Spill the beans... on your free Christmas magic for kids tips

PinotGrigio41

Theres loads of lovely ideas on here !! We always do Xmas Eve pressies, new Pjs, an Annual, Xmas knickers and slippers and usually a new Xmas t shirt for the favourite teddies. The Panto has always been a must and ice skating in the evening in the lead up to XMas. On Xmas Eve we always make Reindeer food which we sprinkle in the garden before bedtime whilst saying poem for Santa and his reindeer ,so that the sparkles lead the way to our house. The children have sparklers as well. Our Fairy doesnt go on top of the tree until Xmas Eve and take it in turns each year as to who puts her up there . We track Santa and when he is in Germany it is then the childrens cue to go to bed as he will be on his way to the UK soon ! Santa then makes a massive mess with his fake snow inside the chimney , fireplace and shoved inside the Xmas stockings and sprinkled over the pressies, then he settles down with his Port nad Mince Pie whilst Rudolph enjoys a lovely crunchy carrot !

Things might be a little different in our our house this year due to DMP, but it will still be fun !!!:j

Oh and I read the other day of somebody who makes a runway with tealights int he garden for Santa and his reindeer, I thought that was a lovely idea !

hippygran

Moneybub

Enjoy your two little ones, what you are doing is creating memories for yourself (and for them).

You, however, will be the one who misses it all most as they get older! They, by then will be too busy to notice the 'magic' has dimmed somewhat!

But they will remember when your grandchildren start to arrive, and will utilise some of the things did, and add in their own 'traditions'.

Its not about LYING to your children, it is more of a wonderful fairy story that they become part of. I have terrific, fond memories of my childhood Christmas times, and I tried to achieve that for my children.

My two sons remember their childhood Christmas memories, and my eldest one is busy trying to re-create his memories for my 2 year old grandson!

The PNP was a hit, but only once the little chap had come out from his hiding place! Santa knowing his name freaked him out a little!

So my two sons have wonderful memories, but my adopted daughter has no such happy memories, since at a very early age her mum decided to ensure that she knew santa did not exist, and that the presents were down to mum!

She is busy making sure her children get the most magical Christmas possible, as she feels that she really missed out as a child. She would much rather have been LIED to about the fat chap!

I think on balance that a little bit of 'white fibbing' does no harm whatsoever, and it really only lasts until they start school!

Or even earlier!

My 'clever clogs' no 2 son at just over 4, informed me on Christmas Eve that there was no Santa! Because he had found some presents hidden, and then he said 'Don't tell me they are for someone else because they have got my and my brothers name on'.

I had to come clean! But we didn't tell his brother that night, and waited instead until after Christmas. Spoilt it a bit for me though that my baby didn't believe any more!

So at 4 and 5 neither child believed, but they never, ever breathed a word to their younger cousins, just as I never enlightened their cousin's mums (who happened to be my younger sisters!).

MarilynMonroe_2

Before i had my dd I used to make it special for my cats :rotfl:
Theyd get their stockings (well they still do now) and theyd get all their presents individually wrapped and would open theirs first and eat their treats. I'd not give them cat food at all on Xmas day, theyd get a proper dinner cooked and have custard for afters, and then chicken and stuff - they'd be stuffed on treats and nice food, and I'd have the fire on full. It's their day too!

MidLifeCrisis_3

What a super nostalgic thread with some lovely ideas.

Portable North Pole is definitely a must, they'll nod their heads in wonderment and gasp "wow he knows everything". Norad is another must too. For the cost of a stamp Royal Mail do a letter from Santa (maybe using a stamp that didn't get franked could make it free!) - post by 14 Dec. Before all this existed we used to get a handwritten letter back from Santa on Xmas morn and never even realised it was Dad's writing.

Our local church host a childrens' Nativity on Xmas Eve starring a real donkey. The kids can choose to take part by dressing up if they wish and who really cares if there's more wise men! It's all finished off with a bring and share tea and is a really lovely free event that brings the community together nicely.

Things that make it magic for my kids: decorating the tree (it can always be rearranged when they've gone to bed - they never notice!) spotting Xmas Lights in local towns and houses, putting out beer & mince pies for Santa, carrots & an apple for Rudolph and sprinking reindeer food (porridge oats & glitter) on the lawn on Xmas Eve, waking up on Xmas morn to full stockings rustling on the bed, taking over our bed and being allowed to munch on chocolate biscuits before breakfast, going downstairs to find the christmas tree lights twinkling through the frosted glass door (I always loved that as a kid too!), finding the bitten off ends of carrots, apple core, crumbs and an empty glass.

We used to get second hand bikes and never even knew or cared. Last year we gave our kids some second hand toys, they absolutely loved them and didn't notice either. Any request for a laptop can often easily be lost in the excitement of opening sometimes the most inexpensive things. My favourite Christmas magic comes from a lady who could only afford small presents for her children, but wanted something larger to go under the tree, so she wrapped up a large box filled with balloons and guess what they totally loved it. It just makes me melt thinking about it.

And as the saying goes if you don't believe in Santa, then everyone knows that he won't come, so baaah humbug to those of you that say it's telling lies. To me there's something quite special about tiptoeing round filling stockings and laying out presents on Xmas Eve all ready to see their eyes light up the next day. I just look at it that we're Santa's Little Helpers...

Let the magic never end!

msfoxymax

fluffy70 wrote: »

LIE??????

:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T

heatherkayejones

Absolutely agree with you on this one. Google "Portable North Pole" and you can get the most amazing personalised video from Santa for your child - quite magical and FREE!

heatherkayejones

hippygran wrote: »

Moneybub

Enjoy your two little ones, what you are doing is creating memories for yourself (and for them).

You, however, will be the one who misses it all most as they get older! They, by then will be too busy to notice the 'magic' has dimmed somewhat!

But they will remember when your grandchildren start to arrive, and will utilise some of the things did, and add in their own 'traditions'.

Its not about LYING to your children, it is more of a wonderful fairy story that they become part of. I have terrific, fond memories of my childhood Christmas times, and I tried to achieve that for my children.

My two sons remember their childhood Christmas memories, and my eldest one is busy trying to re-create his memories for my 2 year old grandson!

The PNP was a hit, but only once the little chap had come out from his hiding place! Santa knowing his name freaked him out a little!

So my two sons have wonderful memories, but my adopted daughter has no such happy memories, since at a very early age her mum decided to ensure that she knew santa did not exist, and that the presents were down to mum!

She is busy making sure her children get the most magical Christmas possible, as she feels that she really missed out as a child. She would much rather have been LIED to about the fat chap!

I think on balance that a little bit of 'white fibbing' does no harm whatsoever, and it really only lasts until they start school!

Or even earlier!

My 'clever clogs' no 2 son at just over 4, informed me on Christmas Eve that there was no Santa! Because he had found some presents hidden, and then he said 'Don't tell me they are for someone else because they have got my and my brothers name on'.

I had to come clean! But we didn't tell his brother that night, and waited instead until after Christmas. Spoilt it a bit for me though that my baby didn't believe any more!

So at 4 and 5 neither child believed, but they never, ever breathed a word to their younger cousins, just as I never enlightened their cousin's mums (who happened to be my younger sisters!).

My son believed until he was about 9. He did start to question the existence of Santa when his friend didn't get the expensive games console he wanted. I explained that Santa brings most of the presents but families can send a bit of extra money to "top up" with more expensive gifts if they can afford it, and that not everyone is able to do this. It worked for my son anyway! If they find presents, just tell them you are "topping up" the ones that Santa will bring so that they will get a bit extra. Pity to dispel the magic if a few more white lies can keep it going a little longer...

BigDavy

The best trick we ever did was for my husband to dress as Santa, then I took photos of him coming down the chimney with his sack, walking upstairs and putting the stockings full of presents on the bedroom doors. We left the trail of soot and snow, ate the mince pie and half a carrot, and drank the glass of Bud! Worked a treat - they still believe he was there even now!

linmad3

One of the best free sites I've found this year is portable northpole you can make a video from Santa for your little ones, or even your big ones lol. It is absolutely fabulous and is completely free, and you can make as many as you like!!

jmwillow

I always left out a mince pie, sherry and carrot when my girls were little and they tell me it definitely was part of the magic of Christmas. They still leave out Christmas stockings and I fill them with the usual bits and bobs, sweets, socks, undies and smellies and my eldest is now 28! She always comes home for Christmas eve so that she can partake of the stocking 'ritual' on Christmas morning. Don't know what we will do if she ever moves to another country or can't make it home:rudolf: