How do you make Xmas Extra Special for your kids?

[mrsdil]

Ok since my ds was born we have always gone away for xmas and have decided that now he is 5 we will have a xmas at home.....the thing is he has no experience of xmas at home and is therefore not excited about it....he knows santa comes but as we have always been abroad he knows that his presents are there when he gets home.

I really want to go over the top to excite him but dont know what things to do..

What do you do to make it special?? I have heard of using fake snow and making santa footprints etc...

Thanks in advance

We put the Christmas CD on and sing along to all the lovely christmas songs! We scatter play snow in the hall and a little in the living room, with a few footprints....then scatter snow up the stairs and into their rooms, where their stockings hang.

We also have a special Father Christmas key, it's metal and has Father Christmas' face on it - it looks very old!! We tell them that we've been sent this key to let Father Christmas in (it will only work for Father Christmas) as we haven't a chimney!

The key is hung on the door handle outside.. mince pie and milk and carrots for the reindeer are put on a plate in the hall!

Ooh, I'm getting all excited, never mind the kids!

Over the Xmas period we play Christmas songs.
Christmas Eve we always go to the christingle service for children at church - it's lovely.
Xmas eve we put out mince pie and drink for FC and we hang a carrot on the washing line for Rudolph (dh goes out later and takes a bite out of it!)

New traditions I'm starting this year that I've heard from others is new PJs on Xmas eve and writing a note to FC next to his mince pie (Dear FC, here is your mince pie blah blah' and then write a left handed reply from FC on the back. Leaving a scrap of red fabric on the fire (FCs coat got ripped!) and leaving a trail of glitter coming out of the fire too.

We are lucky because our fireplace is open and lends itself well to the FC coming down the chimney thing!

I love the idea of new PJs on Christmas eve.
Father Christmas left snowy footprints (shhh - talcum powder and Dh's big shoes) on the carpet last year, luckily all 3 were in one room.
Nobody asked why he didn't leave them all the way up the stairs!
DD (4.5) still talks about it in great delight. Certainly the highlight of theday.
Another thing we do is FC "brings" all the pressies, even those under the tree (I think they know that we buy some of them) so they only appear overnight on Chr Eve. Remember doing this when ds1 (now 6) was smaller, maybe 3, and he went downstairs and just stood in the doorway and gasped in amazement at the huge pile where none had been. Oh I'm welling up just thinking about it. [soppy mummy emoticon - and it's not even Dec yet!]