Hit me with your gift-free Christmas traditions!

[MerryMarigold]

Christmas is changing for us. Mugs growing up and first year we won't be at my parents for Christmas. Would like to create some nice, new traditions. Kids (11yo,14yo boys) are not that into gifts unless expensive tech or money so it's all a bit boring. I will do a small stocking with books, choc etc but I'd really like to make it fun in different ways from gifts. Are there any traditions which your older kids love?

Mugs? Kids

Sleepovers. Sparklers and family arts and crafts on Xmas Eve making decorations for the next day. Epic board games. Christmas Day walk.

Christmas morning hike.

They sound great. Xmas day walk brilliant. I have sparklers we forgot to do for bonfire night!

Alanna, what kind of things to do you make?

We do the panto on Christmas Eve every year and the day always starts with a treasure hunt with something like chocolate coins.

We go to the coast and have a hot dog.

We have fish and chips from the fish and chip shop for tea, and start hacking at the gingerbread house we've made. Usually watch Arthur as well, now they've grown out of Nativity. This year I might make them vote for the film

A walk in the dark on Christmas Eve, playing Spot The Christmas Tree, and party-food tea by the fire when we get in.

A Christmas Trip Out, usually to the cinema, sometimes London Christmas lights as well. Invitation only, the envelope appears magically under your pillow on the first Sunday in December. Santa hats are mandatory.

When the last child breaks up from school (usually midday around the 18th) we watch Muppets Christmas Carol, all of us squashed onto the sofa, with homemade hot chocolate and marshmallows. Traditionally, I also fall asleep midway through The Ghost Of Christmas Past and wake up with a start having poured chocolate down my leg. DS1 is coming home from Uni specially to make sure he is around for this, this year.

Me and My sis always loved (still do) watching our favourite Christmas film together with a big bag of sweets

Also a browse round a Christmas market and making our favourite bits of the Christmas dinner together (we prep it all on Christmas Eve)

Gingerbread house competition- identical houses usually from Aldi or Tiger, loads of sweets. I tend to help youngest with construction not decoration. Dh judges - not knowing who did what, generally three categories so everyone wins one category. Photos of dc and house. Prize is they get to eat some of a gingerbread house.

We also do ice skating, each child chooses a new tree decoration each year. Driving around to see most tacky Christmas lights on houses. Watching Home Alone films.

Very competitive rounds of Christmas Dominoes ( Christmas pictures instead of dots)

I bought a set of Cards Against Humanity which my DS ( 19) declared "I am NOT playing that with My Mother "

These are all great!

@70isaLimitNotaTarget, we play CAH (without the 9 year old!) until I withdraw because DH and the Big DC are too vicious for me!

We also play Exploding Kittens.

Xmas Eve - make mince pies and ham with DD
pub from about 5-8pm with DC-
Most of village is there incl carollers

No under 13s on Xmas Day this year so eating much later (5ish), playing games and poss pub visit or walk around midday

Include between courses a few rounds of 'Would You Rather' questions, drawn from a jar.
(tailored to their age & personalities: funny/cheeky/deep thinking etc.)

Forfeits for passing on answering any.
Get them to create the questions for the adults.

E.g.

"...spend a night alone in a churchyard, or night alone in an abandoned castle?"

"...have night vision, or x-ray vision?"

"...Donald Trump's hairstyle, or Hagrid's beard, for the rest of your life?"

"...no tech for a week, or allow your Mum to read every email/text/tweet you send?"

"...be grounded for a month, or not allowed home for a month?"

"...be rich doing a job you hate, or poor doing a job you love?"

"...use vinegar as eye-drops, or sand paper as loo roll?"

etc. etc.

*Not really very 'Christmassy', as such, but guaranteed to amuse them and therefore help with the overall Christmas spirit!

We put up the tree on Christmas Eve.
Used to be nativity service and now pub and back to ours.
Grandparents arrive.
Christmas Eve supper and games (plus John Lewis sale online but don't tell Grandma)
Sometimes midnight mass, sometimes pub again, sometime sleep
Stocking christmas morning for all. Champagne, salmon rolls, walk the dog
Lunch, takes 3 hours. Crackers and table top trivia games.
Jigsaw on the go- got this years for £2.50 from charity shop
Monopoly
cards against humanties (age 19-87)
jagger bombs (became a tradition a few years ago and Granny does love it) or cocktails
Dog walking again
More games.
Tea
etc etc

We go to the coast and have a hot dog.

We do this Christmas morning with the kids- they love it. We have been known to BBQ sausages on the beach. But then someone else cooks our dinner

Like the idea of a gingerbread house competition but don’t think I could handle the state of the kitchen! We do a quiz and maybe play Linkee of something that isn’t a massively complex board game. Stockings are a big hit on Christmas morning.
this year the kids are doing ALL the cooking! I’m both relieved and nervous. This will be interesting.
They always watch The Grinch at some point

We always play Yahtzee on Christmas Eve and after the DC went to bed poker - me, DH and MIL but as the DC have got older and go to bed later they like to play poker too

We always watch The Polar Express after showers and new pyjamas. The night before Christmas is always read, the DC have started reading it to us now they are getting older (7 and 10 at Christmas), I must admit this is my favourite part and brings a tear to my eye as they read to us.

We always have a buffet style lunch/dinner on Christmas Eve so that is just picked at and more stuff added as the day goes on.

After the DC are asleep we have the annual putting together of any big/wooden toys and for some reason we always time DH, I supervise, and record how long it takes so we can compare the next year. It’s a stupid tradition we’ve got into because the years are never comparable, but it amuses us! MIL is in bed supervising the ‘sleeping’ DC.

Father Christmas is clumsy in our house and manages to drop presents in a line from the DC bedroom into the living room - only one has a label on and the rest are in their own matching paper so they know who’s is who’s - this includes MIL’s presents. It’s not many presents but I love the little squeal of excitement as they collect them.

I might borrow some of the other traditions here, especially the gingerbread house decorating.

Love these! Making me feel Christmassy. Hot dogs at the beach 😲. I'm intrigued, do you take then with you? Are there places open? Sounds brilliant but the coast is a bit far for us. We do usually make a Hubert bread house in Dec (they look so pretty with cotton wool snow round the base) and kids then eat the stale gingerbread on Christmas Eve!

My dad does a treasure hunt round the village for us it's epic, he hides the clues Christmas Eve and leaves little surprises and treats along the way like chocolates or a bottle of Baileys and shot glasses so we can have a bit to keep warm.

The last clue always takes us to the pub where we have to "find a distinguished grey haired gentleman at the bar" (dad). Then we all drink the very strong mulled wine. Then mom and someone else always end up stumbling home to save the dinner getting burnt to a crisp.

Look forward to it every year

We do the treasure hunt Christmas morning. So far no one has found the clues and done it before us!

What a lovely thread