PLEASE help me make Christmas fun!

[FatBottomedGal]

Apologies, I’m posting here for traffic!

This Christmas is our second without my dad, now we’re a family of 3 (ages 69, 33 and 30) and I find filling Christmas and Boxing Day is a bit of a struggle.

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for what we can do fill the time? To give an idea of last year...
Woke up
Came downstairs and had breakfast
Opened presents
(Lull)
Started cooking lunch
Ate lunch around 3pm
Watched home movies
Played Jenga
Mum went to bed at 6 because my brother’s cocktails were too lethal
Brother and I played games for a bit longer, both quite bored at this point
Went to bed at 9pm

Boxing Day we did a dog walk and then sat around watching tv

I just want to have things up my sleeve for when we inevitably get bored! I think we all drank so much last year because there wasn’t much else to do. I know it’s horrible to say it but I dread Christmas so much. With 3 adults and no kids it does tend to drag on I just want us all to have fun!

Any ideas would be hugely appreciated

Do you usually have fun when you are all together?

MaidenMother to an extent. But we never usually sit in a house together for 2+ days with no partners and the expectation we should be together “because it’s Christmas”.

Is there anyone you can all visit? Or invite round for an hour or two? Do you live together?

I think I would buy myself something to learn e.g. I would get yarn and crochet hooks and try to learn via YouTube. It would keep at least one person busy and you know what? You don't have to feel responsible for the boredom levels of two capable adults.

The point is I want us all to do fun things together! No we don’t live together, I live about 200 miles away. Christmas has always been a rather dull event in my family but we’re keen to find things to do to keep us occupied and having fun.

Just after suggestions on what other people do on Christmas Day.

We do different stuff because we have younger children

In your situation, I’d do

Christmas Day
Eat lunch earlier at say 1
Christmas quizzes ( loads on internet )
Pass the parcel (you can buy themed Christmas ones)
Have snack supper at 6/7ish
Try a new game eg Obama Llama

Boxing Day

Pub visit during dog walk or invite a few people over for drinks

We always have a family jigsaw on the go - it's opened on Christmas Eve and left on the side - you just sit and do a bit at a time, and it usually gets fairly competitive in a friendly way.

Walk to the pub for a drink? Bit of fresh air can work wonders.

Oh, and we always buy a new family board game too - last year's was Logo. And save the giant crossword from the paper to do on the day, but no googling allowed, so Mum and I end up surrounded by reference books!

Jigsaw is a great idea. Or cooking something together? Swiss roll?

I think other people and getting out of the house are good ideas.

I feel your pain, OP.

You definitely need to get out of the house on Christmas day - you have dogs, so presumably there is a dog walk needed. I don't know how rural you are, but can you plan a trip to a local site (standing stone, weird building, nat trust place, anything really) with the dogs - you don't have to go inside it, just all go out together for an hour's walk and look at it. If you're feeling bold, do it first thing and have a packed breakfast - bacon rolls and flasks of hot chocolate. Then you can get back to the house, get changed and start drinking.

How join-in-y are your family? Would they each prepare a game to play - maybe a round of a pub quiz that you could play together, or a 'how well do you know each other' type game. Winner gets a prize.

If they are really join-in-y everyone could prepare a "turn" - sing a song, circus tricks, read a comic poem, etc. (You might think I'm making this up, but this is sort of thing my parents insist people do at boozy Christmas parties and it goes down a storm. I promise). The entertainment comes from the investment and preparation people put into it - people don't have to be good singers or whatever.

Ye gods. I'm having a flashback to the year my DM made us all write festive poems.

Don't do that, OP.

I like the sound of the walking breakfast!

We love playing Bingo. I get real tickets and dabbers, and we use an app to call the numbers. DH makes a load of prize envelopes which we put on the Christmas tree before we start, just little things in them like a scratch card or chocolate coins. The star prize is usually a £5 note.

We don't open presents until after lunch, which helps! We go for a walk in the morning. After presents we tend to play games. I like the sound of the jigsaw too, and I always hope for a good book or a craft kit or both in my presents to give me something else to do.

Sorry for your loss OP, Christmas always makes it glaringly obvious when someone is missing. Don’t try to have too much “fun” to try to fill that gap, just be happy in each other’s company...have some things as a back up plan, but don’t force it.
The breakfast walk sounds like a fab idea and will kill a big chunk of the morning.

I know it's not for everyone, but would going to mass or a church service be something you might consider?

Is there anywhere nice locally that you could have a brisk walk on Christmas morning?

Or perhaps further afield for on Boxing Day? Followed by a hot port in a cosy pub if the weather is any bit bracing?!

What do you normally enjoy for "fun"?

Have some Christmas or other nice music going in the background as that often helps to create a more relaxed and fun atmosphere.

Bring a brand new board game with you?

Or a new dvd, or good books for everyone to sit and read companionably, so there is less pressure to be always talking or whatever, just intermittently as you are enjoying the books.

Could you work on something in the kitchen together - a mince pies production line, or trying out a new recipe together or something?

Thanks for all these suggestions!!

Yes we have dogs! 4 of them actually so they will need a walk - my mum lives in Surrey so plenty of nice places nearby. Good idea!

I also love the idea of a puzzle - I’ll be ordering one today

I really appreciate the advice guys, I know I shouldn’t be forcing it but my mum so looks forward to having the 3 of us together and I know she worries about it being boring. I just want to make it the best possible day for her as well as us two.

Get some more games. Alternate film, game, food. Make some exciting cocktails. Definitely do presents after lunch.

I know I shouldn’t be forcing it but my mum so looks forward to having the 3 of us together and I know she worries about it being boring. I just want to make it the best possible day for her as well as us two.

Aww now I feel a bit bad for saying you shouldn't be making yourself feel responsible for their boredom. Is there anything you will be doing together next year? If so could you start planning it? A weekend away or day trip for a birthday?

Aw, OP, you're lovely to be thinking so much about how to make it a nice day for your family. I'm sorry you lost your Dad, that must be hard for you all.

Cocktail-making could be fun - get out loads of ingredients and each create your own "signature cocktails" then rate them out of ten.

Definitely board games
Films (easy watching like Christmas films, classic Hollywood or BBC literary adaptation boxsets - good for all generations)
Long walk, maybe with a pub stop in the middle
Pile of good books and newspapers, radio or CD on in the background, and ideally a roaring fire if you've got one. Quiet but companionable
Cook together (or 2 people cooking while 1 sits and chats, if 3 is too many cooks!)
Carol service

Im trying to make sure Christmas day has lovely memories this year rather than just watching rubbish TV as my Dads terminally ill.. I like the idea of a Christmas quiz im gonna have a look for one thats not too hard!

There are some card games in Oxfam at the moment including discussion ones. £3.99 per pack I think. I'm going to buy some. Thanks for some of these ideas. I'm stealing the jigsaw one.

some of my best xmas have been when adults are prepared to make a little bit of a fool of themselves - just a little and play games, all sorts of silly games...the games may not be that much fun in themslves they get people out of themselves and talking about new stuff and hopefully laughing.

Karaoke machine