What are your 'magic makers'?

[Whatsername17]

By which I mean: what do you do to make Christmas special/magical? We don't tend to spend a huge amount of money on presents at Christmas as our dds have a big family and are lucky to receive lots of gifts. To be honest, It all got a bit ridiculous when dd1 was first born as everyone seemed to be in a race to buy her the most stuff - it was totally overwhelming and I felt a bit like the magic was lost and was replaced with stuff. The family have since pared everything back a bit and we have tried to set a trend that Christmas is about being together and having fun and that is what makes it special. I love Christmas and want my girls to realise it is about more than just getting shitloads of stuff. The things we do to make it magical are:

1. We have a wooden advent calender filled with tasks. The tasks are mostly free craft based things that we can do together. E.g. the 1st of December's task is always 'put up the decorations'. Then we have things like 'collect pine cones to decorate', 'snuggle under a blanket and watch a Christmas film', 'go and visit Santa', 'write your Christmas cards' etc. Dd1 loved it so much last year she still goes on about it. The best bit was that most of the activities were free and we could all do them together.
2. The Christmas eve hamper. Again, this is a family thing. We all get new pjs, there is a day trip 'ticket' for the whole family, a cookie mix to bake for Santa. Then traditions like the special plate for the cookies, the dds stockings and the magic key.

I also take dd1 shopping to choose a toy for charity. We save pennies in a jar throughout the year. It's nice to see her think of others and not just what she wants. I'd love to hear what others do.

Sorry me again. Santa also leaves the children a North Pole breakfast xmas morning.

Loads of ideas for these on Pinterest but I do

Pancakes
Snowman shaped biscuits
"Elf" jelly (red & green)
Marshmallows
Cadbury snowman
Strawberries
Grapes

Not the healthiest but it's only once a year.

ELF Jelly ! Deffo an addition to our North Pole breakfast

My 17 month old is a bit too little for this but reading this thread has made me a bit teary. I LOVE Christmas and can't wait to start some of these traditions making it much less about 'stuff' and much more about people. We will choose decorations this year and perhaps do some craft things related to Xmas if he can handle it 😊

KTD my oldest is now almost 9 so ours have evolved over the years but we started some traditions like the elves at about your DCs age. When he was little they didn't get up to much mischief just moved around and he loved finding them.

Now they're older I have to get quite inventive with the antics as pants on the tree isn't making the oldest laugh as much as the younger ones. Thankfully there are lots of inventive people on Pinterest

for those of you looking for charity things to do. We often make up a box for the food bank and the Salvation Army sometimes will be on the look out for toys & gifts for families in need. Last year a friend of mine did an advent box. So each day she took the children to the shop and they bought something for a family in need somedays it was something practical like soap or toothpaste or a tin of beans others it was a treat such as some chocolate or a small toy and then gift wrapped it and the children took it to the food bank

U can make Olafs with marshmallows and Matchmakers

Just came through on my email! Different activities to do on every day of Advent

We do elf on the shelf It's cringey but the DC adore it so we carry on.

Christmas Eve boxes - most of what we have in it comes out every year now: magic key, plate, milk bottle, stockings etc. DC all get new PJs, a Christmas story (to share), new DVD (not usually Christmassy to be honest, usually the latest marvel film) and a selection box each. DM and I have an annual trip to the local garden centre to choose a posh expensive tree decoration for each child too and put them in here. The intent is also so they have a full set when they leave home.

Christmas Eve breakfast is always out at the village pub, where they do a continental buffet. DC adore this so do we and it sets up the day so we don't need lunch, we have party food in the evening.

They all have wooden advent calendars that we fill with chocolates/lego minifigures/hair bobbles/jokes etc.

DD has a December birthday so this year we are also going to Center Parcs for a week! I'm so excited fireworks will be on her birthday so I hope it'll be special. We've booked to see Santa there and it cost a fortune so won't be going anywhere else!

We also refuse to leave the house from Christmas Eve afternoon until
Boxing Day lunch time. People are welcome to come to us but we don't visit. DM usually pops over for an hour or so, to see the DC open their gifts.

Worst Best of all is MILs annual Christmas party. It's the cheesiest thing in the entire world complete with crap games, prizes, embarrassing tasks, FIL dressing up as Santa and fooling none of the DC and so on. The DC end up with so much extra crap we usually struggle to fit it in the car Its amazingly fun and a highlight for the DC. I hate it and love it all at the same time. It's the 'big family' type stuff I'd have loved as an only child (with no cousins!) but it's so cringey

Oh I forgot, last year we started a new 'elf' thing. They brought a £20 note and a letter telling the DC to go to the supermarket and do a shop for the food bank. Eldest two DC (8 & 9 then) had their own trolley and all 4 helped to choose items they thought would be important, including some treats and they filled it up. They put it through the checkout and they helped deliver it to the church run food bank (I know the ladies who run it). They loved doing it and it really taught them about remembering how lucky they are and how some others aren't.

I love reading all of these, am making notes!

The last couple of years on 23rd/24th Dec we have made some Christmas biscuits and cakes and we then go around all the houses in our close and give some to the neighbours and wish them a merry Christmas. The kids love doing this.

I do a variation on the elves, we have a couple of reindeer who come every year, and they bring a big box of Christmas stuff with them on 1st Dec, such as paper chains, a new Christmas DVD, paper for the letters to Santa, Christmas themed snacks, new Christmas jumpers etc. I prefer this to the Christmas Eve box as it gives us more time to enjoy everything.

You must all pile into bed on Xmas Eve and read 'The Night Before Christmas' ... when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse ...

This sets me off every year! Am teary now just thinking about it!

We have elves too but they are not used to monitor behaviour as it just seems to add more pressure rather than being fun. And we don't do something every night, we just do silly things when the kids aren't looking or while they're in bed, but I don't get stressed if we don't have time each day to do something x

Some of these are lovely!

I pack away all Christmas DVDs and books with the Christmas decorations and then (from the time we decorate) we read and watch about Christmassy things it means they are excited about the books and DVDs every year as they are only available for a limited time

We also buy a new decoration for the tree each year.
Sherbert I also have all the Christmas books in a box with the decorations so the DCs get 'new' stories for Christmas.
DS1 is big enough to sit through a film now so will be introducing him to all the Christmas classics.
I also knitted 24 little stocking which get hung up with a treat inside - DS1 enjoyed finding the treat each day last year.

Yes re packing away the Xmas DVDs and books with the Xmas tree.

Don't so anything Christmassy until December 1st. Then go overboard for 24 days 😂

Also have lots of Christmassy snacks eg Asda have Xmas tree shortbread and crumpets. Buy panetoni from Lidl. Have a tub of Celebrations on hand at all times for digging into.

Advent calendars are a big deal for us too. X

With hubby working alot though the year and struggling to spend time as a family we use christmas and the month of december for family time we go on a santa special train, breakfast with santa, christmas fairs and visit as many grottos that we can fit in. We also forcus christmas eve , day and boxing day on family rather than presents.

I hope this doesn't come out as one long paragraph again.....

We usually put the tree and decs up on first Saturday of December. We make a whole day of it. Have a good spring clean in the morning, then stop for lunch, then decorate while watching The Santa Clause. We all have baths/showers then have a beige buffet for tea in front of the x factor.

The day before decoration day on the Friday I always put all the Christmas bedding on the beds while kids in school and dh in work and leave a surprise out for everyone. Last year we all had festive slippers/bed socks left on the beds.

Ds is the only one who still believes (at the mo anyway, just turned 10 and going into year 6 so who knows what might happen between now and Christmas!) So we take him to see Santa at our local garden centre which is amazing. Wish I'd known about the place when my girls were small!

The three kids have small stockings hanging on the fire place. Every night their elves leave them a small treat - usually a festive choc of some sort and sometimes a festive pen or similar. Ds has a letter from his elf as he still believes.

Every year I buy a new elf door. Once decs are up and ds is in bed I blu tac the door somewhere for him to find. It's how they get it and out!

This year I'm going to book Christmas Nights at St Fagans. It's a local open air museum and it's a lovely festive night with live band playing music, stalls, crafts, etc. We went a few years ago and loved it.

I always stock up on festive silliness for parties such as face mats, Christmas quizzes, pin the nose on Rudolph, last year I bought a fish bowl for the adults, I make vodka jelly shots for parties, we play charades (the kids version so they can join in), Dobble.. ...lots of different things. This year I've bought dh an inflatable Santa suit and myself an inflatable turkey suit for when we host any parties.

I now own (I think) 9 or 10 festive jumpers and 2 dresses. This is my uniform for the whole of December. Even on the days I work. Dd1 (soon to be 16) thinks I'm an embarrassment

Christmas eve the elves leave us all a few pressies. Always new pj's. And usually something like new festive socks to wear out that day when we visit the in-laws.

Throughout December we do the usual baking, writing cards, watching festive films (every night!), hot choc with cream and marshmallows......

I find it all exciting!

Why?!?! Why do my posts always post as one huge paragraph when I'm putting paragraphs in?!?!?!? It makes my posts hard to read!

I can see the paragraphs Muddling

I love the ideas on here and I've been inspired to start my Advent list for this year.

We have a fabric Advent calendar we were given where each day you take a little decoration out and hang it on the picture. Last year I added a note that had that day's activity on it. My 4yr old loved it. I tried to balance it between charity activities, Christmas 'chores' and family activities. My son loved them all (especially walking to Sainsbury's in the dark after tea on a school night to buy pet food) and looked forward to what that day's task would be. I can't remember them all, but they included the following:

Charity

• Buy and donate pet food to an animal shelter
• Donate to the food bank
• Have a clear out of toys / books / clothes and take to the charity shop (I may have separated this one onto different days)
• Feed the birds

'Chores'

• Decorate the house
• Decorate the tree
• Put a display up in our window
• Write Christmas Cards
• Wrap presents

Family Activities

• Local NT property Christmas event
• See Father Christmas
• Walk around the town at night to see all the lights in people's houses
• Read Christmas stories
• Watch Christmas films
• Crafts
• Bake cookies and gingerbread
• Panto / ballet
• Nativity play
• Christmas Eve mass

I decided I didn't want to feel the pressure of being tied to the Elf on a Shelf after seeing some friends with older children regret ever starting it more and more each year!

Where do you but inflatable turkey suits

Oh thank you @rhinestone maybe I can't see the paragraphs because I'm using the app on my phone. Was really starting to bug me lol!

@nicpem the inflatable suits are from studio.

Lovely thread OP

My eldest has autism so Christmas has a lot of predictability and repetition built in, but I think all kids love that and it's what makes something a tradition.

We always go foraging for pine cones etc
We make orange and clove pomanders
We make bird feeders and "decorate" the trees outside
We bake special Christmas cookies (gifts)
We work on Christmas crafts (gifts)
We decorate the tree (they each have a box of decorations bought over the years and we have various bits from holidays and events so there's a bit of reminiscing)
We feed the ducks
They each have a special shopping trip with me, ending with hot choc in cafe
We make a gingerbread house
We make salt dough ornaments
We help decorate grandparents houses
They each buy a gift for a disadvantaged child
They do a food bank shop
We swop out a shelf of books for Christmas books
We wrap gifts
We deliver gifts to relatives
We have a crib and move Mary and Joseph and the donkey a step closer each day (in theory but in practice it's a very strange and convoluted journey)
Baby Jesus only appears on Christmas Day
We make a million paper snowflakes to decorate the windows
And of course Santa....
The reindeer always do something terrible in the garden- leaving sleigh tracks on the lawn, or poo, eating my prized plants (that we were going to dig out anyway) leaving muddy hoof marks on my just-cleaned-windows, knocking down the swing set, generally stampeding around making a mess. They love reporting back to me and watching my temper rise when I see what they've got up to this year. I always say not to leave carrots in the garden for them but I relent every Christmas Eve because the children beg.
Every year when we go see Santa I have a word with him about the reindeer and he promises that they'll be well behaved and the kids tell him what they got up to. It's a great ice breaker. It's hilarious because there is this build up in the queue where they are begging me not to give out to Santa or tell him he's banned from our house this year and other families are a bit We always go to the same Santa and he has started to recognise us which all adds to the fun.

It sounds like loads but in reality it takes less than an hour each evening so it's just time that would have to be filled with an activity anyway. There's relatively little going-out involved which my two ds's don't cope well with. Probably fairly dull stuff over all but it certainly works for us

Ann I love it! I'm coming to your house this Christmas

How do you do the hoof prints?
My lot would love this!! I think this is my last year with my oldest still believing so I want to go all out and make it a great one.

We did snowy boot prints last year. I used bicarbonate and DH wellies, top tip though do them straight on to carpet and not the door mat, I was hoovering the magic North Pole snow up for weeks as it got in the grooves

Thank you op this thread is amazing

Ooh I forgot about the Christmas bedding!