New traditions to make Christmas memorable for teenagers

[StrongerThongs]

DDs (13 and 16) have outgrown the traditions they enjoyed as children - shelf elf (thank God!), visits to Santa, Christmas Eve traditions, various books/films etc...

Was wondering if anyone has any suggestions to make teenage Christmas memorable?

Film recommendations, advent calendars, games etc. They love Cards Against Humanity but not in front of the grandparents

What new traditions do/did your teenage DCs enjoy?

My DD is slightly older at 23 but on xmas eve we watch It's a Wonderful life while drinking mulled wine and preparing veg then we watch Die Hard with a Baileys or two 😄

Our local family pub on the seafront does a Carol session on Christmas eve from 6-9:30. We book a table with friends, have a Meal, Christmas quiz, mince pies, mulled wine and a singsong then walk home along the beach. As its in a pub its a more grown up feeling for the teens but it is very much a family affair, perhaps somewhere near you does something similar.

Get them to do the stockings?

Mine are the same age. We always go to the cinema on Christmas Eve, then for an early dinner in a nice Chinese restaurant and walk home, pretending to spot Santa in the sky.

When we get home I do food prep and they go back to being normal teenagers on screens.

There's a teen horror Better Watch Out that is funny and scary and worth a watch.

We still do new pjs and tooth brushes and have pizza for Christmas Eve. This year I'll add in a mini bottle of Baileys each and watch something like Krampus

We all get new pyjamas to unwrap on Xmas eve ( done this for years before Xmas eve boxes were a thing) and watch a Xmas film.
Still do stockings.
Mine all love outdoor ice skating so I book a trip to an outdoor rink.
Another trip we've done in past few years is Xmas light trails like the one at Kew Gardens.
And they still love the pantomime.
But I do get nostalgic for the days when they sent letters to father Christmas up the chimney and left mince pies and beer out for father Xmas and carrots for the reindeer on Xmas eve and the excitement of Xmas morning. Now mine ard in their teens- early 20s I usually have to wake them up!

Mine love the traditions, so we don’t go and see Father Christmas any more, but they still insist on new PJs for Xmas eve and watching all the classic films and putting milk and cookies out!

We have a game of monopoly, it's the only time of year we play it.

Mine like

a tiny budget to get stockings for the grown ups

being put in charge of decorating the tree / also willing to help carry it home / get Holly

being in charge of making mulled wine on Christmas Eve, they will occasional help prep a couple of veg once they’re a glass down

Doing a Christmas Eve jingle bells conga around the house

they like Christmas Eve midnight mass slightly weirdly (in a pretty church obvs)

making Buck’s Fizz for Christmas Day breakfast

charades or boys v girls triv on Christmas Day

Family film on Christmas Day evening - they like 80s/90s/00s films from when we were young they haven’t seen, breakfast club, Thelma and Louise type things

Pub on Boxing Day (works to get them on a walk)

How about watching Spirited (comedy Christmas film) on Apple TV has Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell in. You could do some baking together, still do pjs, hot chocolate and get a nice takeaway.

We go out on boxing day - top golf often or similar

Ours enjoy a family cinema or theatre trip

When ours reached 14 ish we started doing a Christmas morning walk to somewhere scenic. We take rucksacks, small blankets, croissants, crumpets, a little camping stove to warm them on, hot chocolate in flasks, plastic glasses x Bucks Fizz. It's held for 11 years now and a few partners have joined the numbers. It's lots of fun.

Oh that's going on the list
I do like Ryan Reymolds - DH and DS love Deadpool and we watched Red Notice yesterday ( RR and The Rock)

Mine are 20 and 23 so not teens but we've kept a lot of our Traditions going

DD and I go out either play or tribute band
DH DD and I go out to the theate something like The Play That Went Wrong

We watch Dr Who The 2 Doctors (old one with David Tennant and David Morrissey)

We all decide on what's for dinner , but there's never any changes and always a homemade pizza on Boxing Day

Dec 1st Bags (pyjamas, underwear/socks robe, loungwear , toiletries, sweets) instead of Christmas Eve .

This year DH and I are going to a Christmas Market

Cinema trip early Dec (I haven't been to the cinema since Dec 2019 ! )

I'm doing a Christmas Afternoon Tea on the first Friday , not done that before .I've been out for afternoon tea but found it a bit meh

My son is 18, he still gets new pj's and a selection box on Christmas Eve
We try to go out to the cinema or theatre

In between Christmas and New Year we go to see the lights in Kew Gardens - we stay over in a Premier Inn because we love a premier Inn breakfast !

Cinema of boxing day was a tradition out family kept until we were in our twenties.

I work with teens, and I find they still get into some stuff aimed at younger kids, albeit in a tongue in cheek manner. Watching Santa on NORAD is certainly still interesting to them, as is making paper chains in front of a Christmas film with hot chocolate.

Some great ideas here - thank you!

We still make paper chains and paper snowflakes to hang from the ceiling while watching Elf. DD 15 does stockings with me. We decorate the tree together. Watch films with fancy hot chocolate. Go ice skating. Go for a walk on Christmas Eve to see the lights. Still put stockings out on Christmas Eve.

A couple of evenings before Christmas we go bowling as a family followed by a burger restaurant.
we make sausage rolls on Christmas Eve and go for a walk to the local pub in the afternoon.

Cocktail/mocktail evening, with quiz, escape room puzzle or just charades or playing cards for real money (usually pontoon or 21) or who am I with post its

choose tree in forest and pub lunch or just hot chocolate and hot dog from van

today we met older sibs and partners in nearby city, had brunch together and a mooch round Christmas market and had mulled wine

Mulled cider with apple juice and mince pies and fire pit or log burner

Walk to gather greenery and make wreath, garland or table decoration

chips in local pub with cards again

everyone helps with dinner prep with Christmas music playing

Family secret Santa with present put on dinner table

Midnight Mass.

We have an art house cinema locally, so one of our ‘things’ is to go there and watch a Christmas movie.

I do table presents, so now they are a bit more adult and will contain nice aftershaves and scratch cards.

We also go into London in the week before Christmas and have a very swanky lunch. It’s the only time of the year we can get these young adults to dress smartly.

Go to the theatre to watch a play