How is Christmas with older kids?

[Piccalino3]

Just wondering?

I love Christmas. I love the prep, planning and the magic of it all. I also have 3 young kids (1,4,6) and although it is really quite magical at times I also find it so draining. Obviously it's very busy before Christmas with things to do, Christmas Day there's cooking and excitement off the charts and today I was looking forward to doing nothing but all they've done is pester me to open more presents (we still have some under the tree), for chocolate and to play games and sort toys out. I just want to be left alone to slob about, go back to bed, watch what I want on tv without anyone climbing on me and moaning to watch Paw Patroll or Cocomelon.

So, my question is, I'm already dreading the day the magic goes and the last believer doesn't believe, days out to see Santa are gone and they don't all want to do family days out but there must be positives? Can you still find the magic with older kids? Do you still enjoy Christmas as much? Do you mourn the days for when they were little and waiting for Santa? I know it's a while away for me but I always feel a bit sad when Christmas Day is over and I'm aware these years are short. Just pondering it all really.

DD is 13 and we still enjoy Christmas very much. Ok, Santa visits stopped when she was 9 but otherwise we do exactly the same things. Watching movies, baking, going out with friends, decorating the house, buying presents, going for a carol concert.

She has her Christmas performance from her dance school, has a Christmas do at her Scouts and they do some stuff at her secondary school and she does a secret santa with friends.

Obviously this year meant several things did not work out but I can't see her changing.

The only difference is obviously that we don't have toys as gifts anymore so she sits down with her books, tries out new make up, face times with friends to talk about gifts. So it is a bit more quite but not less enjoyable. She still puts out a drink and snack for Santa, this year she boxed it up as a take away (Tier 4 here).

Well mine are in their twenties and living here due to covid...They still insist on putting the tree up with mince pies and Christmas tunes on, watching Christmas films, and getting up early and opening gifts on our bed. The only difference now is they drink all the gin!

DS is 12, nearly 13. Not believed in Santa for the third year, but we still put stockings out and a mince pie and milk. We cooked things together on Christmas Eve, watched Christmas films and drank hot chocolates, we usually go to the panto after tea on Christmas Eve but obviously that was cancelled. He was still up at 7am, very excited. He still sat on our bed and opened his stockings (he has four that he had made over the years!) We all go downstairs and watch him open gifts in his sack. He's more into giving gifts now and goes to great lengths to buy things for us he thinks we will like and he sets a budget and pays himself from pocket money he has saved. This year has been different with shops being shut a lot but we both helped with online orders. We played games, he helped with dinner, it was just a lovely day. I don't think there's a lack of excitement at this age, it's just different and not as tiring!

Mine are aged 18-24 and all home for Christmas. We've been having a really lovely time - watching films, playing games, chatting, making Lego etc. We had things plans which were cancelled due to tier 4 restrictions - nice meal out, local lights trail, bigger stately home lights trail - but it's been ok. I'd said I wasn't doing stockings, and the eldest two put stuff together for the youngest to have a stocking I love seeing the thought and love they put into getting presents for each other. Also they're helpful!

Ds is 7 and still believes and yet today he’s been engrossed in a giant Lego set all day and I’ve been chilling and —eating— reading.
This must be the perfect age.

Adult DCs here. Daughter (my bubble) socially isolated with her partner so that I could safely spend the day with them. It was a joy to spend the day with them, seeing them make their own traditions, cooking a full meal and giving gifts chosen with care. It's different OP but all part of the rich pattern of being a parent.
And lovely to be looked after

I much prefer having older DC at Christmas (and all the time if I'm being honest! I'm not good with little DC, I find them too demanding and irritating )

I have a range of teens/young adults and it's fabulous. We can watch Die Hard together (it is a Christmas film and no one can persuade me otherwise!) and they are old enough to have their own money and buy me presents They can also go and buy me alcohol at the shop!

Being serious though, they did actually make me a stocking this year and it was full of little gifts that were so thoughtful I almost cried. I'm also very conscious of the fact that very soon we probably won't all be "home" together for Christmas so I'm trying to make the most of it. Tomorrow we are all going to watch Ben Hur and have popcorn and cocktails.

Mine are 11, 13 and 18, no believers left and honestly I find it's much more enjoyable! No tantrums, no meltdowns from being overwhelmed or overtired, no wildly unrealistic present requests, less piles of plastic tat to try finding homes for afterwards...I love it. They still enjoy Christmas, look forward to it and all help with decorations, they do eachother's stockings (started last year and feels like it'll stay), it's just generally more enjoyable for being calmer all around.

Mine are early 20's and 13, and we've had a lovely Xmas.

We still do the stockings, the food, the movies, DD organises all the present giving. We go on walks together, play board games (beginning to sound like the frigging Waltons now)

The difference now is that they help out with everything, drink alcohol and buy great presents 😊

Oh thanks for the replies. It sounds great actually. My little ones loved going into a shop and choosing a present for each other and their Dad this year (Tier 4 so luckily I did it early). I really want to foster their participation in Christmas. I've kind of always dreaded them growing up but now my 6 year old is now almost 7 I've realised I actually love the more grown up things I could do with her and the conversations rather than the constant watching that they don't kill themselves I'm doing while they're younger!

My son is 16, I do feel sad about some things, but that is primarily because we are an adoptive family and on our first Christmas together he was 8, so I had very few years where he believed.

We still have a good time, instead of Santa visits we go to light trails, usually Kew Gardens which is amazing. We went to a local one this year, had hot dogs, hot chocolate with marshmallows. We still meet up on Christmas Eve for breakfast with friends to exchange presents, you are never too old for the panto. He put out the Santa plate in the full knowledge that he (me! ) would enjoy a Baileys. He still got into bed with me to open presents but at 9.30 not 5.30 and he made me a cup of tea first. Yesterday we played a silly pass the parcel game.
As its just the two of us the pressure was always on me to keep him entertained, now I can leave him to play on the PS4 or watch the footie, I can read one of my many new books, have a long bath, slap on a facepack, go for a walk.
We had things planned which were cancelled because of Covid.
Sometimes I tell him I miss my little boy, but I am enjoying meeting this young man he is growing into and doing things together we couldn’t do when he was younger.

Teens here. It's much easier once you don't have to pretend about Santa. We still do carrots and mince pies on the hearth, stockings on beds, all the same traditions but none of the hassle of having to use separate paper for stocking presents, or remembering not to accidentally say where you bought something, or worrying that they are still awake when you fill the stockings. They do their own shopping and wrapping, write their own cards, help with baking, we still (in normal years) go to panto etc. I like it a lot better than when they were under 10.

Ds is 11 and this is the first year he hasn't openly believed. It's still been lovely and its been far more relaxed for us as parents. The last year or so has been a bit tricky, they start sussing it out and you're kind of all playing along waiting for him to drop the bomb. It is different but not really in a bad way. Just make the most of it when they're little. Whatever you do, don't drag it out for your own benefit. Ds started secondary school in September and his best friends mum refuses to tell him the truth. He still believes and has been arguing about it with kids in school.

Easier in some ways. Harder in others. Swings and roundabouts!

Mine are 10 and 13 and non believers. We still went to see Santa (well we took the dog to see Santa Paws) the 13 year old is achingly cool and was mortified Christmas day was nice and chilled despite us having to fit both sets of grandparents in separately all in 1 day. Today I have hardly seen them, 13 year old is out spending the money that was burning a hole in his pocket and the 10 year old is entertaining himself and only coming down for chocolate. I like both ages they are just very different.

When I was late teens early 20s we all used to go to the pub on Xmas eve, then on Christmas day my dad made a Christmas quiz and we played a new board game. A lot of the time my brother and sisters other halves were there too so it was a right laugh. Then we'd pub again on boxing day for the music quiz! It changed when my eldest nephew was born but it was just a different, fun era.

2 dcs 14 & 9 it’s our 2nd Christmas with non believers. We bake plus is they can tidy the mess up now. We still visit Beamish every year we just don’t visit Santa. We also watch an assortment of Christmas movies.
We enjoy board game afternoons.

Now they are older & able to stay up later we visited York late afternoon/early evening and walked around the city to admire the Christmas lights and do a little shopping. It’s set to become a new tradition.

Mine are 15 and 17 and we had a fine time having dinner together then Scrabble afterwards. Hoping one of them would step up with the washing up (my son is usually pretty good) but he went to see his girlfriend instead! My daughter and I watched a couple Christmas movies. Its not 'magic', and their 'toys' get way more expensive, but fun all the same, and you do get peace and quiet (because they'd rather do their own thing than hang out with their parents mainly)!

This was our first year with no believers I was dreading it but it has actually been lovely. Kids were a lot more grateful as they knew we had worked hard to give them everything wanted. We have had family movie nights every night its been lovely

Mine are 1,4 and 7 and I can only imagine that Christmas gets better once they are able to open boxes/read instructions/stop throwing their Christmas dinner on the floor. I’m exhausted! It’s been lovely of course, but very much about us facilitating the kids rather than actually having any enjoyment of our own.

Mine are 9 (10 in Feb) and 13. They get more and more excited each year!

Neither of them believe in Santa anymore but we pretend. We still leave a carrot and mince pie out.

We actually did Elf On the Shelf for the first time this year. I never did it earlier as when she was little DD2 saw it in a shop and didn't like it, she said it was creepy. After hearing all the funny tales from her school friends she decided this year that she'd quite like one to see what it would do 🙄. So I surprised her with one on 1st December. She obviously knew that it was really me making it do all the things it did but she still found it hilarious and loved finding what it had got up to in the morning.

Different but still lovely.
DD used to get massively stressed about not being able to fall asleep which kept her awake (and increasingly upset) which frankly I don't miss at all.
She's much more chilled now and we just have a nice relaxed time. The bit when they are little and excited is really sweet, so cherish it while it lasts but it's good on the other side too.

I prefer it. They are still excited about xmas and presents just without the father Christmas bit. We go and do more fun things like see the lights in London without any tantrums or moaning. We can sleep in on xmas morning and still do fun games- yesterday did some Just Dance, scrabble and charades. Teens are funny and good company. There isn't much I miss about them being little - maybe the cuddles!

Btw, I find Christmas Eve a lot less pressure now. I used to panic that they'd hear me putting the presents out and catch me in the act and it would ruin it. Now they know it doesn't matter if they hear me, if they caught me I'd just say "oi! Back in your bed and don't you dare come back until morning!"

Ds is 12 now and Christmas is still fun but a lot more chilled. He still had a stocking as well as presents under the tree. We had a lovely breakfast after the presents then took the dog for a walk. No toys that needed putting together!
We played board games in the afternoon and watched a film. Most relaxing Christmas I’ve ever had!