Christmas as a lone parent

[finglestick]

It’s just dawned on me that it’ll just be me and my sons, aged 11 and 9 for Christmas lunch this year. They’ll be with their dad for Christmas Eve and the morning then back to me from about 11am. I’ve just recently split from my new partner and we used to have big family Christmas with his 2 children and his family. I have no family so it’ll really just be the three of us. Any tips to make it as fun as possible?

I would start some new traditions. Maybe they could help make (or eat, depending on what time you would usually start cooking) christmas lunch, then open presents, help tidy away and then have a cookie baking competition (make a large amount of cookie dough, divide into 3 pieces and let each person design their own cookies. winner gets to pick the movie for after whilst they are baking). then eat the cookies and play some games (heads up (app) is fun, as is Pictureka board game). then a final movie before bed? or you could go out for some of the day after having eaten lunch to the park and play some games there (races, hide and seek etc). all the best x

Have a Christmas piñata
Get some fun crackers
Have a bonfire/BBQ and make festive s'mores - use gingerbread instead of digestives.
Instead of putting chocolate coins in the stockings, hide them really carefully around the house and garden so they have to hunt for them. If you want to make it fair, then buy a different different brand of chocolate coin for each competitor, so they have different foil wrappings.
Last year we played blow football with straws and maltesers, made a giant race track for remote control cars (including a ramp up onto the dining room table) and made a mahoosive marble run for maltesers using left over wrapping paper tubes and tubes from the turkey foil.
We've always had a jigsaw for Christmas, and when the children were little it was usually just for the adults. Last year I decided to involve the children and bought a 3d Hogwarts puzzle. I didn't even get a look in!
Get the boys to help make a Christmas playlist.
One year, instead of a cheese board, we had a cheese fondue. Three different bowls of melted cheese and lots of bits to dip: chunks of breads, cherry tomatoes, cauliflower, rolled up Parma ham, apple, fig slices, potato wedges etc... The kids loved it. They also love our annual New Years chocolate fondue.
This is 100% the best website we’ve discovered. On Capturethemagic.com, all you have to do is upload a picture of your living room, kitchen, hallway (basically, wherever you keep the tree) and you can superimpose Santa into the snap! You do have to pay, but it’s less than a tenner for three pics, so if your budget stretches that far, it’s worth it.

Kids want to chill after all the excitement
They don’t need more

Let them snuggle with a film and usual denied treats!

I’m always alone at Xmas with my kids. I prefer it!