What can I do at the dinner table Christmas day to make it special for 3yo and 6yo?

[frosty21]

There will just be the four of us (me, the dc and dh). We have crackers.

What else can I do so they don't just want to eat and jump down?

I am open to new traditions.

Any suggestions?

I was joking, although only slightly, DDs eat almost every other meal of the year in front of the TV.

Our dinning room table tends to be craft central and very rarely sees the light of day except for birthdays and visitors.

If I don't watch DD2 taking an hour too eat nothing I don't have a row with her. Fighting with DD2 over food is probably the most pointless thing on the planet.

And actually now she's much older roast is a meal she loves and she does sit and enjoy Christmas lunch.

Truth is I've actually come to the conclusion that the size of portions we expect DCs to eat are probably too big and as DCs in the 70's no one would have bothered at all if all we ate was meat, mash and carrots.

Watching small children push food round a plate can be one of the most frustrating things ever .. I sympathise.

We eat in front of the telly sometimes, dc view it as a treat - which probably says something about the quality of treats they are used to

I like the idea of a treasure hunt, just not sure how good I would be at the clues! I am thinking I could tie it into the Christmas Eve hamper the elves bring.

I love the pens in cracker idea and am off to Amazon to search for indoor fireworks - elf fireworks would be a big hit!