Christmas day drinks for teens?

[RedAndBlueStripedGolfingUmbrella]

Just wondering really what everyone else does.
I remember being allowed a little bottle of Castaway with my Christmas dinner when I was 15 😁
Now I have teens of my own. Nearly 20 year old has never been interested in alcohol so has never tried it, 15 year old totally different though and you know he'd give a small drink a go if you let him. 🙄😁
Maybe a small bucks fizz or something?

@Icedlatteplease Nah I think the comment was aimed at me but my teens are old enough to drink and one likes fruity Ciders so that is what we buy him . I'm not going to say that's not a ' proper' drink you'll have wine like the rest of us .

I actually bought some sparkly J20s today for something special, will probably end up sticking to just that 😁

DS has sparkly J2Os and Becks Blue. He will be allowed a very weak bucks fizz with us at breakfast and probably a weak lager shandy with dinner.

Snowball 🍸

As for the "proper" drink versus alcopop debate that seems to be going on, I think it's an interesting discussion.
I don't think either way is wrong.
"Proper" drink like wine or beer gets them used to alcohol I suppose so they don't just glug it and see it as the norm alcohol wise.
Whilst alcopops or fruity cider is something they'll be more likely to drink and enjoy, know I'd have gagged at wine at 15 but drink far too much of it now!

Mine don't so far like wine of any description or beer. We have Bucks Fizz in the morning so there will be prosecco if they want to try it again and they'll most likely just drink water with dinner while we have red wine going on previous years experience. We usually have some Kopparbeg and pre-mixed cans in, they can have one or two of those after dinner (they are 16 and 18) when DH will probably have a beer or two.

Champagne will probably be too dry for their taste (unless demi-sec), they might like prosecco but again could be too dry. Cider or beer (shandy is a bit sweeter so may be more to their taste) would be a good place to start as in general younger palates don't like the same alcohol as their parents older palates. One of my girls loved a fruit based cocktail as an older teen (and still prefers cocktails to wine) whilst the other loves both wine and cocktails and has a very sophisticated palate (she's now 26).

Yes I have 4 and 4 snowballs which is what I was allowed as a child! Felt nostalgic this year. Sainsbury's

We have a "no alcopop" rule in this house! From 14 ish onwards they can have a drink if they want one but it has to be a proper drink. I dont want them glugging alcoholic Ribena, as I have seen what it does. Until Covid I ran pubs for 20 years on and off and the kids who drink beer, wine whatever always seem to drink less than the ones on alcopops who guzzle it down and get arseholed. It was always the one lad on fruit "cider" who would cause trouble in a group where the rest where on lager. They drink it faster and therefore a lot more of it. As it is my eldest doesnt drink, 25 year old like gin and wine but doesnt drink often. 21 year old is a student at uni and ...... I dont ask although I know she likes gin! 18 year old will have the odd drink but not often and 17 year old doesnt like it so doesnt drink, same as his brother. They have all been allowed to drink at home and have a far healthier relationship with alcohol than some of their friends who werent allowed to drink and then went on total binges when they could.

Yes I think it is and interesting dilemma too. I actually really struggle with it.

I grew up in a non alcoholic household. I can probably count on one hand the number of times i saw DM have any kind of drink cos "it sent her to sleep". Literally the only drink in the house was some good awful boxed red wine my dad would have a singular glass of with meals. he'd offer me some occasionally but tbh it was so rough you wouldn't have wanted any anyway!! And brandy for brandy butter at Christmas we had the sane bottle of brandyfor rougly1940.

Dc's dad (my exH) grew up in a household where if his parents weren't functional alcoholics then weren't far off. From what I heard DC dad was going the same way after I split. They used to give DD the odd sip because they believed in encouraging "sensible" exposure to alcohol. I have no idea how that worked as if i was ever unhealthily drunk when in my teens, chances are exH parents had something to do with it, I didn't dare drink at home. Dd stopped going when she was 9 so old enough to remember. She's left little worried about the genetic component of alcoholism and vehemently dislikes proper drunk people (although if I ever get a little tipsy she tends to find it hilarious)

A couple of years back I had a proper go at some of the no alcoholic stuff cos I like the taste of certain alcohol in certain drinks or situation but could entirely do without being drunk and was aware DD was hitting early teens. It was all horrid. I tend to go for the little of what you fancy approach, cant afford alcohol day to day anyway . The koppenburgs non alcoholic stuff really has been good. I still don't like it., but if DD does. I don't really have to overthink it

17 and 19. No interest in alcohol, though the 19 year old does have the odd beer if out. I only have wine so no booze for anyone else.

Let them have a sip, but also get some nice soft drinks and juices in - we've got bottle green, appletiser, fentimans for the no alcohol people.

One will be making cocktails for anyone that wants one. The eldest doesn't drink at home just with their mates. The other will have a couple of ciders.

@Icedlatteplease
I find that really interesting.
Similar to you I grew up in a house with no drinking at home. Until I was 11 or so my dad did drink out but I rarely saw him even slightly drunk that I remember and he then gave up totally as it gave him migraines. My mum is unable to drink for medical issues.
I have never had any interest in alcohol and nor has my sister really. She will have the occasional one if out or used to- I don't think she has for a while. I went through a phase a few years ago of having an occasional glass of moscato but haven't even had that for years and didn't discover that till my late 20's.
My partner grew up in a house where his parents regularly drank at home to the point they were drunk but not alcoholics by any stretch. He was offered alcohol from his teens in small quantities. In his late teens and early 20's he regularly used to get absolutely plastered (his words not my judgement as a non drinker). These days he doesn't drink regularly but does like a gin or Jack daniels occasionally.
So both of us sensible drinkers/non-drinkers now but the one growing up being offered it was the one who binge drunk.
Obviously a lot depends on individual personalities and also your social circle but I don't think it's as clear cut as people think.

We've got some nice soft drinks and fruit juices plus prosecco and fruity ciders. Babycham is awful don't do that to them

Orange and lemonade
Ribena
Apple juice
Squash
Pepsi

Oh and they love cups of tea ha

Just get a few alcopops or fruit ciders in. Doesn’t have to be festive. In fact most festive drinks taste crap to me

I was always offered what other people were drinking so…BabyCham because that was my grandmother’s drink for special occasions! I think my parents had G&T which I either wasn’t offered or didn’t like (still don’t like, in fact).

A glass of wine or a bottle of kopperberg wouldn’t hurt the 15 yo.

I remember from about 10 being allowed either a cherry b, babyCham or snowball 😂

My kids have zero interest in alcohol. It's not on their radar, nor their friends, so Appletizer and Shloer I guess.

I’ve massively gone off alcohol recently so I’ve decided on J20s as my Christmas Day beverage

At a friends party about 10 years ago I was horrified that she was allowing her ds (16/17) to drink cans of beer. We didn’t let ds1 and ds2 have alcohol until they were 18 and although ds1 (27) likes a few drinks he doesn’t drink much and ds2 (25) has never tried alcohol. However I’ve mellowed over the years and ds3 (16) has had an odd tin of cider in the house and I let him take two to a party last weekend with the strict instructions only to drink those and nothing else. I also have some cider in for Christmas.

I never understand the need to encourage 15/16 years to have a drink at christmas etc, it really isn’t a necessity nor will it stop them getting pissed in the park.

We don't really drink alcohol so it wouldn't occur to me to offer my nearly 14 and 15 year olds any. We've got some bottles of Schloer in for over Christmas.