Christmas with adult kids....new traditions?

[JudgeRindersMinder]

This will be our first Christmas Day without the need to consider family members beyond us and or adult kids (23,18)

My dad passed away earlier this year, he was always here for Christmas, and whilst I didn’t grudge a bit of it, our day was always tailored around him due to disability, and we always had my sibling and family here too.

This year, it’s just going to be us!

We have a huge hot tub booked for Xmas week (shut up haters, I’m not listening, it’s happening 😂) and plan to decorate the gazebo with lights etc so it’s like Santa’s grotto 😂(dh doesn’t know about that part yet😁)
My daughter and her partner are going to stay over on Xmas Eve, as although I’d love to have them here for dinner, I have the feeling her partner’s family will make a demand of them, which I don’t want her to stress about.

We’ve had a very stressful few years, especially round Christmas for various reasons, and without wanting to sound twee about it, I want to create some good memories going forward.

So when you have adult kids with you, and only have to please yourselves, how do you do it?

Christmas cocktail making evening and board games always goes down well in this house.

Cocktail making is a definite go-er!! Thank you!

DH and the DC of ours which are teens and adults, basically indulge in quite a bit of drinking, we have a signature Christmas cocktail and will have a champagne breakfast.

Sounds like they won’t be with you for the main meal but we usually have canapés and seafood starters they wouldn’t have eaten when younger and they’re involved in the meal making now as most of them like cooking.

After younger ones go to bed we also often have a long boozy board game (I swear we aren’t alcoholics!) then watch a film that’s a bit more adult, often something really good from the past year. Last year was Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.

We still do stockings for all with a mini champagne or baileys for us adults for our breakfast.

Watching this one

Loving the cocktails and board games idea. Mine are 18 and 20

6 mile walk in the morning.

So basically lots of drinking and board games 😂 I’m sure we can manage that

My daughter is 20. Last year we had our Christmas Dinner on Christmas Eve. We had a lazy Christmas day morning, with bacon sandwiches. Then a picky tea in front of films in the evening. It was lovely and chilled.

Gin was involved 😁

Yes, bacon sandwiches are a must on Christmas morning. We like to pause presents halfway through to fuel up. Booze also good - my DF normally buys some special wines to try for the day. We've occasionally done a walk (one year it was to a Pret that was open because my DM wanted a latte, so festive...). We go in for quizzes too - I normally write one and my DF does too. They fill the gap between lunch and more food.

Four young adults here. We toast all our absent relatives at 11am and they do likewise (dates back to my childhood when we had lots of family overseas and making an international phone call would have been an unthinkable extravagance). We've also started all going to the pub on Christmas morning, just for one quick drink. Everyone helps with the cooking, both on the day and making a few goodies (such as biscuits or chocolate truffles) beforehand. Immediately after a (late) lunch we all go for a short walk (Just before it gets dark), so don't worry about clearing up the kitchen till later. An evening of board games and a film or TV Christmas special

These are all brilliant ideas, and I have to admit I’ve been toying with making Xmas Eve play a bigger part. We always do bacon rolls on Xmas morning too. The quizzes sound like a fun idea too

Watching - I need some nice Traditions .
My DS are adults , at University but live at home
DS (21) likes a drink with his mates but not at home
DD (18.6) likes a drink occasionally ( Smirnoff Ice )
I don;t drink at all
DH likes a beer or whisky

Usually DD and I go shopping in London near Christmas and a few trips to Lakeside or Bluewater (not at the weekends in December , way too busy)
We go to the theatre - Christmas play , (not this year onvs)

I reckon it'll be just like a Sunday but better dressed
Get up, breakfast , shower , dress , set the table nicely . Watch rubbish on TV ( Eastenders) while I faffabout cooking .
Then eat when it gets dark .

I like a scary film on Christmas Eve and my favourite Dr Who episode .
Make some chocolate chip cookies and chocolate crispie cakes

we make pizza from scratch on Boxing Day (one of DS favourite Traditions)

They have their Christmas Eve Hamper on the 1st and Christmas Bedding . (But DD goes on Nov 1st )

Yes, tbh we would normally do outings in the run up and a city break between Christmas and NYE but that’s all off the table this year.

After all the bloody zoom quizzes I’ve endured already, not sure I can face another, but does sound like a good idea!

Something I did see that I thought we might all find a laugh is those gingerbread house decorating kits as a competition in pairs. Bit like bake off.

We're planning a pre Christmas brunch in a nice hotel. Also me, DD and my friend will do some sort of craft event (hopefully!),, plus a gin night. We'll have moved by Christmas, into a small town, so we're also thinking of a walk and a drink somewhere Christmas Day. We are not alcoholics......yet

I’m the adult child in this situation... this is what we do...

Christmas Eve - we head to my parents late afternoon. Our family tradition is hot pork sandwiches. They have been pimped up since my mom started doing them rather than my late nan. We now have mini sausages, sausage rolls with them... then follow with an M&S celebration cake. We head out to the Christmas Eve service at our local church which is more of a carol service. When that’s finished we cross the road and head into our cricket club for drinks until late.

We go home so wake up at our own house in the morning.

We sometimes walk to my mom and dads late morning where we have Buck’s Fizz on arrival. Christmas lunch around 1.30pm which is 3 courses. Once finished we tend to stay at the table and crack open the board games, last year it was monopoly... we play until tea time and usually have after eights and a chocolate Christmas pudding that I make out of a terrys chocolate orange and malteasers... for tea we have a small buffet including turkey sandwiches and nibbly bits from M&S.

On Boxing Day we either have round two of Christmas lunch, games etc or we have a buffet and head to the cinema.

I guess this year will be a lot different with no church, drinks at Cricket club, cinema etc.

We usually have Christmas at my parents house as our front room is too small to comfortably sit 6 for a whole day... however, we are having an extension in the new year so I’m very excited at the prospect of hosting next year and will make a mental note of the cocktail making which will be good fun!

@Poppins17

I’m the adult child in this situation... this is what we do...

Christmas Eve - we head to my parents late afternoon. Our family tradition is hot pork sandwiches. They have been pimped up since my mom started doing them rather than my late nan. We now have mini sausages, sausage rolls with them... then follow with an M&S celebration cake. We head out to the Christmas Eve service at our local church which is more of a carol service. When that’s finished we cross the road and head into our cricket club for drinks until late.

We go home so wake up at our own house in the morning.

We sometimes walk to my mom and dads late morning where we have Buck’s Fizz on arrival. Christmas lunch around 1.30pm which is 3 courses. Once finished we tend to stay at the table and crack open the board games, last year it was monopoly... we play until tea time and usually have after eights and a chocolate Christmas pudding that I make out of a terrys chocolate orange and malteasers... for tea we have a small buffet including turkey sandwiches and nibbly bits from M&S.

On Boxing Day we either have round two of Christmas lunch, games etc or we have a buffet and head to the cinema.

I guess this year will be a lot different with no church, drinks at Cricket club, cinema etc.

We usually have Christmas at my parents house as our front room is too small to comfortably sit 6 for a whole day... however, we are having an extension in the new year so I’m very excited at the prospect of hosting next year and will make a mental note of the cocktail making which will be good fun!

Forgot to say we now have puppies so our Christmas will probably be very different this year and include long dog walks. We have a little boy and my mom and dad have his sister... can’t wait to dress them up in festive jumpers 😊

We also have a goodbye to Christmas for another year celebration on the 6th January (Little Christmas), where we have a lovely family meal (usually Lasagne) and we also celebrate FIL birthday who has passed away and play board games, have a drink and take down the decorations while listening to Christmas music, we all love it. [santa]

Marshmallow, your goodbye to Christmas sounds lovely!!

@MarshmallowManiac

We also have a goodbye to Christmas for another year celebration on the 6th January (Little Christmas), where we have a lovely family meal (usually Lasagne) and we also celebrate FIL birthday who has passed away and play board games, have a drink and take down the decorations while listening to Christmas music, we all love it. [santa]

That sounds really nice. My dad’s birthday was 10th January so I’m definitely bearing that in mind

Can any of you who say you make Christmas cocktails either give me a link or recipe please? Would love to do this, but prefer to try something that's been recommended. Anything with Bailey's would be a bonus!

Yes if we could have cocktail recipes that would be fabulous as planning on doing this for the first time this year, and hopefully putting the teens in charge

Glad you like our Goodbye to Christmas guys, our guys really enjoy it and you're incorporating family members who are not there into the celebrations. For us it makes it feel even more special.

Cocktails are often 'designed' by my DH it's an interest of his. We have some Christmas recipe book version which I assume would be online such as Nigella's Christmas Cup and Poinsettia.

Good Housekeeping Christmas and Delish magazine always have cocktails that I've used for occasions, I think they are online with reviews.

Usually we theme base and incorporate our Starters/Desserts too. The year he gifted me an espresso machine we had Baileys Espresso Martini which is a widely available recipe I can see online. One year, (I appreciate this makes me sound naff as fuck), I was very into Jo Malone Blackberry and Bay and I bought the candles, put the perfume on my Christmas list, it was a cocktail of Blackberry syrup, bay infused gin and champagne to taste. The year we went to Rome it was a spiced Negroni.

We often are hosting over 20 on the day so its a nice little extra. This year he has already mentioned something about 'Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder' as we won't be seeing our extended family. Sounds as though we will be blind drunk.

This is a great cocktail, although I had to halve the amount of vodka. Definitely one for sipping, not guzzling!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/christmasmartinii_77981

@Candacewasalwaysright

This is a great cocktail, although I had to halve the amount of vodka. Definitely one for sipping, not guzzling!

[[https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/christmas]]martinii_77981

That looks delicious...cocktails are definitely happening!