What do you actually DO Xmas day...?

[QueenOfTheNaps]

Ok, usually I spend Xmas day with my parents, brother, sister, their partners and children. The kids all play with their toys together, we eat a huge Xmas dinner then loaf about drinking chatting playing uno etc.

Well this year our circumstances have changed a little and it will just be me, DH and DS12. I love love love Xmas for the family time and I just feel at a bit of a loss with what we will actually do during the day. DS feels he's too 'old' for toys as presents so won't have anything to play with and keep him entertained.
I guess I don't want it to just turn into a standard Sunday type of day...
Ideas? What do you guys do?

maybe have a vague plan for the day, nice breaky, presents, board game, walk, nice lunch, movie you've already run past everyone.

Rather than try to recreate a version of your traditional Christmas which may just feel flat, could you maybe have a family chat and everyone discuss how they'd like to spend the day. It may be that you all spend all day in your pj's watching back to back episodes of your favourite box set eating your favourite foods. Or do you all get dressed up and spend the day playing together on the xbox? Or a mixture of things, everyone having a turn at doing their favourite thing but as a family? I think 12 would be a good age for this as I'm guessing he's outgrown santa but the full teenage hormones won't have yet hit.

We take it in turns to host so one year I'm in the kitchen all feckin day and don't sit down til 8.30, the next I find a comfy seat and get pissed on prosecco. It's the former this year unfortunately.

I love it because it's the one day in the festive season the 4 of us get left the f555 alone to do what we want. So we have a lie in all together, watch crappy tv/Xmas films, eat, drink, open presents, cook Xmas lunch (which is whatever we feel like, we all hate Xmas pud so we have a chocolate pud instead), walk it off & get some fresh air, more eating, drinking & crappy tv/Xmas films. Love it. Can't wait.

DC get stockings ridiculously early.

We get up at about 8.30. Have naive breakfast, get showered, dressed, hair etc.

Everyone (grownup) gets a glass of Buck's Fizz, DC have squash with fizzy water.

Open presents from under the tree, going youngest - oldest, taking it in turns, one present each as it makes it last longer!

ILs come over. Canapés and more fizz circulate, do gifts with them. They keep DC occupied, DH and I get on with dinner.

Sit down to eat at about 4pm. Starter, main course. Clear up, do first load of dishwashing.

Play a board game at the table (Carcassonne / Exploding Kittens / Cluedo).

Pudding and cheese. Un/reload the dishwasher.

DC go into living room to play with toys/electronic items. Some of us stay at kitchen table to play board games or cards (this is often when Trivial Pursuit comes out).

Quality street/stollen/lebkuchen/more cheese etc do the rounds. More board games/reading new books/playing new games. People go to bed as and when they get tired!

OK - this year is a "travelling down home" year.
Stocking and breakfast, then showers.
Mass (could be near DM or DMIL - depending on how organized we are).
Drive to DMILs - help prep, chat, eat turkey lunch, open presents.
(Always hopeful -almost never happens - grab a quick walk to help dinner settle in between houses).
Drive to DMs - open presents, chat, help prep, eat turkey dinner.
Possibly play some games.
Drive back to rented cottage (or blag beds from DM) and fall into bed.

At home -
Stockings and breakfast, showers.
Mass.
Visit various extended family houses locally, for drink, nibbles and chat, present exchange - roughly 30-60 minutes per stop.
Just between last 2, pop home and get turkey in the oven on the timer.
Last house sometimes is a slightly longer visit.
Get home mid afternoon, put some nibbles in the oven, check turkey, finish other prep and get potatoes in oven etc.
Light fire, open wine, take nibbles from oven.
Start opening presents - relaxed fashion and popping back to kitchen as needed.
Finish dinner prep, eat, tidy up.
Play a few games together and relax.
Cheese board.
DD goes to bed, DH and I watch something stupid on tv (there's never anything good on!), and head to bed too.
Generally, as our lives are so hectic, the relaxed pace of the day is a real, REAL treat!

Breakfast, presents, lunch, presents, Christmas dinner, presents, bed.

They have too many presents, don't they?

The games are board games that we all play together and we have a pack of cards out as well.

Is there anything in the tv schedule he'd like to watch?

At 12, he should be involved in the prep for the meal - make it a family affair and give everyone some responsibility, even if that is setting the table or plating up the starters if you prefer to control the kitchen.

If you plan on eating at lunchtime, why not organize going for a walk afterwards. Or if you prefer an afternoon/evening meal, go for an earlier walk to build up your appetite.

And yes, time to just relax is great!

Dcs are early risers anyway so we will probably be fending them off until we relent at about 6:30 and go downstairs to see if FC has been. Open sacks from Father Christmas.

Breakfast about 8. Shower and get dressed. Get dinner started.

Open presents under the tree and play with new things. Watch some Christmas television.

Have lunch about 1:00. A fairly leisurely affair, or as leisurely as it can be with 3 excited children! My dad and brother usually come over for lunch too.

Clean up from lunch and if the weather is good we try and get outside for a little while.

Play games, watch tv, drink tea and wine and eat chocolate. We just try and have a nice, relaxing day and let the children play.

This year, as last year, DH on night shifts at Christmas and DS and I need to occupy ourselves quietly for a morning while leaving the majority of the presents to be opened once the clans have gathered at my parents' house later.

Last year DS opened a couple of presents in the morning, I heavily suggested what I knew to be a longed-for Lego set and we built it together in front of the fire. I thought I'd be climbing the walls trying to keep DS reasonably quiet until it was time to head out but by the time we'd built the Lego I had to really get my skates on. Plan to do the same again this year. That Ewok village is playing on my mind.

Is there some similarly time consuming task based gift you could give that the family does together?

Also I put a new book in DS' room with his stocking, one he had picked out in advance. Didn't slow him down much though. Depending on children's ages a bit of the day is often spent reading new books, especially comedy dipping into type books, swapping them around sometimes. This is a deep joy of Christmas to me, dipping into books with a mug of tea and some naice biscuits or chocolates.

At 12 I'd buy a board game for you all. Either a classic or something with giggles. And a film you will all like (hard to find I know!).
A walk if it's dry
And yes, joint food prep.

Do you have a games console that would do multi-player games? I'm a bit out of touch but if I was in your shoes a Nintendo Wii ski tournament or the like would be an option.

Plus a walk, as others have said.

Stockings, breakfast (croissants and bucks fizz), tree presents, dinner prep, inlaws visit and play, more Buck's Fizz, dinner, walk, pudding, tv, Lego building, games, bed.

Wake up
Wee
Stockings opened on the bed
Breakfast
Presents
Showers + dressed
Light lunch
Big walk
Christmas dinner with family over (about 7pm).
Christmas film.
Bed.

Lovely.

0600 Prayer and an hours bible reading.

0715-0730 Small Breakfast.

0730-0800 Ritual Cleaning.

0800-1000 Exercise (normally a 5-7 mile run and circuit training)

1000-1030 More cleaning.

1030-1100 Exchange small gift of fruit and novelties for children.

1100-1300 Prayer

1300-1500 Lunch, Bread and Wine,

1500 - The Queen

1530 Cleaning take down decorations.

1800 Prayer and Sleep

get him a couple of new DVDs that you'll like as well, to be enjoyed with some good chocolate and whatever your drink is?

Big Jigsaw?
Board Game - new ones we're enjoying at the moment are the Discworld Ankh-Morpork one, and Exploding Kittens. Dobble is also far more fun and cut-throat than it looks, especially after a few sherries.

I'm confused Fortnum, it looks like you don't make time to actually attend church?

I want what Fortnum's having.

Am also intrigued to know what LBOCS naive breakfast is.

My breakfasts are a loveky tradition of edible bread models of the Nativity Scene which I make on Christmas Eve. Joseph goes down well.

In stark contrast to Fortnum, we watch an insane amount of TV and drink heavily. There's usually Monopoly or something. But like the OP, my DCs are past the point of having new toys to play with and it's never quite the same after that.

Actually reading about the Lego construction - there are loads of incredibly faffy and complicated Lego sets that a 12 year old is definitely not too old for. Choose a good one and that will keep him occupied all day.

Fortnum are you serious? What is ritual cleaning? Why all the bible and prayers but no church? Genuine questions

My new phone is obviously not down with MN-lingo.

Naice breakfast. Eggs Benedict / smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, French toast made with brioche with griddled stone fruits (or a berry compote). Or a massive bacon sandwich on sourdough with proper slabs of bacon from the butcher (and proper salted butter).

Breakfast - usually chocolate and alcohol(not alcohol for the kids obviously!)
Present opening, we do it all in one go
Playing, looking at everyone's presents, photo taking
Lunch prep
More playing
Lunch
Fall asleep (me and dp take it in turns)
More playing, Queens speech and the usual crap on tv
Tidy up time,
More tv, more alcohol, nibbles
Bed when we feel like it
My dds are 18 months, 9 and 15 so still lots to play with. We do games when the toddler has a nap.

I am also intrigued to know more about Fortnums christmas?

Hopefully a long walk along a beach somewhere followed by a posh picnic and home for a Christmas tea. So long as it's not pissing down it's a lovely day.
No cooking if I can wangle it and lots of time together.

I think Fortnum's taking the piss.