I am used to large family christmases. This year just us - how to make it a special day??

[RememberToPlaywiththeKids]

We've got a 4 and a 2 year old and I absolutely LOVE christmas and we've always spent it with about 9 people but this year we're thinking about branching off and staying at home and starting our own christmas for the kids. We will invite anyone who would like to come but think that no-one else will join us for various reasons.

Please can you give me ideas to stop it feeling like a normal weekend day?? What do you do on christmas day and with LOs so young that don't appreciate anything like smoked salmon and champagne etc??

We had our first just-us Christmas Day last year (DC 8, 6 and 3), and although I was dreading it a bit - because I'm used to an extended family Christmas - I think it was the BEST Christmas ever!

We were able to get up when we DC wanted. Went to church. Came home and cooked Christmas Dinner - no hassle over guests arriving or travelling to do.

Watched what we wanted on TV, played with new toys. It was a really lovely day for us. Hope you have a lovely time this year (we've got to travel again )

For various reasons we tend to have Christmas just ourselves. Our wee ones will be 7, 4 and 2 this Christmas and it struck us that the meal (which would be a big part for me and i'd happily spend hours sitting eating) is really not exciting for the kids. For YEARS we've timed dinner so there was a napping baby/toddler for at least part of the meal and we make it only one course sitting in the dining room. So we have platters of starter - smoked salmon, melon, whatever I fancy basically - in the sitting room and let the kids graze while they play, then sit (an hour or so later) for main course and then have dessert hours later. This works for us. We also can let the kids dictate the pace of present opening, where if you had a crowd you might have to fit in with everyone else. So for us we open a few at a time and make them last all day.

We have church in the morning too which our kids love as loads of their friends go so it's not just us all day which probably helps!

Just me and DD this year though her father will come over in the morning I should think.

I always have bucks fizz in the morning and we get dressed and try to make it to church. Dinner at dinnertime, not lunchtime, but this year I will ask DD to choose a favourite dinner and we'll do that. I imagine it will be homemade pizza and carrots .

I think its lovely to be on your own as a family and create your own rituals.

Friends of mine fill their childrens bedrooms with balloons when they are sleeping on Christmas Eve... keeps them entertained when they wake upin the morning... and the look on their faces is brill!

Me, Dh and DD alwys spent Chrostmas Day just the three of us. This is through choice and something me and Dh decided when we first livedtogether, way before we had DD.

We start the day with DD coming into us for snuggles. I go downstars to check and get camera ready and have Christmas songs on; DH brings DD down.

We then spedn the morning opening gifts, drinking champagne and having a yummy breakfast in the living room. We gorg on chocolate :)

Later I will make a late lunch.

Depending on weather we will go for a walk/scoot or whatever.

We play DD's new games/toy/activities. We explore our own gifts.

We phone parents and grandparents.

We watch Christmas TV.

We drink more wie.

Later on DD will go to bed and me and DH snuggle down with yet more wine and chocolates and watch evening Christmas TV.

I can honestly say that it is such a lovely relaxing family day. And for this it is different to the rest of the year as we are generally busy busy busy out and about and seeing family or friends. But Christmas Day is our immediate family day and it is eally special to us. We see family Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.

wow what a lot of replies - I didn't think that I would get any until October/november!! You're all as christmas mad as me clearly!

Your days sound absolutely lovely and have given me much hope! I think I'm afraid that we will end up in the local park, which I hate but otherwise it's a drive to go somewhere else and that seems a bit full on for christmas day!

I love the staggered eating idea and the balloons in the bedroom!

I would love to hear what more of you do as I'm now getting quite excited about the day!

We do the staggered eating thng, although not planned as such. But we tend to have nibbles out throughout late morning onwards, then sit down to have main course around 1-2ish, and arethen too full for dessert - so have it much later on.

Dh and I are mainly on our own for the day and we have just decided that this year we will not do the big dinner. As we have a 3 dc (5,3 and 6 months) a big dinner will be wasted and mean we get less time with the dc.

We will probably do a xmas style dinner at some point over the festive season (but tbh, that's more for me than anyone else)

We plan to graze as that will suit the children best.

We do see neighbours for a mid morning drink which is something we do look forward to and enjoy

Last year was our first as a family without anyone else, and it was lovely.
I decided I wasn't going to wear anything but pyjamas all day, so bought me and ds nice new ones. Got up and had extra special breakfast with danish pastries, opened pressies, phoned people, had a lunch of the stuff we like best etc. Really relaxed with lots of snuggling on the sofa

We always have Christmas at home, but the ILs and my parents normally join us at lunchtime.

I love the balloon idea and will steal it!

Our rituals are:

• Stockings upstairs to be opened first - wake parents so we can join in!
• Follow the Smarties trail to see what big present Santa has left under tree
• Open big present
• Big breakfast - always eggs
• Get dressed late morning
• Friends and children sometimes drop in for a glass or two at midday
• Olds arrive
• Snacks/canapes midday - 3pm
• Children open a few presents from under the tree during this time
• Dinner around 3-4
• DC divide up all presents under tree onto chairs for each person to open
• Watch film and collapse