Christmas - Transitioning from the Young Years - How to Make the Holiday Fun?

Maybe you want to consider taking the family to a cabin in the mountains. with a fireplace, skiing, hot chocolate and board games? You could pay for this in place of gifts ....
Some fun games to play with adults of two or three generations, BUZZ (video game quiz show) or Scene it Squabble Men against the Women both are funny, maybe others can suggest more like that.

Encourage them to Secret Santa each other. After my SD turned 11, she stopped believing and she started making her own lists. She would get advances on her allowance and buy things her little 11 yr old brain thought would be good for people. Usually something small, like socks or a charm, but it was sweet. We hang stockings up early and let each other sneak little gifts in them so we are all surprised. I suspect the addition of something like that, where you think of little things each other might enjoy will help with the stockings surprises. You can also put on favorite music, and let someone DJ the best songs from each Christmas album. Maybe get out photos from years past and either pass around the albums or load a bunch into a rotating digital frame and let them remember, "Oh, yeah, that was the year you..."

I'm the one that wants to get up super early (well, before 8AM) and I put Christmas music on or I start singing carols at people. They don't 100% appreciate my enthusiasm, but now that I have a partner in crime (DD) they don't get too mad because her cuteness softens them. I'd also make coffee and buy flavored creamers (if you have coffee drinkers) and entice them to get up and have a cup.

You can also include OTHER things in your holiday, like caroling with a group of likeminded people, bringing cookies to a fire station or nursing home or doing something else that makes you jolly and not letting the bah humbug young people get your spirit down.

Except for my son and a cousin of his--we are all grown ups.
Shake it up!
Holiday dinner out, fancy-schmancy style.
Rent a cabin, cottage for a getaway weekend retreat somewhere new.
Volunteer in the community. Put all those grown, able hands to work!

Time to start some new traditions. Maybe you could start making a special Christmas morning breakfast where each family member is responsible for making something to share. Or volunteer at a soup kitchen to give back to others. As a family you could adopt a family in need or contact a local senior center to adopt an elderly person to make their holiday special. Your holidays will never been as crazy, fun, and hectic as they were with little ones around but you can make them something special and meaningful.

I like the ideas of either a get-a-way vacation, or volunteer work. You could also try things like a nice dinner out, tickets to the Nutcracker Ballet, or another activity you think they and you might all enjoy, like a day spent pottery painting or skiing. Go shopping for toys to donate. How about talk to your kids about it and see if they can suggest something?

This year, we are sort of treating our mom's like they are the kids since both have just been widowed lately and needing attention. So, that's where our concentration is going,..... but it's not as fun as having the bright eyed children on Christmas morn thing at all.
If we werent doing the mom thing, we would be going and staying somewhere for the wknd. This is when you need to begin enjoying empty nest syndrome just in case it doesnt last long. Lots of boomerang kids out there right now :-/

My husband and I have decided that next year, we aren't giving out parents any lists of what we want for Christmas. they always insist we give them a list of things we want, but we've decided this just isn't any fun (not for us, probably not for them!) Maybe don't ask for a list and you can enjoy trying to find gifts they will like that didn't specifically ask for. A small change, but may be more exciting for them to open gifts as well!

My oldest will be 14 in a couple of weeks, so not as old as your children, but still not a young child. I love Christmas, even at 41, and he has grown up seeing that excitement in me. We still sing Christmas carols together throughout the holiday season. He likes to cook, so he is my baking partner. Several times during the season we will put on Christmas music or put on Christmas movies (today we watched Christmas Vacation) and bake. We also love to go get hot chocolate and drive around looking at Christmas lights. It's a great time to talk.

I take each of my children, the youngest is 7, to shop for the family, so on Christmas they are excited not only about the gifts they are receiving, but about the gifts they are giving. They put a lot of thought into what they purchase and how they wrap the gifts, so they are excited to see others open the gifts. We have the entire extended family over on Christmas Eve, so that is more of a party that everyone looks forward to each year. I know you mentioned that it's just your own family, but if you want more people there, invite friends. On Christmas Day it's just us, and we love that.

We are Catholic, so the Advent season is a special season for us. We have an Advent wreath with special prayers and canles we light each night, and both kids enjoy that. Church is extra special this time of year as well.

Both boys like to go ice-skating this time of year, too. Your kids may be too old for that, but I still enjoy it, so maybe not. I'm sure I'm forgetting things. This is my very favorite time of year, and my kids love it too, even as my oldest is becoming a teen. He still enjoys all of the family time and the traditions we have done forever. I hope you find what you are looking for. Merry Christmas!

i agree with MAKE it fun. a new tradition of a big christmas breakfast, going to church, heck, why stop doing stockings even? you can still do them! there is a "dirty santa" game. i'm sorry you're feeling a little blue about it. my mom always just enjoyed having us together whether we were little or big. yes it is different. and someday there will be little ones again. try to look on the bright side and see the advantages to these times. it's not better or worse, it's just different. no one gets "magic" christmases EVERY year, some are more magical than others. it's still christmas :)

Sigh, I know what you mean. I just bought every single one of my Christmas presents for the kids at my neighborhood grocery store that has an enormous selections of gift cards.

It's cool when the oldest gets home from school (next Sat, yay!), they all hang out and talk about stuff. Next year I'll have TWO away at school. Strangest thing.

One thing I am trying to do is remember how incredibly BUSY I used to be for Christmas, and now I just relax and enjoy it. I spend more time. energy, money fretting over Christmas dinner too, which I enjoy. I have about 20 people Christmas day, and when the kids were little, OMG it was challenging to pull it off! Now I relax and think, Oh, I'll have to buy some news BOWLS for the soup! Yay!

The Man is out of the country most of the month too, bleck.

Sit in your living room and think about how NICE all your decorations look, and how they STAY that way for more then 5 minutes, and how things don't get BROKEN all the time. Couple years I had to put the tree in the playpen, got tired of it being pulled over!

We'll mix up some special mimosas and get through it together, k?

:(

Well what sounds fun to you? The world is your oyster. I am not catholic but I have heard how wonderful midnight mass can be. That will probably be one of the things I do. I love the idea of gathering the family in another location. Or visiting the sick or orphaned. There is nothing like the joy of a child receiving a gift. Especially one that is more than grateful for it. (maybe one without a list) I would be tickled to be santa's helper and take a bunch of gifts somewhere. Be sure to contact first to see how its done and how you can help. Have a Merry Christmas!