christmas this year.

Last year for numerous reasons, I ended up crying on the 23rd, 24th and mentally exhausted by the 25th. I took on too much work and pressure while not getting enough sleep because my then 18 month old had colds and was grizzly and fussy. We took him and our eldest son age 6 to a Christmas fayre at our church and turned back around after 5 minutes because the youngest one was screaming, the oldest one moaning and it just wasn’t fun.

I have learnt that certainly with young children, at December less is more.

We have Christmas books, some crafts, films and Christmas jigsaws. That’s us sorted.

[HappyInL0nd0n]

Place marking x Sorry, no good ideas yet

[Hippychickster]

Keeping this post!