Teenagers at Christmas

[brandylegs]

I miss having little kids on Christmas Eve and the anticipation of Santa visiting.

I also miss the excitement of Christmas morning.

My teenagers all went off to bed pretty early and said they'd get up around 11am in time for our visitors!

I felt sad!

Me too OP!

Mine is still awake, but not because she's excited for Santa - she's just a night owl.

I saw my friends kids on SM tonight with their carrots and mince pies for Santa, and that's all gone now. Although DD is 13, it's the first year we haven't even tried to pretend (even for our sakes!)

It is sad!

I hear you OP. Same here, although mine said they'd get up for 9am. Not sure how likely that is. I've just finished stuffing the Santa stockings for them. It keeps it alive a bit. I'm in denial 😁

My DD is 4, and this is the year she finally really gets excited about Santa, watching Christmas movies, decorating gingerbread houses with me, singing Santa got stuck up the chimney and all the other Christmas magic that goes with it, and then I realised, she might only have a few more years left of those magical moments and I got a little bit upset 😔 they really don't last long do they?! x

Nope - quite happy there is no early wake up call! Sure those years were lovely, when their eyes would light up at the sight of the presents that suddenly appeared overnight. But so much work! Now lazy morning, leisurely breakfast, my son will take the dogs out and i can start cooking. No whining, no fights, no overexcited overtired grumpy kids! I even might get a hand with the washing up!

I feel similarly to mondaytosunday.

It's my first proper year of no Santa (tho he's kind of coming anyway) and despite having had a hectic few weeks, house being upside down due to having workmen till yesterday, it feels ok - no early start, kids are relaxed about their presents, dinner will be more straightforward. .

My 16yo is usually the first up and has to wait for a reasonable time to wake the younger siblings! I get up with her and we have whispered cups of tea and do the crossword together with the cat.

My 2 are still up, eldest just back from the pub and youngest has been to the midnight carol service with me.

heading to bed shortly

I love the fact they sleep late and I can have a quiet morning nibbling goodies before it all gets going.

Then they grow up and you re capture the closeness
DD is 31 and DS is 29
Had a lovely Xmas eve with them and their partners
cocktails and food, games and baring our souls ❤️❤️

My eldest is working a 12 hour shift tomorrow.

My middle one doesn't really want anything so isn't excited for Christmas at all

My youngest is quite excited but not how she used to be and will be over the excitement 10 minutes into the morning.

I feel christmas with teens is quite anticlimactic. Ive put tonnes of time and thought (and cash) into getting things they will like but by 11 theyll be moaning about having to go to families houses for lunch, by 7 ill be back home alone. I dont have a partner so never get anything myself, my parents have 9 grandchildren so dont buy for adults now. My only enjoyment of christmas was seeing my kids excited but now theres not even that.

It really sucks as they get older.

My teen (18) is still out. He finished working around 10pm and is in a club in town with friends. I am at home unable to sleep for a few reasons but also worried he wont be able to find a taxi home on Christmas morning 🤦🏻‍♀️

First year I havent had the chance to sneak into his room with his stocking. They grow up way too fast!

I'm very lucky, my 16 yo has humoured me by putting out mince pie and carrot... but I totally get it op. I hope you have a lovely Christmas though x

DDs 16/14 helped tidy up from today’s hosting, prepped the veg for tomorrow, helped drag DD6s presents down, made the Santa footsteps, and watched Krampus with me before we all came to bed around midnight.

Youngest DD is having a sleepover in their bedroom tonight so they’re in for a shock around 5-6am

I am painfully aware that this may well have been the Last Year this happens.

I feel really lucky reading this, my teens are very happy to do family stuff. (Well, three are). Had a lovely evening with friends last night then watched a film together, they love board games and watching rubbish tv.
I love it now we don't have a 6am start!

My 2 are 18 & 22 and yes, I sometimes do miss the excitement of childhood but I just feel lucky to have had those magical years with them.
They both still join in with most things, love visitors, watching all the films etc and in all honesty I find this new relaxed, staying up late version of Christmas just as enjoyable!
My 2 were horrendous sleepers generally when they were younger and I recall one Christmas they got up at 2am and never went back to sleep. I look about 80 on all the photos from that year 😂

We have said they need to be up by 12, parents used to come round to do presents at 8 but this year they are going to my brothers as nephew is 10 so probably last year of proper magic for him! Even the dogs are still asleep, pugpup not interested in getting up!

Will take dogs out for a walk to wear them out hopefully as pup ate our sofa cushion yesterday whilst we were out so need him to be super tired and not a PITA today.

I actually like how relaxed it is with teens now though, makes me wonder why on earth we got dogs now the DCs are older, bad decision haha!

I am feeling quite blue about it all tbh. I have a very small family so nothing to absorb the anti climax. I get told they want the Christmas food so I do it but it just sits there and goes to waste.

They've opened their stockings which is mostly sweets tbh and are so underwhelmed.

Genuinely working out how not to bother next year but then I miss out. Bah humbug indeed.

@JaceLancs that’s lovely! Hope to have the same with my DC when they are older

I’m quite enjoying the peace here, DD2 is 16 and still fast asleep and DD1 (25) has gone to work.
I’m having a coffee being serenaded by a pug snoring and will take a cup up for DH shortly.
We’ll take the dogs off for a walk this morning and make lunch for DD1 getting home at about 3pm.
Then we’ve got presents to open.

Nonsense! Christmas with teens is far better. Proper conversations. All like decent adult Christmas films. They did all my wrapping. No screeching and fussing. Bliss!

I do miss the excitement of when they were younger. I think you don't really appreciate it until you realise it's gone.

I have a very grumpy 14 year old with ASD and who has difficulty sleeping. I'm not sure she'll even be awake to join in the present opening. My 12 year old still finds it all quite fun so I'm holding onto that and making sure we spend a lot of time together today. Next year when she's reached 13 things might be different.

Mine woke me at 3am letting her friends in to go to the toilet on the way home from the pub and then going out again into the garden so I couldn't work out what was going on and got up. She says she'll be up by 9am though. We'll see.... It's not ideal. She was very apologetic though. I am sending her to go and pick up my DM, which I couldn't do when she was younger, and she can help with the last bit of the dinner when everything has to happen at once.

ASD 16yo here too… he has refused to buy presents for anyone, speak one word or move from his room since we arrived at my parents’ house several days ago. Dh has taken him food and dd insisted on hanging up his stocking for him but I don’t think he will unpack it.
I also have a 13yo whose fuse has recently got very short and I can’t say anything without it being wrong.
Luckily I do have a pleasant 17 yo as well.

Just let them be teenagers, l love that they sleep in, life is so busy and demanding of them, my youngest gets up at 5.00am to start his part time job at 6.00, and eldest works full time.
I am laid in bed browsing online with a nice coffee, enjoying the peace.

Pre teen had us up at 7. New teen had already been up and xboxing.

Presents all done teen feels he's socialised enough for now so has gone back ty his room to prepare for more socialising later.