I Miss Christmas

[SomeCandyTalking]

I love Christmas more than any other celebration throughout the year and from September 1st I am usually counting down the days. We've always spent a week celebrating it with lots of different activities and traditions and its a very big deal in our house.

Last year however it was such a damp squib compared with other years. The problem is that now the children are grown up almost (19 and 16) a lot of our traditions have been outgrown and Christmas has lost some of its magic. They spent a lot of time in their rooms and some of the traditions just don't work anymore.

What do people with adult and older teens only do to keep Christmas special? I think this Christmas needs to rely less on old traditions and maybe introduce some new ideas to replace them.

Please help me breathe new life into our Christmas.

I missed this thread last week and have only time to skim it (but marking for later).

One thing - if all your Christmas things were built around the DCs in the past, are there things that YOU would like to do too that you can now?

A proper carol service, a nighttime organ recital or more serious Christmas music rather than just festive jingles?

Have a shopping day where you just need to get a couple of bits but make time for a mince pie and mulled wine sitting looking at the crowds and enjoying it.

Taking the DCs, DH or even just yourself out for a crisp wintery walk and enjoying the natural world.

Having some time to pop into a Church, or a local live crib, and taking a few minutes of peace for yourself and thinking of your own blessings and others needs.

Giving a bit of time to some who may need some help. Either an organized thing through a local charity or church or community group, or even something like buying a family a week's worth of groceries (non perishables) including toiletries etc for the local Lion's club or similar collection. Not just the regular box of cereal/tin of fruit. (This is not meant to be patronizing - just based on looking at the mounds of cornflakes and tinned peaches in the collection trollies every year - I have started to buy the specials for a few weeks in advance, including things like nappies, toothbrushes, and lots of ordinary non-food bits, and take these TO the supermarket on the weekend that the collection is on, before doing my own weekly shop).

I'll be back....

In my parents house, anyone who sleeps under their roof and "still believes" is welcome to put out a pair of socks/tights on Christmas Eve (we never had proper stockings!) and see what they get next morning. Always still half a fruitbowl (a red apple, green apple, perfect banana, kiwi, mandarin and an orange), a 1lb box of a favourite sweets, and a book. The youngest "child" turned 30 recently!! I don't think any of my siblings who has stayed "at home" has yet refused to put out a stocking. (I haven't slept there on Christmas Eve since the year after I got married, so 14 years ago). I am actually considering doing a stocking for DH this year that DD will help with, as a surprise but not from Santa (and she might tell him as secrets are SOOOO not her forte, so I might get one in return).

We do the Christmas Eve hamper in our house - only 1 DD, but DH and I also get new PJs and slipper socks in it. And while DD gets a suitable child's hot choc mix (I usually try to get the "ice block of choc on a wooden spoon" type), DH gets a chilli one and I get the one with a little syringe of amaretto stuck into it!! Yum!!

While you DCs may be too old for it now, DD is only turning 9 so still wants us to read "Twas the night before Christmas" at bedtime.

There are so many fab board games out now. We play Q-bitz, jenga, monopoly, cluedo and I know I saw some great and very different ones in a shop locally here, Cogs which were good for all ages.

A great big jigsaw to work on together underneath a board? So the table can still be used for dinners, but the board lifted off and jigsaw continued in quiet times?

Is there any particular programme or film that the DCs love, or would agree to watch together? Make it a special time, with nice drinks (glass of wine, non-alcoholic cocktails, proper lemonade) and some popcorn or choc or favourite crisps etc? It doesn't have to be seasonal, just making it family time.

Get the DCs to help out with some prep work together at some point. Maybe they might be interested, if asked, to do some baking together on the Eve, like a yule log - or maybe even they might like the responsibility of doing a particular dish (traditional or a new one to the house) for Christmas Dinner, or doing the catering entirely for another meal for everyone?

Ask them too, what they like and don't like about Christmas. What they might be interested in doing differently. What they want to keep.