Christmas traditions for teenagers

[SHAR0N]

Please help me find some fun things / traditions to do with my teenagers ( 15, 17, 19) at Christmas. Obviously they are way too old for Santa / elves.

I have just escaped a long and controlling marriage and I want to make this year much more fun for my teens. Their father was always very difficult and holidays / festivals were stressful as we all walked on eggshells around him.

So now we have freedom to do exactly what we want and my mind is a blank! Apart from all the usual things like decorating the house ( which I and DD love to do , the DS are less keen but will help out ).

They are all quite plain eaters so wouldn’t spend ages doing fancy cooking. But they all LOVE sweets and chocolate.

They like music and outdoor activities.

We don’t have a lot of family now as most were on their father’s side so they don’t see them anymore ( it’s not that I’ve stopped them, their fathers family don’t want to see them). So there’s not an option to have large family parties etc .

I’m only just rebuilding some of my own friendships after years of being isolated by my Ex so I don’t have a wide circle of friends and only a very small family. And of course Covid hasn’t helped.

So please give me some ideas . I just want to make nice for them.

YY to asking what they want. My first 'freeChristmas' was awful as I jumped through hoops trying to make everything wonderful (DC were younger) when actually all they wanted was time and relaxation. So the next year they chose the food, dinner moved until the evening so they could eat chocolate all morning and everyone relaxed (or my case, unclenched!).
As teens and adults mine still love the pantomime even though it is cheesy, and carol singing even though it is so embarrassing . Dinner is still late on Christmas Day but has reverted to a traditional Christmas dinner as the older generation have become annual drop-ins to play games with the 'kids'.

Lovely thread!
I suggest you get your kids to decorate the tree together.
When it's done be ready with hot chocolate/mocktails and lots of enthusiasm (no matter what it looks like!)
Games afternoon/evening. Put suggestions in a hat to avoid arguments. I find those really chocolatey M & S biscuits go down well for breaks.
Same idea, but for films. There are some amazing Christmas films out there.
Making food/drink together. Anything from shortbread to a full meal to give you a night off.
Boxing Day walk to local beauty spot.
Have fun

Me and dh do a silly tradition where we have £10 and go round Poundland and get each other a stocking of 10 items. It’s really funny and your teens may enjoy doing it for each other/you
I always like having a hot chocolate whilst we walk/drive to look at the Christmas lights in town or people’s displays outside their houses.

Ours are all 18+ and we blended 18 months ago so establishing new things - they are hoping for a night on the town and we are going carol singing for charity

Mine are a bit younger, but we do a lot of the things already mentioned

• film evenings at home

• drive in Xmas panto locally (this year, in place of going to the theatre)

• we make sausage rolls and mince pies together

• we decorate a gingerbread house (it seemed to work better buying one where you only have to decorate rather than make it)

• we have gone carol singing in the village since they were babies

• we do things with our local church

• there will be Christmas concerts with school and their bands or theatre groups

• we are going to visit granny over the holidays

One DC will also be helping with the local basics banc as part of his D of E award.

@TheShoeLady

We did a Bob Ross paint along on Christmas Day last year. Bought cheap canvases and little table top easels from Amazon and had a selection of acrylic paints and brushes already, but somewhere like The Works would have all of them pretty cheap. Then spent a couple of hours watching an episode on the iPad while painting along. They loved it and we all created a fab wintry scene.

Beautiful. Very impressive

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/gingerbread-bunting
This is nice recipe and we never get as far as stringing them up as bunting.
I agree baking a house is actually really difficult!

Mulled cider in nice mixed with apple juice and a fire pit if you have one and weather is good enough!

Cut out snowflakes - lots of templates online.

And yes to walks gathering fallen branches, pine cones and greenery for wreaths, garlands and table decorations..

Secret Santa or presents for each other from all the others at dinner table.

Balloon modelling crackers

Crackers with moustaches in

Can make own crackers or buy make your own kit.

Are there any local Santa dashes or similar you could join in together to make an annual tradition?

Iceskating with mulled wine and hot chocolate, movie night, something cheesy like Elf or Home Alone or Christmas Chronicles, cinema to watch the new Top Gun or Spiderman film which should both be on in December.
Love the Bob Ross idea!

Indoor skiing/ sledging on fake snow
Ice skating
Walking round to look at decorations at night.
Hot chocolate and a Christmas movie in front of the fire
Fire pit, marshmallows and hot chocolate
Cheese board and smoked salmon blinis for dinner
Elf on the shelf (me, dd14 and ds16 take turns moving ours. We have younger siblings, which is how it started, but they really enjoy setting it up so I imagine we’ll continue)
Trip to the Christmas tree farm to pick a tree
Watching the Christmas tractor parade (a bit niche maybe!)

Well I am sure you will have a brilliant Christmas being able to all relax and enjoy yourselves and each other. I have 2 teen boys who are very outdoorsy and a toddler and baby. We will take hot chocolate in a flask and mince pies and do a really beautiful walk together up a mountain. Also we have recently moved to the seaside so we will have a swim and the boys will light a fire (I might do a no lighter challenge) to warm up by, again mince pies and a warming drink are a must for us!

@mamabluestar

My 2 DC love a North Pole Breakfast. It's a tradition that started with the mischievous elves, but something that they both want to continue now that they are older.

What they love the most is the slower pace and spending time together - you are enough 💛

What’s a North Pole breakfast?

Are there any ‘glow’ walks in your area?

Home-Alone (or Die Hard/Night before Christmas/other Christmas film) film night

Love the paintings above.

Pantomime (or other Christmas show/concert)

Midnight mass (even if nor religious)

Never too old for a stocking from Santa, and if things have been a bit unsettled recently, they may like to have a naughty elf. Ie. Keep their childhood traditions alive. Maybe make one teen in charge of the Elf for a week, and then swop over.

I know someone who, when their kids were too old for the elf, the teenagers took turns to do the elf trick.

Co-op board games are fab, you all work together rather than one person winning. A simple one to pick up the rules very easily would be Forbidden Island. Silent Maze (no talking) is also fun. Any card game but Exploding Kittens is good. Videos on YouTube show you the rules which is much easier than reading the instructions.

Balloon animal competition or Pictionary, you don't need the board game just draw and guess. We don't even do teams one person draws for 5 drawings everyone else guesses.

Sounds like you and your kids are going to have a great Christmas Sharon.

Last year we made a Kindness Advent Calendar, to start a new tradition with our kids. Really simple, and it was a great way to start conversations with younger kids.

It is here, free, maybe you and your 3 teenagers might like to do something like this, in amongst the other lovely suggestions. The family painting session is amazing - love it ShoeLady.

cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1159/4872/files/Advent_Calendar2022_b.jpg?v=1634550235

Christmas week, we have ELF night. I love the film ELF and I force the family (14 year old twins) to watch it every year. They groan pretend they hate it but it's become a tradition.

They are allowed to choose their own snacks, plus loaded popcorn (microwave popcorn with melted chocolate) no phones obviously and we have an ELF t.shirt and ELF ears that someone has to wear each year. We also shout certain lines now - we've seen it so often.

It's a fun cheesy, cheap Christmas tradition that can be done with any Christmas film.

Good luck OP

I've always quite fancied adopting that Icelandic tradition that everyone gets a book and some chocolate and Christmas eve is reading and chocolate scoffing. Bliss.

If you have an outdoor space, maybe ask the eldest of them to build a little fire in the garden and toast marshmallows? Or you could go to a beach and use drift wood? Or local park with a disposable BBQ.
I love the Bob Ross idea. That's genius.
Do you have a dog? Or could you borrow one to take on a long walk? Preferably ending at a pub.

If they like music how about trying something completely different like maybe an orchestra?

Foreign Christmas markets

I like the idea of a paint along and a Gingerbread House competition.

Similar here OP, single parent of teens (and a 9 yo which makes it tricky).

We do : Christmas Eve Skating (lunchtime) and a meal out
Games on xmas day evening, now increasingly boozy as they start drinking in front of me. FC brings a new game every year but we also stick to traditional ones.
Musical crackers - I make them all do an ensemble piece
A show in December - mine love Hamilton, but we've also seen A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic
An advent calendar each
the elf still comes (I have a 9 yo) but brings silly or nice things throughout Dec
Baking on Christmas eve
I have a theme for the stockings which they laugh at every year. One year it was feminism and they all got age appopriate books
Christmas eve dinner - it's always fish pie, nigella's clementine cake and mulled wine.

Carols somewhere in December too
Boxing day buffet - everyone makes a dish chosen by them so we spend time in the kitchen together.

(This year they are actually going to the pub with their friends on xmas eve but we normally watch a film together)

We (I) like to celebrate all through December.

oh and one weekend before we decorate mugs. This comes from the times we used to do those for teachers and family, but everyone enjoys it and it's fun. (I might upgrade this to the paint-along- idea instead this year).

You have already given them the best gift Shar0n so very well done and I hope you have a fabulous Christmas in your new family unit.

If it snows a sledge race is always good fun with teens.

We put together a Cadburys Christmas cottage last year which was nice.

How about setting up a Christmas Scene jigsaw on the 1st December and everyone adding to it so that it is completed on Christmas Day?

Last year my teens chose and then cut down our Christmas tree which they enjoyed.

Merry Christmas to you all :)

A walk in the dark to midnight mass.

I don’t know if bad Santa has been mentioned? It’s a game you play where you wrap up a number of small daft gifts and take turns throwing a dice. Depending on the number you swop gifts/pass right or left/ direct others to swop/ etc It can be really funny because you end up getting competitive over something that looks great wrapped up but turn out to be rubber gloves! You can make up your own rules or find lots of variations on line.

The other suggestion I have is to encourage your dc to bring their friends around, either for a party or just to hang out. I’m guessing this wasn’t something that was easy with your ex, and being able to offer hospitality is a new thing. I make big batches of bolognese from time to time and portion it out in ziploc bags and flatten it for quick defrosting. Along with frozen garlic bread and store cupboard spaghetti I can have an easy meal on the table in ten minutes for 2 or 10 people.

My last tip is to try not to over invest in any of these plans. Your teens might really need to lean into the freedom to be a bit grumpy, eye rolling or difficult, especially after years of walking on eggshells. I have a ds with asd so when we do an activity, I’m the one doing it and he has the freedom to join in, sit and chat about minecraft, or wander away. I’ve long since given up on the fantasy of all sitting together making cookies etc. But we have a lovely time because no one is getting stressed out about it.