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.

@holdbacktheriver I just googled an image of hoofprints and copied it on some cardboard and cut it out with a Stanley knife and narrowly avoided slicing off my fingers and then just mixed up some soil and water and stencilled like mad. DH says he has enough evidence to get me sectioned
I never thought to see if you can buy a hoof stencil but you probably can.

Disclaimer: It was an awful job to clean up

I forgot to say that we usually go to winter wonderland too with friends and their kids.

I forgot to say that we usually go to winter wonderland too with friends and their kids.

I'm anxiously awaiting GCSE results day tomorrow (I'm the teacher). I can't eat, I feel sick and my tummy has been doing somersaults since the moment I woke up. Reading these traditions has made me feel so much better! There are some brilliant ideas here! I've booked the Harry Potter studio tour for Christmas eve and ordered a Hogwarts envelope to present the tickets in. It's more than we would usually spend on a Christmas eve activity but it means the PIL can't gatecrash. I'm so excited!

The secret tree elves sneak in and pop the trees up on the night of November the 30th. They also leave the advent calendars and a creepy wooden carved elf that was mine when I was little who lurks around the house until Christmas Eve.

1st of December we decorate the trees and hang all the other decorations up whilst drinking hot chocolate and eating christmassy snacks/playing Christmas music.

When ds is in bed on the night of the 1st, I have to decorate all the fairy doors (he's a bit obsessed so we have three) to make it look like they've put up their decorations too.

5th of December we all leave shoes out for St. Nicholas. In the morning, they will contain chocolate, a small gift and a decoration for the Christmas Tree.

We go to a Christmas market (or two) and a couple of craft fairs. In the nearest city to us, they have a huge nativity set up in a big Kirkyard and we go there to watch them do the blessing/short service for it.

We watch a lot of Christmas movies.

I do a book advent calendar of Christmas themed books, one a night until Christmas Eve (he gets the last one in the Christmas Eve box). I put all the Christmas books away in the New Year so recycle some from previous years and buy some new.

We have a craft night (or two). Ds makes his Grandmothers a Christmas tree decoration every year. Usually salt dough handprints/air drying clay as he's only small. We also make his Christmas cards (last year it was trees from bubblewrap decorated with lots of Christmassy stickers).

Christmas Eve we do a box. It's usually at night (dropped off whilst we are at Church) but this year given that I'm hosting both of Grandparents and Christmas Eve is a Sunday, the elves are going to drop it off early.

The weather here is really autumnal so getting excited already.

Last year we did a good deeds advent calendar. A little task everyday eg buy something to donate to food bank, do something kind for one of your siblings in secret, bake some cookies for ndn, carol singing at local care home, donate an unused gift to local Toys on the Table charity etc. Children loved it, though we didn't quite manage every day due to it being so hectic.

What a lovely thread! And what a gorgeous idea the 'task' advent calendar is! I'll certainly be giving that a try this year @Whatsername17

My daughter is 5, and too be honest, I have made a fuss during the festive period since her first Christmas because I absolutely love that time of year.

When I was pregnant, I bought a lovely bauble from John Lewis for my daughter, and every year we have a little chat about me being pregnant with her when it's brought out of the box. She knows it's 'her' bauble and it's her job to hang it on the tree. I hope she will pass it on to her first born too.

For the last couple of years, we have had a gingerbread house decorating day which is lovely. I'll be doing a little more baking with her from this year as she really enjoys helping in the kitchen and can do basic baking well independently.

Every year we: visit local NT properties ; visit Fenwick's window in the town centre; take walks or drives out and talk about the different decorations we can see in people's windows and front gardens; visit The Sage to watch the Royal Northern Symphonia perform a Christmas themed concert (which she has always sat pleasantly through); usually have another 'big ' Christmas Day out such as The Polar Express Train or Kielder Winter Wonderland; visit Santa at a local grotto; visit the market in town; make a day out of buying the Christmas tree; in the village we live in, we attend an annual 'sing carols round the Christmas tree' night alongside the colliery brass band etc

I'd love to book a carol concet at a local cathedral too, so will look to do that this year - either in Durham or Newcastle.

Ever since my daughter has been born, on Christmas morning, I have came downstairs first to 'check' Father Christmas has been (so I can actually light all of the candles in the lounge, turn the tree/garland lights on and put Carols from Kings on TV or radio) . She LOVES the anticipation of the few minutes it takes me to do that, and that seems to be quite an important tradition to her.

I also always leave a trail of golden coins (and a snowy footprint or two) from the fireplace to her pile of presents which she loves.

This year I am also thinking of covering the door with wrapping paper so that she has to burst through into the lounge on Christmas morning. I'm just thinking about how I can do that without making too much noise. I've got the 'checking on Father Christmas' down to a fine art, and light about 20 candles, and turn everything on in a minute or two.

Our 2nd baby is due in January so really want to make our last Christmas as a family of 3 extra special. X

This year I am also thinking of covering the door with wrapping paper so that she has to burst through into the lounge on Christmas morning

I love that idea - I'm sure you won't mind if I pinch it. We don't do a Xmas Eve box, just new pjs for everyone.

I'm also really liking the raindeer rampaging through the garden one too. I know my two would crack up over that one.

I love that idea too. Though we will probably have an argument about which child does it!

I love reading about other people's traditions on here. I have picked up lots of our own over the years from the ideas. I have also learned that with both DH and I working full time I cannot fit in all the ones I wish I could so we stick to ones that we all enjoy doing and that don't take up too much time!

Our Christmas box always arrives on the 1st December full of things for the month. It is brought by the elves. We do a very rough version of elf on the shelf which mainly involves two stuffed elves hiding things, making a mess in the kitchen and decorating the Christmas tree with underpants. No focus on behaviour or doing something elaborate every night. If we forget or don't have time it means the elves have had to stay over at the north pole for extra toy making duties. The box always has the advent calendars, hot chocolate and marshmallows, Christmas books or activity books, new Christmas jumper or onesie, Christmas cookies and this year will have a new family board game plus anything else I may pick up along the way.

We don't have time to do something every day so try and focus on something nice each weekend. After we have put the tree and decorations up we always watch Elf. We also have Christmas bedding. We always go and see a panto, we go to Tatton Park to meet Father Christmas every year, on Christmas Eve we will go to the cinema and watch a movie followed by tea out. For years we hosted my inlaws on Christmas eve with them not leaving till 9pm or later so this left little time to do anything just with the DC's. Now they have moved further away we visit them earlier in the month so that Christmas Eve we can come home and put out the cookie for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.
After reading this thread I will definitely be adding on making a bird feeder as well as buying and delivering to the local food bank and toy charity.

My birthday is in December and it has always been a very special time for me so I like trying to bring some of the that magic for the DC's as well. They are older now, 11 and 7 and the 11 year old "knows" but he still loves the season just as much and now has fun joining in making it special for his little sister also he still secretly still believes, as do I

What a great post.

I absolutely love the idea of the reindeer making a mess of the garden. My daughter will love this! Another idea to add to my list!!

A great new tradition of ours is breakfast with santa. I was a bit apprehensive when I booked it but it is so much better than a grotto.

One of the things we do that I haven't seen mentioned yet is preparing the runway for the sleigh to land. We save jam jars all year and pop a nightlight in and use them to line each side of the garden path to make the landing lights. This is combined with scattering the reindeer food and the children will then find a parcel from Patch the elf with new pyjamas and a DVD.

It is also a cast iron rule that the trees go up Christmas Eve. The house gradually gets decorated throughout December with the trees being the final thing. I do the big tree while the kids have one of their own that they are responsible for decorating. Putting the trees up on Christmas Eve is something I carried on from my childhood as it does make Christmas Eve a really special day.

What a lovely thread, made me feel all warm and fuzzy!

Now im going to derail slightly.....does anybody else do special January activities?

I always think January in the uk is a depressing time of year - all the excitement of Christmas is over, the weather is grim, people are a bit bloated and skint and miserable.

So we do special New Year activities spread through January, generally anything winter themed. I tuck notes with our list of activities into one of pot plants for DCs to find.

Our current list is:

Ice skating

Make Winter/new year themed cookies e.g. Star shaped/snowflake or fireworks decorations for the neighbours

Write the thank you notes

Pack all Christmas stuff away on 12th night and talk about all the Christmas fun we had

Winter hot chocolate with marshmallows

Feed the birds - make feeders and hang on trees in park

New family board game, make a night of it with prizes

Family cinema trip

Plan the summer holiday

Donate to food bank again

Wondered if anybody else does similar?

Another brilliant idea!! Don't do it but would love to!

For those who make bird feeders can I ask how you do them? I've never done them before but would like to give it a go.

I think that's a lovely idea for January. May just steal that also

One thing I always meant to start but never did was a gratitude jar. You get a large jar and throughout the year you write down things and put them in the jar. Like nice memories, things that made you happy, things you are grateful for, something nice about another member if the family. Then at the end of the year you go through the notes together and look back on happy times throughout the year. You can do it on Christmas eve of new years day, whenever you choose.

Great ideas to beat the January blues, Harris Hawk!

We tend to save the panto for Jan as it is not too Christmassy.

Yes to booking flights and Airbnb for the summer.

Once we've had Epiphany and taken the trees down, I like to do a big clean and declutter session.

We like the NT 50 outdoor things book and we've just bought the second one with nighttime activities. I think we'll work on some of these in Jan and Feb (my least favourite month) to take advantage of the dark and make it fun.

Love the January ideas - I always find it really hard after such a build up for Christmas, however now DS birthday is January which gives us something to look forward to.

This year id actually like to into January feeling more positive as I think mentality has a lot to do with it - instead of focussing on Christmas being over, I want to be excited and positive about the year ahead - having some fun , positive things to do will certainly help that!

Think we will do bird feeders in both December and January.

Panto is a great idea for Jan!

Gratitude jar is a lovely idea! I read on here years ago about a family who always have a special drink on Fridays (I think it was pink lemonade?) and go around the table saying something they're grateful or happy about from that week, then toasting the happy thing (eg I enjoyed my trip to soft play, let's all toast soft play). I've recently started that, might take to writing those down then going through them on New Year's Eve? Nice way to remember the good bits of the year :)

You could always make it an activity for January too. Decorate the jar ready for the year ahead after you've gone through the previous years notes.

We carry on Christmas until Epiphany, and have a special meal and cake, and the rest of January is fairly quiet. We give so.e activities like ice skating and pantomime tickets as Christmas presents, so those are generally January things, too.

Hi everyone! Can I point you in the direction of a lady on the Christmas threads her who is looking for ways to make her daughters Christmas amazing as sadly may be her last one. It was originally in AIBU and not all replies were kind. Can we all post, think of nice ideas and generally make a lovely Christmassy fuss!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/Christmas/3016914-AIBU-to-ask-ways-to-make-Christmas-perfect This is the thread