To think the magic of small children at Christmas is a load of old bollocks

[Pavementworrier]

Adult Christmas is where it's at

We’ve had a lovely day but haven’t got to the teens years yet to compare. 3yo kept randomly shouting ‘thank you Father Christmas!’ throughout the day, 10yo lined up all his Lynx canisters all proud, 8yo spent the day doing lego and crafts.

Exactly this.

Everyone does what suits them and their family to be fair.. what works for you might not for others. But that’s just common sense

I voted YANBU because it depends on the children. We were lucky in that both of our DC rose to the occasion at Christmas. It was magical for them. Both sets of grandparents and our own traditions.

DC are now in their 20s, and sadly both PIL died in the last couple of years. This Christmas was still fun - but not like years gone by.

However, next door have two boys about 7 and 4 and we could hear it kicking off this afternoon. Reminded me of the downside of Christmas with young DC!

Golly you are nice aren’t you lol.

@FletchFan and @Cat1504 lol.
They really did not miss out “big time”. In no way at all. Christmas in our house has always been a glorious wonderful time of joy and happiness. They are both adults now, both look back with fond memories of their childhood Christmas’s.
With the added bonus that never having lied to them about a man in a red suit and held onto that lie for years I also never had to unpick it for them when they got older and had things figured out. You meanwhile can enjoy exploring the logic to your kids of why you lie to them but they must not tell lies to you or others. I had that experience as a kid, I didn’t want it with my own (and they are both glad I didn’t too)
This year I stood at the front door for quite a while with my youngest (21yo) both of us excited with glee that the rotary Santa was going to come down our street any minute now, music blaring ho ho ho! And so much excitement today wondering and then finding out what Santa had brought us. :)

Exactly!

It's amazing. I love it.

Peace and a chilled day.

I never really did the Santa stuff with my children and it never spoiled Christmas for them. But now they are all grown up my Christmas shopping consists of 2 or 3 smallish gifts to open that are personal to them and a money transfer into their bank accounts. Simples!

Not if you actually want to enjoy any of it 🤣

I was a child obvs. I have DC. Christmas was never better than when I was in my 20s.
Christmases in your 20s is 100% where it's at!

For me it was....

• My only responsibility was to buy people presents
• Wherever I turned up I was treated like royalty....e.g back from Uni, turning up at families house - no expectation that I'd pitch in anywhere, just sheer joy 'I was home' 😂 I did used to help with washing up but then it was just everyone piling in the kitchen to ask me about my love life - which was actually interesting back then
• Nights out and literally never feeling the cold even without a coat. My skin was armour!
• Being hungover (mildly - in my 20s a hangover was cleared by lunch) and watching marathon sessions of Harry Potter, eating junk food and never getting fat
• Still getting amazing presents
• Experiencing all the adult side of Christmas for the first time
• oh and the energy......urgh how I miss the energy for it all

Christmas in your 20s - 1000% the best.

Now all attention is on DC (naturally and I don't resent that - I love they get all the fuss) but there's me in the background just slaving away, ignored, flustered, and taking myself off to the fridge to cool down from my 20th hot flush. Taken for granted by literally everyone. Joyless but useful presents (this year I got a gravy boat - a very nice one and I'm delighted with it but 25yr old would have looked at 45yrs old me and gone WTAF?) and a mind full of to do lists.

I hope my DC grow up to have the best memories of Christmases, I really really do but I work bloody hard for it, on top of a full time job, on top of doing 85% of the usual domestic labour, so I don't really have anything left in the tank to feel joy.

I'm tired. I am so frigging exhausted I don't have the energy to cry about how tired I am.

This is my 'me time' - reading mumsnet - 20yr old me would have been onto my 3rd bottle of prosecco now, rolling around on the floor (because I could sit on the floor without my knees hurting) laughing at my brother winding my Mum up, and my whole family looking at me like I was adorable.

To be honest I think I don't really enjoy what a lot of people consider the "adult" parts of Christmas.
I don't like Christmas Dinner, I don't like alcohol.
I like getting stocking fillers and playing with toys 😂😂😂

Maybe some of us are more capable, because we managed most of it and gave our children a lovely magical Xmas when they were young. I suppose if you’re someone who struggles with life, the sort who talks about ‘all the life admin’ they have to do because you got 2 emails from school and need to buy the kids a costume for their nativity, like so many on here, then you’ll struggle to enjoy life. Lots of us are more capable than that.

Ha. Love that!

Na, I've done young adult child free and Christmas with kids and I much prefer kid Christmas, I think I feed off their excitement!

I loved it when the children were little even though it was a lot of work for me. I’m loving having young adult children at Christmas too. It’s a lot more chill, have a laugh and I don’t have to get all the gifts. I get lots back too now.

Alcohol, food and games

Grandchildren is where it's really at! All the fun of young children and none of the responsibility.

What a load of nonsense! I have wonderful memories of the excitement of Santa coming as a child. I grew up in a violent home but the magic of Christmas and Santa are memories I look back on fondly. Seeing the presents and believing that magic had just happened, it was just amazing. I really feel for your kids, you’ve robbed them of that.

I could have 1000 christmas days with my children at this age or younger (11,8) and it wouldn’t be enough. I am utterly exhausted and yet I’ve never felt richer.

Sigh. I’ve literally robbed them of absolutely nothing at all. Dramatic nonsense.
I was discussing this topic with my dd this evening. she said she feels sad for kids who had “the magic” and therefore have such a narrow understanding of of Christmas traditions that they rigidly stick to FC and his squeezing down the chimney (creepy!) when she knows of various others from other countries….. St Nicholas, Santa Klaus, Krampus….. and others. And that they have to “believe the magic” and the learn it’s all a lie. She’s now 21 and would do exactly the same with her kids (if she has them) as I have with mine.

😂

Yep. Having a 2 and 5 year old who are not really up for a lie in, a long walk and maybe a swim, followed by a trip to the pub on Xmas day (all things DH and I did pre kids and all things on the list you said were possible with small kids) is my definition of incapable adult syndrome. Absolutely on a par with not managing 2 emails worth of admin.

This is just stupid. I never believed in Santa and neither do my kids. Christmas still had that lovely special ‘magical’ feel when I was a kid, and my kids still love it too. Kids happily exist in a hinter world of make believe of things they know don’t really exist. Adults don’t need to fake it all, or to tell kids it’s literally true, for the ‘magic’. Children’s minds live in a fantasy creative ‘magical’ world anyway.

i really think this adult obsession with making kids believe in Santa is more about the parents than the kids.

Also, some kids are genuinely really upset to find their parents have lied to them for years. If you tell your kids Santa is literally real, and your kids honestly believe it, then finding out your parents have constructed and maintained a lie, can be devastating for some kids.

Why risk it for ‘magic’ that exists anyway without the lie?

I voted YANBU

Christmas day yesterday was just an extension of every other shit day with little kids.

I worked until xmas eve, then got the worse cold and cough for years, all I wanted to do was rest. But no. Just dealt with meltdowns and kids tv all day. Bring on teenage/adult Christmas

Congratulations on being so capable! Here’s your medal 🥇

Little kid Xmas here. I loved how excited they were about their gifts and how much they enjoyed being with us. I loved watching my DP and DFIL play with them. But the over excitement definitely requires managing! I was in bed by 9pm!