Read how Mumsnet users make their Christmas magical

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From picking out the perfect Christmas tree and hanging mistletoe above the door, to tracking Santa on NORAD, the Christmas period is full of magical moments for both parents and children alike. Whether you have certain traditions you do every year, or you want to try out something new this time around, IKEA want to hear the ways you make Christmas magical.

Here’s what IKEA have to say: “This season is about gathering your loved ones, being cosy and enjoying time together. Everyone has their own way of celebrating. Whether you put up a tree or simply light a candle, it’s easy to create a home that is designed for magical moments.
We love offering solutions to make it easier and more fun to interact at home, whether sharing a meal, playing games, or just having a chat. When guests are visiting there’s nothing like lighting candles to get the festive mood just right. Try some Christmas scented candles (out of reach from little ones), with the winter spices ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and nutmeg, to help you create a welcoming feeling of warmth and cosiness.”

Which Christmas moments do your children love the most? Do you write letters to and leave treats out for Father Christmas and the reindeer? How do you keep the magic alive as your children get older? Which magical Christmas moments were your favourite when you were a child, and have you tried to recreate them with your own children?

Share how you make Christmas magical on the thread below to be entered into a prize draw where 1x MNer will win a £300 IKEA e-gift card.

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

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Elfis the elf visiting through December, leaving little treats, or a note reminding our son about good behaviour! Then on Christmas Eve, Elfis leaves him a treasure hunt to keep him busy on this most exciting day & the prize is always an activity that will keep our son entertained for the rest of the day, making Christmas day come quicker for him & giving us a chance to get the chores done

Normally by the 1st of December our house is in full Christmas mode. The tree is up, the decorations are up and I'm usually found in the kitchen doing lots of festive bakes.
The children enjoy Christmas films, the elf on the shelf is upto all his tricks and the children have fun making their own Christmas cards.

However!!! This Christmas is going to be very different indeed!.

To keep it short 2019 hasn't been great,we sold our house in April so the children could have a room of their own (one boy one girl). And we are STILL waiting to move in to our new house!.

Surrounded by cardboard boxes my solicitors called yesterday to say we will be able to get our keys to our new house around the 12/13th December, just under 2 weeks before Christmas.
Its definitely going to be a Christmas to remember!
I'm just hoping that the children are going to have a great time [santa]

Opening pillow cases of presents in bed on Christmas morning

To make Christmas magical we try to focus less on the presents and food, and more on family and time spent together

Nothing Christmassy before December. December the 1st we start advent calendars and also advent candles. ‘Final drafts’ of Santa lists.

Cards get sent out to friends and family. I know this is going out of fashion and not the greatest environmentally but we’re fairly green otherwise.

Tree goes up mid December- it’s a real one which gets planted out.

We’ve got a lot of tree decorations, fairy lights, garland etc and they all go up too. Buy s few new things with dc every year.

This year we’re doing orange and clove decorations which smell lovely.

My only DC is 7 so each year we are keen to create new Christmas traditions. We love putting on Christmas songs on the first weekend of December whilst we decorate the tree (mince pie in one hand, bauble in the other, of course). There is a National Trust park near us doing breakfast with Santa this year so I'm thinking of doing that as a nice festive treat mid December.

We enjoy watching a Christmas movie on Christmas Eve :)

We have a family Secret Santa-style tradition but the difference is that the pressies have to be homemade food gifts for each other. I love this because not only do you get to spend time with the kids in the kitchen but you get to see them exercise their creative flair when choosing what to make, it's sustainability and it's cheap!

I've checked in with my adult DSs, and they want Christmas to stay as it is!

Actually, clearing up in preparation for Christmas is a big deal- cleaning before decorating and clearing space for visitors! Advent for me is about preparing the home, stocking the cupboards, making sure that there is bedding and space for visitors. Then decorating!

Christmas Eve we eat ham and pea soup made with the stock from the Christmas Ham- it needs to be easy because we go to a candle lit crib service that evening, and we need the kitchen clear for the next day!
Christmas Day is for stockings- everyone has one, and we open them together on the sofa to the smell of breakfast pastries and coffee for breakfast!
Church and lunch before presents.
Before you know it, it's evening and time for a good Christmassy Dr Who and some pudding- no one ever has room for anything else!

Decorating the tree together is a family tradition along with leaving out mince pies and a carrot not forgetting a whisky!

Make sure the focus is on doing things with family! Going for a walk with others, spending time together even while doing the boring things like shopping!

I think Christmas is really about the kids, and the lead up is as exciting as the special day itself. We start on 1st December when we all get involved with decorating the tree and afterwards we sit around eating mince pies and congratulation ourselves on what a fantastic job. I then love to get the kids involved with the planning etc so by the time Christmas day arrives they are ready to burst :D

We visit Santa, leave out sacks for presents and leave Santa and Rudolph food and drink.

I loved the christmas eve build up with my kids. We have our own tradition

Going to the Christmas Tree farm to pick out our tree, singing in the carol concert, going to switch the lights on the village tree, having the neighbours round on Christmas Eve (our DDs are the same age and we've done it every year since they were born), making mince pies for Santa, opening our presents in front of a roaring fire...

Putting the Christmas tree up as a family is my most magical moment

I love going to pick our Christmas tree - the kids help and get to choose one new decoration each, always feels so special

We love to build and decorate gingerbread houses together on xmas eve.

The stockings are a really big thing in our household and even the adults get them. We tend to eat our Christmas main meal on Christmas Eve which frees Christmas day for fun and games.

We do it all ! Write a letter to Santa
Leave the treats for Santa and reindeers , we love our traditional Christmas tree and decorations
Good food and loads of love and laughter

Loads of decorating and Christmas crafts which my kids love.

Leaving out treats for santa and the reindeer is always a highlight. We bake our own mince pies for Santa and All of us in my family.

It is a tradition that the whole family come to us for Christmas day and Boxing Day lunch, then they are all there on NYE as it is their fathers birthday on NYD

We watch lots of Xmas movies at the weekends in Dec and have a Xmas craft day with family and friends so we get a chance to catch up with everyone! Then on Xmas eve we always read the night before Xmas before bedtime

I only get to see my whole family a few times a year so Christmas together is always magical. Sadly Mum has Alzheimer's so her short term memory is non existant but she can recall so many memories from the far past so we love to reminisce about Christmases past which always makes Mum (& all of us) smile