How to make Christmas special for older kids

[Hullabalooza]

Hi everyone, so this year was definitely the last with Santa magic in our household. This means some of the traditions we’ve built up over the years won’t really work from next year, so I am just wondering what you all do to make Christmas feel special with tweens and teens? I want to plan ahead and perhaps book some things up, I was thinking a trip to the panto and maybe a shopping day in the city with a meal out. But I’d love to hear all of your things, big and small, to make Christmas magical/special with older kids. It’s time to shake things up a bit for next year. Feeling a bit sad about the Santa is coming to an end I’m hoping you can inspire me.

We’ve done a couple without Santa now and our kids love Christmas as much as they ever have (and we find it much less stressful!!

It really isn’t so different; we don’t do the reindeer food obviously, or Santa visits. But we’ll still do a Christmas activity like a decorated stately home, we have traditions like board games on Xmas Eve. They love the food. We do presents the same (stocking on their doors, most presents under the tree). Food, so much food. They just love it still, we have the same traditions they had before (certain meals, films etc) I bet you have more traditions than you realise that don’t involve Santa and your kids will cling onto those. Don’t over think it :)

My kids enjoy a light trail or similar and a carol service. We also always do a bugget and movie Christmas Eve. We play board games and visit family. They still love the decorations and of course the presents. We do panto around new year.

Are you sure they don’t want the Santa bits even though they know? My Mum asked us every year if we still wanted to do that and we said absolutely yes until the year she died. She seemed to think of something new every year. It was silly and fun and part of our family traditions. I’ll never forget the year in my late 20s/early 30s when Santa got a bit of his red coat trapped in the living room door as he left. My Sister and I laughed until we could hardly breathe when we found the bit of torn red fabric 🤣
Happy memories 🥰

ask them which bits they love - mine always love food, games, presents etc but also seeing certain people, going to places, decorating gingerbread…I think they all love Christmas traditions…only now I can nap guilt-free and they drink the wine as well!!!

We always used to build a new Christmassy Lego set together on Christmas Eve

We’re still very much in the Santa years but most of our traditions aren’t really to do with Santa, that’s really just a Santa visit, tray of Santa nibbles and stockings. The other things we do are a light trail, making and decorating gingerbread biscuits, village tree lights switch on, village lights trail, carol service, all the nice food, family games, visiting family. We’ll keep the stockings when they’re older too as we all like those.

We continued all previous traditions, panto, special meal out for Christmas eve, still put a mince pie and Baileys out for Santa, stocking still went out. It was no less magical or fun. We then grew into DS having a "mimosa" with us for breakfast (fizzy orange in a champagne flute) and him helping decorate the tree when the fairies had always done it previously. We still spend Christmas day slouching around eating and watching TV or playing games together.

Nothing. We do a family trip to get Christmas tree (well, until my DD went to uni), but other than that? We don’t do anything special. We used to book a West End show rather than a pantomime but don’t do that anymore since they hit mid teens (also pandemic years then).

We are WELL past the Father Christmas years but dd still puts out her stocking, writes her letter, leaves a mince pie etc. She said that she'd rather keep the old traditions going because they feel so Christmassy. So don't necessarily assume all that much will change!

As I child I felt impossibly grown up when I was first included in ‘making the magic’ helpin to decide what we would do.

Thanks everyone, you’re probably right that it’ll change less than I think, some great ideas to add in so I’m going to write a list before I forget them all!

What a lovely mum. Xx

❤️