Inspired by the Christmas Elf Thread - please tell me what traditions / magic you do to help your DCs believe....

[LittleBlackDress]

My DD will be aware of Christmas and Father Christmas for the first time this year and I am a bit clueless as to what traditions to start / what 'evidence' of Santa to leave etc. I'd love for her Christmas memories to be really special before she stops believing so if you have any suggestions I would be thrilled to hear them. Growing up, we didn't have any (except for a mince pie on a plate) so I have nothing to carry on from my own family. Any ideas?

Hi we have two dcs 4 and 2 so still a bit new to this ourselves! In the run up to christmas we do the usual advent calendars, nativity story, setting nativity scene, decorating tree, letter to santa and a visit to santa. Last year we used pnp and got messages for the children, which ds loved!

Then on christmas eve the elves (who are checking that they are being good) leave a xmas hamper for the dcs. We watch santa on the norad tracker. Before bed we leave a mince pie and orange juice with vodka for santa, and a carrot outside for the reindeer. Then we read ' the night before christmas', put stockings out. santa always leaves a glittery trail of footprints from the fireplace to the tree which always amazes ds.

I will watch with interest for ideas as I want to keep the belief going for as long as possible!

My dds are aged 4 and 6 and we do:

Of on the shelf
Xmas hamper left by elves
Xmas pantomime
Xmas crafts on the run up to Xmas
Friends Xmas eve party afternoon (hamper left for our return)
Big deal of getting the tree etc
We leave out reindeer dust, mince pie, carrot and milk. Xmas eve night we watch movie from hamper and drink hot chocolate etc.
Before going to bed I sprinkle red glitter all over the fireplace (works as we have a real open chimney)
Last year was our first year of of on the shelf and was our best Christmas!

Oh pnp is fab! Mine almost fainted whilst waiting to see if they were naughty or nice!

Awwww, Christmas build up with little DCs is lovely.
Mine will be 13 and 10.6 by Christmas, so we've evolved a bit over the years.

We have a New Christmas Tradition every year.
Last year was everyone dresses up for Christmas Dinner
This year will be everyone lards about in their PJs on Boxing Day

When they were little:

Christmas starts with the Advent Tree (a gorgeous little wooden cabinet with doors holding a decoration to hang on a tiny tree every day -and a sweet)

Elf on the Shelf (I made my own with an Action Man figure and felt glued/sewed to make his outfit)

A trip to London to see the lights and go to Hamleys

Pantomime (but now DD and I go to ballet. DH takes them to see a film -usually 22/23rd Dec while I do last minute shopping)

Christmas trip to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park.

We used to feed the geese or reindeer. Now we have a Christmas Eve walk.

DD has a tea-set from Ikea that she leaves for Father Christmas.

I used to hide the Sleeping Elf in the playhouse and DS & I went to visit him with a candle in a jar.

Christmas Eve Hamper after the walk.
DS sleeps in DD room on Christmas Eve. They have stockings.(little gifts wrapped up.Their presents get smaller and ££ as they get older)

Letter to Santa book
Night Before Christmas book
DC letter for FC

Tracking on Christmas Eve to see where he is (is it ROMAD?)

Great suggestions! Really appreciate the replies. Lots to think about so far. Can't wait to see how she reacts this year!!

We did Elf on the Shelf last year and it was great. We can't wait to start again this year.

Traditions for us are slowly building up. DS is now 6 and DD 2.

This year we will have Elf on the shelf again, Cranberry, our elf, arrives with the chocolate advent calendars on 1st Dec.
We have a panto booked for the first weekend in December.
Portable north pole, can't remember when that becomes available but will definitely be doing it for both DC's this year.
Last year DS and I had a day out to see Arthur Christmas and for him to choose some presents for his gran / granma and then have some lunch. It was a lovely day so will have to plan to do this again at some point in December.
I love the idea of a Xmas eve hamper but we always have DH's family round on Xmas eve so I am thinking of doing this at the beginning of the month and including things like pj's, flannels, toothbrushes etc for them to use throughout December. I have already got the Santa comes to Manchester book which we can read at bedtime and the Little Einsteins Christmas Wish DVD to include in the hamper so they can watch it throughout the month and get nice and Christmassy.
Christmas Eve, once DH family leave, we do the mince pie, carrot and drink for FC and Rudolph. We also track Santa's progress (think it is on the Norad website???) before the DC's go to bed.
Stockings on the bed from the elves, a couple of main presents off their Christmas list to FC from the man himself and then the rest of the gifts they know come from us and family.
This year we are going to paper up the door into the lounge with Christmas paper (a good bye trick from the elf) so they have to burst through it to find their presents. Well that is the plan anyway!

I used to put the loft light on (we've got 2 Velux windows) to guide the sleigh to our roof .Cheating, but hey it gives my DC an unfair advantage.

Now we do a line of candles in jars down the path.

I used to do a Teddy Bear on Every Step (little tiny ones) with a sweet by each one on the stairs.

We set a small fibre optic tree on a timer (they can't go downstairs until it lights ) FC switches it on when he's been.

And a Christmas Eve film at home ( cinema film a few days before)
Current favourites are Elf and Nativity.
There's going to be Nativity 2 released.

I'll be watching Woman in Black when they go to bed

The fibre optic tree on a timer is inspired 8 o'clock anyone?! :)

8 o'clock

Yeah right, Dream On

You might be a tad optimistic there.

Mine wake at 6.30am and start on their Christmas Stockings. (I bought some lovely bags from QVC with little lights set in.) We put them in DD room (DS sleeps in her room on Christmas Eve) at 2am and I watch the reflection of the lights for a while.
This keeps them busy until 7.30am.

Last year I told DS he couldn't get up until a reasonable hour.
"And what do you consider to be a reasonable hour Muvver"? (nearly 13 yo)

Last year we did the wrapping paper covering the door - to burst through and to keep them out of the living room.
The year before he sneaked downstairs (before the tree came on)>I heard him say to DD "He's been"- very excited.

because they stopped believing in FC years ago but still keep up the pretence.

Elf on the shelf such a face in our house too! Love the idea of a Christmas hamper. Our face Xmas DVD is the polar express and the nativity (anyone know when the nativity 2 is due out)?

Fave not face!!!

Nativity 2 out Nov 23rd.
Don't know what rating though.(but I don't think there was anything ooh-err in Nativity)

David Tennant is in it so I'll dispatch DH to the cinema with the DCs

Thanks. Am primary school teacher and first was so true! As was the depiction of the private school contribution (dd goes to independent school and although it's great for her, the stereotypes are still very much alive and well)!

Nativity 2??? This is great! My 8 and 7 year olds LOVE Nativity - dance about shouting POPPY! POPPY! and lent it to their teacher who also loved it. WIll check it out!

I love these types of threads, I was always a secret Christmas enthusiast but now I've discovered mumsnet I can get it all out there!

We started Elf on the Shelf last year which we all enjoyed. Jimmy, the elf (DH named him-he wanted call ds this but settled for the elf!), arrived on 1st Dec with advent calendar, Christmas book and snow globe.
Choosing a new decoration for the tree every year.
Christmas eve hamper which included new pjs, toothbrush, facecloth, bubble bath and chocolate snowman. I might put in DVD/colouring book this year.
Paper over the doorway to burst through in the morning.

This year I am going to take dd to pantomime.
Christmas film at cinema
I'm going to try to do a Xmas activity everyday with dcs, planning to tie a new gift tag to elf which will have the activity on it. It will be simple things making cards, baking, visiting Santa etc.
I want to make more of a big deal about delivering presents to family, I want dd to realise its not just about receiving gifts.
Going to put a some old jars with candles down the drive Christmas eve (thanks 70 for that idea)
Going to track Santa on NORAD, dd will be 4 this year and much more aware of everything.

I've never seen nativity, is it a British film? I'll keep an eye out for DVD.

Hi, Just to give you our Version

As we work in a business that requires DP and I to be working very hard over christmas. We do the following

Advent Calander - Wooden One with a tree and decorations as DD is allergic to Lactose This one is the one we have and it is FAB
We do PNP which is brilliant
We do the Christmas Village and then Santa flight with NORAD
We Do stocking which is down stairs by the fire!
DD writes he list to santa
We get a letter back from santa (I do my own, but you can use Moonpig)
DD gets a Christmas Card from Santa
Last year because we where so busy and needed to buy a couple of hours Santa and Mrs Claus did a treasure hunt for DD and a letter explaining why! (Already beening asked by DD if they are going to do one again, I have a feeling that Santa and Mrs Claus are going to be doing this for years!)
We also do fairy dust when Santa has been down the chimney - gliter in various colours
Last year was ginerbread men, this year I think it might be a ginger bread house! Left for santa and a glass of Organge juice (I don´t drink)!
Carrots for Reindeer, Really Must make Reindeer food this year!

But I am really interested in the Elf on the Shelf - Can someone give me some more information???

These are all great.

While I remember, if you are going to do gingerbread house then usually ikea do a nice one that costs £2-3 instead of the £10-20 that lots of other places charge.

Partly this is because it is just the gingerbread bit and doesn't have the sweets and icing in but this means that you can get your own - which for me is actually better as a) it's loads cheaper and b) you can just use sweets that you like or like the look of rather than being dictated to by the ones provided.

Using this to mark place, will come back to type later when not on phone!

Elf on the shelf is great - official version here

We did the unofficial version! Bought our elf from ebay and made our own introduction letters. You can also find the story being read online on youtube which DS watched a few times before our elf arrived.

There are lots of things you can do with him. DS loved it when he got up to mischief and would dive out of bed every morning to see what he had been up to the night before. It could be something like turning all the picture frames upside down or decorating the Christmas tree with all his underpants!

It made every day a little bit Christmassy and special and DH and I had lots of fun trying to thing up things for the elf to do!

I read a Christmas story at bedtime (we read nightly anyway still) every night in December (I now have a decent stash of Christmassy books). "Twas the night before Christmas" gets read on Christmas Eve for the first time.

DD (and I, and even last year DH) gets new PJs on Christmas Eve. I have already been asked to ensure that we ALL get them this year again (by DH ).

I have a list of activities to try to keep DD occupied throughout December, some are crafty, some are shopping related, some are tidying, some are just magic. I try to put an idea or a Christmas colouring sheet into the advent calendar every night, and last year, I managed to find enough mini choloate Santas and Snowmen in nets in Aldi for 1 of those everyday too (DD found the stash in mid-month and raided it, so I had to buy QUITE EXPENSIVE chocolate nutcracker soldiers for the last few days!!).

Carrot for Rudolph, milk and a HM cookie for Santa. Carrot is half gone, cookie and milk (just a few crumbs) totally gone every Christmas morning!! (For the HM cookie, some years we have the time and energy to make them entirely on Christmas Eve - and helps to distract DD. Other years, we just slice dough from a previous batch that is in the freezer and bake that. I always make sure we have done at least one batch earlier in December, just in case I have lost the plot on 24th!!).

We track Santa on Norad too on Christmas Eve, and DH has a "How many days until Christmas" app on the ipod that he and DD check religiously from about mid-November. (This IS the same DH who rolls his eyes as he says I am a Christmas nut and it's too much fuss [xmas]). In fact, it was checked 2 days ago when they thought I wasn't paying attention!!

We also write a letter to Santa, which gets posted. (Here, if you write to "Santa, North Pole", the Post Office sends back a postcard from the Man himself).

And we go to see him at my office's "family party", which is very relaxed so time for a chat, rather than in a shopping centre. Every second year we go on the "Santa Train" (an old steam train excursion), which is magical.

ZipZap.

Sorry I make my own! But then in Spain there is not a great deal of choice, you want it you make it!

Last year DD (4) and I did, ginerbread men and Meriguin SnowMen.

This year Deinately Ginger bread house and what else I am not sure.

But there will also be a yule log, and home made garla pie´s to be made!