New Christmas traditions to keep the magic alive for tweens and teens

[Jinglejinglejingle7]

First Christmas of no Elf, no believing in Santa .

I need to start new traditions for the tween/teens. Any ideas on how to keep the magic?

😆

Take them to church to remind them why we celebrate Christmas.

SC now no longer believe and we're not doing Santa or elves with our younger DC so no Santa by choice here. All DC LOVE Christmas (as do we).

-- Christmas movies
-- Decorating house/bedrooms
-- Making wreaths together
-- Making Christmas puddings and hiding prizes inside
-- Making mince and minced pies
-- Advent candles which we light progressively through December at tea time.
-- Christmas food traditions (pancakes and waffles on boxing day etc)
-- New Christmas board game/party game each year
-- Singing Christmas carols with silly percussion accompaniment (teen DC do find this incredibly embarrassing 😂 so probably an acquired taste)
-- Christmas treat shelf which we build up through December
-- Midnight mass
-- Church on Christmas morning

Hunting down the M&S very merry munch is one of our traditions

This !

The magic is gone, don’t try and recreate it.

You can however do some nice things together but don’t expect them to be magical

• Trip to see christmas movie in fancy cinema
• Christmas market for some treats and buy a decoration each for the tree
• Go shopping for Christmas clothes

Dont stress yourself out by trying to create magic, it’s normal for christmas to be less special as teens grow

One things my dc loved was watching Home Alone at the cinema on Christmas Eve but we don’t live around the corner from the cinema anymore.

Mine continued to do and enjoy

• Choosing a decoration from the big garden centre selection
• decorating the Christmas tree as an ‘event’ with Christmas music and drinks, including finding all their ‘own’ previous decorations
• walk to see the best local Christmas lights with hot chocolate or Christmas film
• special meal on Christmas Eve : candles, now has a ‘set’ menu, and very much our direct family only as opposed to wider family
• Helping prep for our friends Christmas party, including decorating the gingerbread house (last year transforming it into a derilict house covered in graffiti…!) and each now have specialities they are in charge of
• annual theatre trip to London including seeing the lights if poss
• christmas eve crib service or midnight mass
• always stockings - best bit of christmas in all our opinions

What's a 'North Pole breakfast'?

Polar Bear on Toast?
Artic Hare Omelette?
North West Pasta?

@TwoLeftSocksWithHoles it was just something my mum did but she didn’t call it that. Decorate the table super early with food that is decorated to look christmassy. I use the same paper decorations that she ysed

I do a DIY advent calendar (little Christmassy bags pegged on a string across the fireplace) and my teens still love it. They get really excited as the 1st December approaches, it's lovely to see.

I also make a treasure hunt of the Christmas Eve box (it's just Christmas PJs, a book and some sweets) and they love that as well. They might be teenagers but they are also just kids, keep the magic alive as long as possible I reckon!

I still continued to do everything and our traditions just gradually evolved as they got older.

So a visit to Santa's grotto was replaced with a Christmas Market or a Festive afternoon tea. I used to have a Christmas shopping day alone, but when they were a bit older they would come and would give them part of their Christmas money to buy what they wanted, so they'd disappear and meet up ready for the train home (When they were even older this resulted in shopping being done in 30mins and the rest of the day in the pub 😏)
We still have Advent Calendars, Christmas movie lazy days, Hot Chocolate station and new PJ's and bath stuff on Christmas Eve.
Now the 2 eldest have moved out and have a family of their own, its nice to see them continuing the traditions they enjoyed with their little ones.
Oh! Almost forgot tracking Santa on Norad Christmas Eve, still do this and think I always will 🎅

My teen DD gets so overwhelmed with whole Xmas day - present , breakfast, roast dinner than 2 years ago I started doing Xmas dinner when DS and his wife come round a few days/week before Xmas day and then me and DD will have Xmas dinner on Xmas eve and buffet style
food on Xmas day. Works well for us and I wish I’d done this years ago, DS was just the same hardly ate Xmas dinner on Xmas day

Wanted to add I still track Santa DD has no interest in it. Input the tree and decorations (full 1979 and 80s ceiling chains, load of stuff pinned to the walls) I’ve now ordered a 7ft tree with flecks of snow on the branches and this will replace the 5ft sparse tree I’ve had for many years

Roll in November 12th when I start putting it all up

Your sons should be out getting pissed and snogging inappropriate girls not pinning elf to the curtains. I suspect they aren't so sentimental as you like but they know mum must be kept happy at all costs...

I didn’t know what to make of this to be hones 😆

Watch Christmas movies

Go to glow/light up event

Pantomime (you’re never too old)

I must be old elf on the shelf, Christmas eve boxes, matching pj's and Christmas bedding wasn't even a thing when mine were small.

Nor mine.

The elf on the curtain was something we did as parents when the children were in primary. I don't want my sons snogging inappropriate girls or getting pissed. In case you missed it a lot of young people are not drinking, the body is a temple and all that. They are into fitness but not to an extreme where it is their whole personality. Ds1 stayed overnight at his girlfriend's last night.

We have a really lovely relationship with our sons, they definitely don't humour me because we have full discussions about what they want to do and they are honest. They like tradition and they actually say they love whimsy.

I have two lovely, caring, thoughtful, clean and tidy sons. Same as their Dad. They are sentimental and it is adorable.

I posted this on another similar thread the other day but... GINGERBREAD HOUSE DAY!

Each child gets their own gingerbread house kit, heaps of extra icing, sweets and decorations and they go to town on it. I always pre construct them with caramel so they get all the fun bit of the sweets and decorations. Importantly - they invite friends over and they all get one too.

Christmas movies on in the background, pizzas for lunch and they just love it.

We've been doing it for 5 years I think? And it's now a huge part of their Christmas build up.

Oh yes you are!

Ooooof your tough.

Anyway, they can do both!!

Do either of your sons have partners?

We still film them hanging up their stockings for Father Christmas just like we always have

do you up load that to SM or send to anyone @RadioWillNeverDie ?

I have two lovely, caring, thoughtful, clean and tidy sons. Same as their Dad. They are sentimental and it is adorable.

maybe just me, but I find this a very odd way to describe your adult sons. As being “adorable”.

I take my adult DC and DGC to a farm where you can paint a Xmas bauble. They fire them in a kiln and you collect 2 weeks later. I book for first weekend in December every year. We have all painted 5 baubles now and DGC of 11 and 8 as well as DS's and their partners and DD and sil all love it.