How/when do we stop Christmas traditions for adult DCs?

[tulippa]

DD is 20 next month, in her first year at uni, and is back for the Christmas break. We have continued with a stocking and the usual spending budget on presents as we have throughout her childhood. We also carried on with the advent house we fill each day with small chocolates which were saved up for her when she came back last week. And we're continuing with other things we've always done like films, the way we decorate the tree etc.
I was wondering yesterday how long we carry this on for? Will it be weird if we stop next year for her and carry things on for DS (16)? If we stop for both, that's not fair on DS who will miss out four years of stocking presents etc. I don't want to be wrapping stocking presents for her when she's 30.
Has anyone else encountered this and, if so, how did you manage it?

My eldest DD is 30 now and she (and her fiancé) both got advent calendars from us and there will be a stocking on Christmas Day, she'd be really upset if I stopped - she's still a great big kid at heart! The younger one currently in Australia would not be so bothered if she was home with us.
There is a Christmas present budget for both of them, the older one tells me what she wants, any surplus is given cash/transfer. Younger one currently gets a bank transfer on Christmas Eve to spend as she sees fit.
I think it's important to keep it equal as much as is possible, always.

Almost 50 here and still get an advent calendar and a stocking from my DM as does everyone who is staying the night. I do one for my DM as well as DP and teenage DSs.

Jealous of all these adults with lovely Mums - mine died some years ago and my Dad is a bit rubbish at Christmas!

I’ve never stopped! My sons are 36 (has his own place) and 27 and the oldest is expecting a baby next year with his gf. I think I do it for me really but I’m sure they’d notice if things changed. I love it all x

Um, well....my eldest is 30 and this year she's finally turned to me and said "I think it's time we switched to a secret Santa type of arrangement, after all we are now adults" after years of pulling a sad face every time I suggested she didn't still need to have "stocking fillers"!

I love that she didn’t decide she was an adult until age 30 😅

I'm in my 40's and haven't had a Christmas present from my mother in decades. I mean literally nothing. Not even a token pair of socks.

Plan to carry on treating my own kids until I'm pushing up daisies.

My kids are 20 and 18 this Xmas and we had to have Xmas early as the 20 year old is spending Xmas in the states with his girlfriend. We had a big fat Xmas and invited four of their friends, who stayed over and experienced a very different Xmas to what their cultures would normally do, food wise, game wise and just in general had a lot of fun. All the 'kid's got stockings

My mum did my stocking until I stopped staying over at hers for Christmas, my sister still gets one as she lives there.

I insisted to my husband that we do stockings for each other though we couldn’t comprehend the thought of going without one 😂

We are stopping stockings for the first time this year. Dd is 19 and ds 16. Tbh Father Christmas was finding it increasingly difficult to think of little things to put in them! I'm pretty sure my parents stopped for me and dsis at the same time, even though I'm 4 years older than her! Ds and dd are both absolutely fine with it.

We still do stockings (or rather a small pillowcase) for everyone who stays over on Xmas eve - whatever their age - to open first thing. Usually a chocolate orange or coins, small items of smelly stuff and a book. Although the DC are usually out on the razzle Xmas eve and so have to take their own pillowcases upstairs to bed when they come in as I'm usually fast asleep in bed when they roll in!

Even the cat gets one (usually a tin of pilchards and a packet of Dreamies).

my dad has never stopped, 42 and eyeing up my christmas sack! but we were always a family of quantity not quality, so e.g. 3 pack erasers were individually wrapped. He's a big kid and even though we all celebrate in different places now he loves the idea of us opening our presents xx

we also virtually watched the Snowman, and the Smowman and the snowdog together yesterday, and i will have the carols from kings blaring on christmas eve. We are not a close family, but christmas binds us back together

My adult kids and their partners are all high earners, they spend a lot on each other, and have good holidays, meals out, etc. They all work very hard, so good luck to them.

A couple of years ago I decided to keep buying them a nice present each, but stop doing the stockings. It seemed a bit pointless buying them bits and bobs when they had so much stuff like I was getting them as stocking fillers. Well, the outrage! They were not impressed! So stockings were hastily reintroduced the following year and will remain as long as I can fill them! My son in law says opening his stocking from me is the best part of Christmas Day, bless him. He’s 32 by the way, in the Forces, been all over the world, played a part in Prince Phillip’s funeral, but is like a five year old over a Lindt Xmas lollipop!

Not something I want to stop tbh as long as they are happy to receive!

In my house stocking presents stopped at 18 for the older ones as they were from Santa and Santa doesn't bring presents for adults. It might have stopped slightly earlier for my younger siblings once there was nobody in the household still believing in Santa.

Everyone still gets presents under the tree though, no matter how old. The difference is that we usually set a rough budget and spend the same on parents, siblings and adult children, so it's not an older generation overspending on a younger but adult one!

We bought our own advent calendars from early teens onwards if we wanted them, so that was never a particular tradition for us.

I find stockings for adults slightly odd but do what makes you happy! It's not weird to give one to DS but not DD this year though, in my opinion. If you don't want to be doing it forever there has to be a cutoff point.

In my house, everyone who is there gets a stocking regardless of age. I love giving and receiving those little tiny gifts that are useful or small delights.

I’m 31 and my mum still gets me a wee chocolate advent calendar and I love that she thinks of me every year. Her and my husband do my Christmas stocking and I do theirs and my daughters. The traditions have changed over time but I think they’ve become more balanced overall

We all get given advent calendars in my house - the "kids" are 21, and get theirs posted to uni. My partner and I buy each others. We've not yet stopped stockings either - I have such fun sourcing small gifts. They've had a stocking every Christmas since my partner and I got together; the years they spent Christmas day with their other parents, when they were little, they were worried that Father Christmas wouldn't know when their second Christmas Eve was, so we would have them wave sparklers out in the garden to signal to him; having explained that he knows all about children like them so is always on the lookout for sparklers. 😊
Last year, in an unexpected change from tradition, they decided that they were going to do stockings for us, so I am very excited for this Christmas morning - my first stocking since I was about 14. There's going to be a 4 stocking frenzy!

I'm 40 and still get a stocking and loads of presents from my mum. Why do you want to stop?

I dropped the stocking pretty early on (before they were 10) as I never had them as a child and it was really because my MIL made some huge ones that we used them at all (we put presents from non immediate family in them). Advent calendar has always been a picture one so we still do that - I'd do it if on my own anyway.
Other than that there's no tradition that couldn't stay. Never did Elf thing or Christmas Eve boxes or stuff like that.

my dd in their 20s would be very disappointed, i think, not to get a stocking

I'm 40. We didn't have stockings or Christmas Eve boxes. Mum gives me money for Christmas. She used to get me an advent calendar until this year I said I wasn't bothered.

I'd like to think I'd still do things for my dds. Maybe a time to stop is when they get into a serious relationship or marry or have their own children. They are only 12 and 14 now.

However if you enjoy doing it and dd enjoys receiving it do you ever have to stop?

Quite surprised (and jealous) of women in their 30s and 40s still getting stockings. I'd prefer cheaper smaller presents to the money really.

The best gifts for me are Mother's Day gifts from dds who go to Asda or Poundland and get me cheap gifts.

I love that they've chosen them for me. I think this would be similar to receiving a stocking????

Done stockings for the first time for dds this year.

I still do advent calendars and stockings for my adult DC (all in their 40s) and now for their partners too. I love choosing all the interesting little bits and pieces and have no intention of stopping.