Christmas with teens

[MeIAm]

Christmas with younger dc is magical. The countdown, visiting Santa, panto, the delight in their faces when they wake up on Christmas morning to see that Santa's been! I absolutely loved it!

My dc are now mid teens and we seemed to have lost that magical feeling. I know it's not going to be the same but how do I get a bit of it back?

We'll be spending Christmas at home, finish work/school a few days before Christmas, will possibly have relatives with us for Christmas Day. Any ideas how we can make it more than just a posh Sunday? The build up? The lunch? Anything?!

Why not do the stuff you used to do when they were kids?

Make mince pies with them... Go and look at all the house decorations...get then to write a list to father Christmas... Go to the panto!

Also definitely make up a stocking for them :)

You just have a grown up Christmas - our girls are 15 and 16 and last year our Christmas was lovely - MIL stayed for a few nights too - no-one needed to get up at the crack of dawn, we all emerged by about 9.30-10ish in PJs and dressing gowns,

opened pressies, started off lunch together - all peeling at the dining table, took the dog out for a long walk round the local park - just did things as a family - it was like Christmas at The Waltons - everyone helping lay the table and serve the food, all sitting chatting with candles and laughter. Clearing away to the dishwasher was quick and easy and we all sat and watched something daft on telly, feeling full and happy.

This Christmas has a lot to live up to!

Our grown up Christmases are less 'presenty'. They still have stockings, which they open when they wake, then we have breakfast and meet friends for a local hill walk, with Buck's Fizz and mince pies. We open a couple of presents when we return and save some for after lunch. In the afternoon we play games.

I prefer our grown up Christmases to the ones we had when they were little!

The first year that we didn't have visitors, we chucked them in the camper van, went to the beach, cooked sausages for breakfast and chocolate with whippet cream, then came home and had a fondue! It has been declared the best Christmas ever

We still do lots as when they were younger. For instance we've never done elf on the shelf but elves have always visited and left small treats such as festive choc in tiny stockings. My kids this year will be 16, 13 and 10 and still love this. I still put the Christmas bedding on while everyone in work/school the day before decoration day. We still talk about being good otherwise Santa won't come. We I embrace the cheese and wear festive jumpers/dresses throughout December. The elves still leave all five of us pressies on Christmas eve (pj's and something like festive socks). Kids love their stockings. Lots of movie nights. A few festive parties. I love it all!

Every week we have a family night. We choose a film. All phones switched off. We make a mass of popcorn.

Christmas week we watch Polar express and Elf. We have now that's what I call Christmas playing on permanent loop. What about doing some Christmas baking. Even doing a gingerbread house. Parks are heaving in London on Christmas morning where we were. Everyone saying Merry Christmas and cheery. Agree about the panto and Christmas jumpers. Nothing wrong with a bit of Christmas cheese.

this is timely. We have always had very fixed Christmas routine and dh wants it always to be like that. However, this year DD2 will be at her BFs for Christmas and only wants money as she is going to New York after Christmas. Ds wants a MacBook! IF, and it's a big if, we can afford it that will be his one and only present so no round of present opening for him. DD1 will be home - she is 27 and has some mental health problems so doesn't want too much change but we just can't do it the same way with so many components missing. My mother is elderly and not up to hosting us or coming round for the day and just wants a brief visit....it's all starting to sound a bit crap.
I can foresee DS hooked on his macbook or disappointed he doesn't have one, and DD1 lonely as the only one with presents to open! Can't afford any drastic changes such as eating at a hotel or going away for Christmas....any ideas?

Start some new traditions demented

Why not all get together on Christmas Eve and do something as a family? Make it more about the time together than anything else.

We're doing £20 Christmas this year as the youngest will be 13, nearly 14 and won't want much

We're doing £20 Christmas this year as the youngest will be 13, nearly 14 and won't want much

It what world does being almost 14 mean no longer wanting much for Christmas?

Things we have added in

Something daft to do at the table or in the crackers:

Name that tune
Balloon modelling
Moustaches
Origami this year

Buck's Fizz Christmas morning or whilst prepping dinner, different ratios of fizz to juice depending on age

Family secret Santa - December 1st everyone gets envelope with £10 and a name in. The gifts get put on people's chair for dinner. Helps the kids concentrate on one nice gift and it's funny to see what gets bought.

Christmas wreath making evening - fist one last year. Invited people round early in December. Made a chilli. Asked people to bring some greenery. Someone brought loads of wisteria vine which made great wreathes but you can buy ones from hobbycraft. People brought pine cones, berries, bits of ribbon. I just bought string and florist wire. Everyone went home with something to put on their door and we had a lovely time.

I keep meaning to do a cocktail and mocktail night but we couldn't fit it in. We did try a gin and elderflower cocktail last year though.

Kids like laying the table on Christmas Eve and making it look lovely. We also did most of the cooking Christmas Eve and that worked well.

Demented, you could wrap the MacBook and hide it, and substitute a similar size and weight parcel (school books in a cereal box maybe) with a cheeky note inside. Then hand over another similarly sized gift but with a toothbrush or a bar of chocolate and more cheeky notes. Just stretch out the gift opening with a bit of silly nonsense. If you do get him a MacBook resolutely refuse to admit it to him before Christmas Day

Visiting your mum will probably be a nice focal point in the day, filling up the dead time.

I think a Christmas candle, some carols as background music and a black and white movie on the tv with the sound turned down (unless anyone actually wants to see it) makes a lot of Christmas atmosphere.

Skype your missing daughter at some point!

Ask each of your family to name the one thing that makes Christmas Christmas because often it's a simple thing, a particular food, and don't let go of those bits.

At dinner would you have novelty crackers (like the ones with whistles where you have to work together to play a Carol or little racing cars for a table race) or wrap up a few silly things and have a present exchange where everyone tries to negotiate to swop their ridiculously inappropriate gift.

You could make your own marshmallow toasting kit with chocolate biscuits, a bag of marshmallows and some tealights.

My DS will be 18 , DD will be 15.6.

We have always had Christmas Dinner after dark (candles, nice decorated table) but before Dr Who

Christmas trip out to the theatre for DD and I.
Cinema if there's anything good
We do a Toby Carvery meal in early Dec - DS choice.

The £2 jar gets opened and shared out - I take it to MetroBank coin counter then it goes into DH account to split between us. We did one year buying Netflix but there was mutiny in the ranks, they want their divvy up, even though DS saves his. (Which is against our rules, the £2 jar is meant to be squandered, it is Christmas after all)

I am repeating the Christmas Eve Hamper on Dec 1st ( DC get winter PJs , dressing gown) rather than the 24th.
When they were little the CEH was to round off the day and prepare them to sleep.
Christmas Stockings to open in bed (they don't wake till 9am ) underwear, showergel, phone chargers;
, their main presents are tiny, few and ££.

I am stealing Positively Poaching the Secret Santa and I've told the household that they'll get £20 each and need to choose well.

The only thing I do differently is we tend to go to a show that is more grown-up than a panto.

Otherwise we still decorate the tree, watch Elf, have stockings etc.

i still set the lolly trail, put the presents out and get everything ready for maximum impact when they get up on Christmas morning, they still feel it. It might be nostalgia but I honestly don't thing they'd want to do it any differently.

allpizzas

I don't understand what you're asking?

He'll be a month shy of 14 and understands that Christmas is not about lots of presents? We have never had lots of presents.
He doesn't need anything really. So presents will be "nice-to-haves". He was the one that suggested it, it is actually forcing us all to think of a thoughtful gift, rather than going for the "easy" expensive options iyswim?

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My eldest isn't one for presents , we give him money (which he saves).

He has a December birthday too (bad family planning on our part)

There's no point in me going out and buying him a load of £ things when he doesn't need or want them.
If e wants an XBox Game he'll ask (early Birthday/Christmas they seem to come out in Oct/Nov) or buy it himself .

I put a rolled up new £50 in a gift box for him , then in early Jan put it in his account (or it will sit there)

Other presents might be XBox controller, gift voucher , clothes .

Last year we had neighbourhood rounders for Boxing Day in the park. A lot of teens joined in, it was brilliant fun.

I bought a set of "Cards Against Humanity" to play with the teens- my DS looked at them recently and tutted "I'm not playing this with YOU "

This is the young man who discusses (in cringeworthy detail) the plots from Game of Thrones with us.

I'll get the Christmas Dominoes out , they cheat like blazes .

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I was just surprised that a 13/14 yo, who presumably doesn't have an income, would not want anything over the value of £20 for Christmas. I would expect that to be the age when they want fewer but more expensive gifts, even if they do not expect lots of presents, e.g.consoles/games, phones etc.

He has a paper round and earns money by mowing lawns and washing cars for the neighbours. :)

He knows if he wants expensive phones or laptops whatever he has to save up and buy them himself. He saved for a chrome book after deciding he wanted a mobile device (we have a family computer in the study) he took a long time to decide what he wanted. He thought about what he needed it to do, took into account the cost, weight, usability etc he bought that in March and really treasures it. he has a smart phone that I got him for Year 7. If he wants a new one, he has to save up and buy one. As the one I got him is adequate. (IPhone 5) He wants a new phone, but doesn't know which one.

He's not bothered about fashion or trainers or anything like that.

He doesn't play on consoles much. We have a wii-u but might play it an hour a week? He's never shown interest in wanting Xbox or PS4.

He has good road bike.

So, he doesn't need anything big, or want anything big.

I understand he's "unusual"

I have teens! Tipsy pictionary was a winner and a family early morning run was memorable with a breakfast feast waiting for us afterwards

It's a different kind of xmas that's all

I was shopping last year at Lakeside (on a Friday) and I did feel more than a bit at the parents with toddlers/ young DC because they had all the joy and wonder of a child discovering Christmas.
The planning, the visits to Santa, the trying to buy them presents and hide them...

Then I mentally kicked my own arse and thought my own lovely DC still enjoyed Christmas (especially DD) , it just evolves with them.

Had to smile at " whippet cream"!

Christmas with older dcs is fantastic. Less fraught, less present focused.
Last year we heard just before that one of the dcs wasn't very ill but I'd already gone overboard with fillable advent calendars. I'll do that again with useful less extravagant presents. We also have Iceland festive food on Christmas Eve, which is great fun and no work.
We never eat til mid afternoon, going into evening with lots of games, crackers, indoor fireworks. And they don't get up early 🙌🏻🙌🏻