Help me have a 'grown up' Xmas

[glamourousgranny42]

This will be the first year in 24 years that I won't have a young child here for Xmas and I don't know what to do!
I have a DD 24 a ds 15 and a did 4 years. We have always been together at Xmas. This year however my DD and did will be away and so Xmas will be me, ds and dp. I won't need to put provisions out for santa. Ds will probably be awake when I put the stockings out. No Xmas day spent building toys and wishing hell on the granny who bought the noisiest toy in the world!
I might even get a lie in! So reassure me that a grown up Xmas is still as lovely as one with littlies .

Sorry did = dear grandaughter!

What do you mean, no provisions for Santa? He's got a figure to keep!

It will be fine.

I have two DCs in their thirties, we have had lots of lovely Christmases. DCs still have stockings and table presents and we all help with the cooking. We have Christmas music on and lots of reminiscing over Christmases past takes place. We eat by candlelight and it is a very relaxed and happy occasion.

We do santa and the youngest is 18. Why wouldn't you?

The downside is you have to wait until about 2am to put the santa sacks at the foot of their bed as they are up until then but the balance is that they are not up at 6am.

My daughter is 3 but even if it was just the adults, I'd be doing the Santa filled stockings

Well my dp has informed me he will not be 'grown up' and has assured me he believes in santa otherwise where do the presents come from! Haha

When I think back on happy past Christmases it isn't the ones where I was a child but the ones where I was a teenager.
OK, it is a different type of christmas, but i loved spending time at home with family, seeing relations, eating chocolate all day long, having a drink with the folks when older...
No santa doesn't mean no Christmas!

glamorous you absolutely must do Santa!

I remember coming home from working in a bar one Christmas Eve, and DM Santa had already filled my stocking. There was a part of me that was devastated...

I agree that the slightly older Christmases were lovely in a very different way. You just need to be sure that it doesn't descend into the equivalent of a normal lazy Sunday - it still needs to be special.

We used to visit family in the morning after we were all up, opened presents and dressed. A cheeky little bucks fizz at my Nana's with my cousins (none of us were 18 ), back to ours, other Nana came round and we'd do more presents then a late lunch. After lunch we'd watch tv/doze (I have a lovely memory of Christmas when I was 21, dozing off to sleep on my Nana's shoulder, and waking up to find she'd cuddled me in like when I was little), then in the evening aunts/uncles/cousins/neighbours/friends come round for a buffet and play games or do a quiz until about midnight. My parents still do this, but toddler DS likes to be in bed by 6.30 so we'll have to give it a miss again this year

And I think your DP has a good point...

I am 45 and have always had a stocking.

Thanks folks. We will definitely do stockings and hopefully make new traditions.

My parents are both in their late 60's and haven't had my brother or me home at Xmas in years...they still leave something out for Santa and get stockings.

No need to stop the traditions just because there's no youngsters around!

I hand the children (21 and 23) their stockings as I go to bed and they are heading out to the pub and remind them that we now no longer get up for Santa in the dark
On Xmas day everyone has a drink and helps with the meal and its very relaxed, friends, boyfriends/girlfriends arrive and more drinks are consumed, I like it better than when they were little

Go to parkrun! It's the best way to start Christmas day imho. And this year you can go on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!

OP- I'm so glad you are going to do stockings

DH and I are in our 60s, DCs are in their 30s and we all still have stockings.