Worried about child growing up, so trying to fit in Xmas activities

[Greenbutterlfy566]

My son is 7 and I’m acutely aware of how fast time is going.

I’m panicking about the Christmas activities and places to go to and things to see before he grows up. I want to get it ‘right’ I worry that I haven’t taken him to many places before he stops believing in Santa. I don’t want to make a mistake of missing amazing things that can only have the ‘magic’ through children’s eyes before it’s too late.

I mean things like big days out to theme parks and Christmas holidays etc.

Is anyone else like this?

Your DC still believes the Santa lies?!

Have you not brought him up with critical thinking?

HAHAHA I much prefer raising happy kids who believe in the Christmas magic to raising bitter and arrogant individuals, but each to their own hey

Well if that's the case I have let my eldest son down in a big way.
He never understood the magic of Christmas and his childhood passed him by without him ever knowing who Santa was.
He's a 20 year old young man now, sadly in residential care due to the high level of care he needs (he has the mind of a baby and never spoken a word in his life). He still doesn't know who Santa is and can't feel any of the excitement around him.
I have three younger children who I make it special for, but my heart still breaks for him.
It's just the precious little things like leaving a carrot for Rudolph and the excitement of running downstairs to see that Santa has been.
I'm so thankful that my other children have been able to experience that, but it doesn't make it any less heart shattering that my eldest never could.

*Your DC still believes the Santa lies?!

Have you not brought him up with critical thinking?*

The 2 things aren't mutually exclusive. Even though my (much) older children no longer believe in Father Christmas we still make an effort to create the 'magic'.

When adult DC talk about childhood Christmases they remember the walk home in the dark from the pub/restaurant we had Christmas lunch at for years. They remember the excitement of choosing a birthday cake for Baby Jesus from Tesco (he had a Teletubbies cake 2 years in a row) and they remember seeing Santa at our church fete every year and being amazed how much he knew about them (they didn’t recognise our fairly poorly disguised neighbour).

It’s the little traditions that will stay with them , not the one off gestures.

Nice...

YABU OP.

as an adult, you have the liberty and responsibility to raise your dc in a way that works for you and your values. Therefore you can create a Christmas (or birthday, or other significant celebration) that feels true to you, which in turn will feel special for your dc.

Do you genuinely think any of those commercial hysterical 'activities' make Christmas magical? Well if you are big time into the whole Disney idea of entertainment maybe, but are you? In my view the hundreds of Santa's Grotto demystify Christmas and make actual Christmas Day mum less special.

*much less special

YABU you're trying too hard and might actually spoil it all because you're too focused on it being perfect. Theme parks, shows etc can be enjoyed at all ages.

You want to fill it all with material stuff , dont get too caught up that you miss the actual point of xmas.

I get what you’re saying but there’s lots of things you can do that don’t cost the Earth .
We love a visit to the garden centres when they have all the decs out ,costs the price of a cup of coffee or hot chocolate although I am a bit of a hypocrite as every year we do a few festive things like theme parks (we have merlin passes though so works out cheaper) or we go to Disneyland Paris for a few days but we are also just as happy to drive into London and see all the Christmas lights in the evening , it’s honestly just as fun and in that respect doesn’t need a child to believe in Christmas as pretty lights are pretty lights after all !

Lily - I think you’ve given your son lovely memories.

*my mistake, I mean your other children. Sorry about your son.

Garden centres and Argos catalogue popular here too.

I went on several big ticket holidays as a child/teen. Did I enjoy them? Yes, very much. Are they what comes to mind when I think of my favourite childhood memories? No. What I remember is opening my school lunchbox one day to find a massive biscuit in it as a surprise. My mum finding some loose change on the bus and haggling with a shopkeeper so she could buy my brother and I some sweets. The heart shaped pink lollipop I bought at Chessington when I was 5 (I remember nothing else about that day out).

Not saying your DC won't enjoy theme parks and holidays but I think you're motivated by the wrong reasons. Be really truly honest with yourself, will you be genuinely happy not to post any pictures/mentions of such days out on social media?

It wouldn’t occur to me to associate theme parks and centre parcs with Christmas - can’t think of anything worse tbh.

My cat- I don’t post any photos on social media, Never have. All photos are for ourselves. So it’s not that.

panto - cheaper local one with no big stars - excellent every year
local christmas markets
christmas lights switch on
decorations and hot chocolate at garden centres
making things
decorating house and tree
cosy afternoons watching christmas films
wrapping presents

once we went to one of those large christmas grotto north pole meet santa (there were a dozen santas in different cubicles) in London - not a great experience, over priced and like a cattle market. not worth the effort. all the things above are what have been remembered

My adult son’s memory of the best day ever is a group of us harvesting a mate’s fruit orchard. He was about four, I tucked him up that night and he told me what a lovely day he’d had. He still talks about it. That’s magic.

I can't believe you've fallen for all the commercial bullshit. You're brainwashed.

I’m panicking about the Christmas activities and places to go to and things to see before he grows up

I have an 8yo and I honestly haven't given any thought to 'Christmas activities' other than who we'll be seeing and spending time with over the festivites.

YABU
I never took my girls to theme parks or anything similar.
The things we loved doing when they were simple things: putting up the tree and singing Christmas songs, making mince pies, watching a Christmas film, playing board games.
We still do the same now even though they are teenagers.

Don't over think things.

Your DC still believes the Santa lies?!

Have you not brought him up with critical thinking?

What a sanctimonious, bitter and miserable twat.

Oh fuck off with the ‘commercialised’ bollocks .
How is enjoying a Christmassy day out a bad thing?
You don’t like it? That’s great ,don’t do it but don’t belittle other people that do enjoy it .
I LOVE taking my kids to see the lights/decorations and yes I enjoy the festive events theme parks put on but would I make myself skint? No . Would I force everything on them and tell them to goddamn enjoy it ? Also no ..
I will take my children to do festive things as long as they keep enjoying it and as soon as they don’t, we won’t do it anymore

Some of dds favourite festive ‘traditions’ include driving around to find houses that have gone all out on Christmas decorations and going to have an admirer of them and making a gingerbread house. Doesn’t haveto be a big expensive trip out.

I have one DS who is 7 and understand that is all goes too fast. My favourite Christmas things to do are at home though, putting the tree up, reading and watching Christmas films etc.
It’s a lovely age and I’d like to pause him here for a while ideally but you can’t.
We have done some cool things- did 3 days in Lapland when he was 5.6 and that was amazing and have tickets for the Harry Potter studios this year. We only do one thing a year though.

My experience, now that my two are 10 and 12 and we have had some very different Christmases over the years, due to different financial circumstances, is that what they enjoy most is Christmas music, seeing Christmas lights and watching Christmas films. None of these are expensive. Yes, they enjoyed the big days out but it's not what they remember. This is the first year my 10 year old has not believed in Santa (she was furious when I eventually told her as she was refusing to figure it out for herself!) and yet I'm sure it's still going to be special. We'll make new traditions.

Oh fuck off with the ‘commercialised’ bollocks .
How is enjoying a Christmassy day out a bad thing?

Are you having problems reading and understand this thread? OP isn't talking about one 'Christmassy day out so fuck off yourself.

you do realise the poster was replying to posters above, not the OP?