What do you do with kids on Christmas day (if you don't travel or have a house full of people?)

[Anonymous]

Usually lots of playing with gifts...might go outdoors or to a park and throw around a football or ride their scooters.

[Anonymous]

Breakfast and presents in the morning, kids play with presents.

Split up for lunch or mid-day to do something fun and out of the ordinary. Things are open. Is it a treat for dad to take two kids to 7-11 for unlimited junk? Ok, they'll remember that.

Enforce an hour or so of alone time to enjoy presents/get ready/read/whatever.

Dinner is a bigger deal and festive. Oh wait, you have a family game you got - let's play it!

Movie after dinner, cookies, cocoa, bed.

[Anonymous]

Join a gym and take them swimming. Many gyms are open for certain hours on Christmas Take them rock climbing.

Get them active gifts they can do outside after they open them.

Get read to me books or audio books and tell them they have to be in their room for a half hour and listen to their book.

Have them race each other outside after open gifts.

Look up free things and do them. Hire a babysitter during the week off and you and your spouse go on a day date.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know a family that does family Olympics. Lots of different games or challenges for points and they have a trophy they keep all year.

Bad idea. The littlest kids are at a disadvantage and don't always lose gracefully. Seems like a recipe for crying, tears, and disappointment.

[Anonymous]

Not OP but I'm really enjoying reading everyone's Christmas Day ideas and traditions. Here are some of ours:

- We do gifts in two parts so it takes longer. Stockings happen first thing and often include little items people will want to put on or play with -- new slippers, a wind up toy, a Rubik's cube.

- We make "first breakfast" after stockings, usually something like biscuits from a dough that we put together the previous night so it doesn't take long. We make tea, coffee, and hot cocoa so everyone gets a hot drink with breakfast.

- Then the rest of our gifts. We take turns with each person opening while others watch, so even though we don't do a million gifts, this takes a while. We also have this game we play with the cat where we give him empty boxes and torn wrapping paper as "gifts" and that extends this as well.

- People hang out on their own for a bit after this. We'll put on music and DH and I will do some prep for lunch/brunch. No screens during this time, by tradition. It's for reading, playing with gifts, trying on your new socks or sweater. Cozy time.

- Lunch/brunch. A sit down meal and our biggest meal of the day. Sometimes it's breakfast-y, but some years we do elaborate sandwiches or soup and fancy grilled cheese, whatever sounds good.

- After lunch we play the board game my mom always sends as a family gift.

- Family walk or hike, weather permitting. Even if it's snowing (especially if it's snowing?) or raining we'll generally go out and just walk the neighborhood. The only time we skip this is freezing rain, which sucks.

- Home, people get cleaned up with showers and changing clothes, more solo time putting gifts in rooms.

- Dinner is leftovers from previous night (that's our big Christmas dinner, there's always tons of food) or from lunch if they prefer. We don't all sit down together for dinner, it's chill and people can decide what and when they want to eat.

- Around 7 we put on a family movie (recent selections: Home Alone, Die Hard, Jurassic Park, Singin' in the Rain -- we figure out what we're going to watch in the days leading up to Christmas with suggestions and voting until we find something everyone is happy with). We all pile on the couch and snuggle in. Little kids go to bed right after the movie.

It's funny because when I spell it all out like this, it sounds kind of regimented, and I guess it is in the sense that we do plan the meals and the movie in advance and the schedule was developed over time. But it's really a very relaxed day. One of my favorite days!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a family that does family Olympics. Lots of different games or challenges for points and they have a trophy they keep all year.

Bad idea. The littlest kids are at a disadvantage and don't always lose gracefully. Seems like a recipe for crying, tears, and disappointment.

+1, my mom did something like this when I was a kid and I really loathed it because I was the smallest and youngest, in most cases by a lot (my oldest sister is a decade older, my brother 7 years older). People in my family are all competitive and there wasn't much encouragement to be a good sport in any direction, so it often developed into my older siblings competing very aggressively against each other while I cried because I never came close, and then the winner being kind of a jerk and the losers being petty and resentful. I have nothing but negative memories of this and as an adult the most competitive thing we'll do on Christmas is play a board game and we heavily encourage good sportsmanship and not taking it too seriously. Also our kids are close in age and we choose games that everyone can play without being unfairly matched (or just games of chance).

[Anonymous]

We go to church and thank God for our family and the gifts he has given us.

[Anonymous]

We spend a lot of time at the playground on Christmas Day after present opening. There’s usually other kids from school there to play with too.

[Anonymous]

We always have a kind of a progressive breakfast in pajamas as kids open presents. First thing in the morning there’s coffee and croissants/muffins/cookies and as the kids slow down a little with presents we make eggs, waffles, fresh fruit, etc. The kids keep playing with toys.

There’s no real lunch since everyone has been eating all morning, but we get dressed and usually go on a walk or play games indoors (depending on how cold it is) This is also when we zoom family in other parts of the country to say merry Christmas.

Christmas dinner is early around 2 or 3 pm. We usually sit down, but sometimes we keep it more casual. The kids play with toys afterwards. Then we have desserts starting at 4 or 5pm. Usually there’s a Christmas movie playing. People are also deep in their (friendly) chess matches, settlers of catan games, uno, etc.

The day goes by really fast!

[Anonymous]

My sister and her family always went to the movies 🎦 on Christmas, then out to a favorite restaurants. My nieces seemed to love this— the discussion about the inch movie they would see started on Thanksgiving at my house. I was always a bit envious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We go to church and thank God for our family and the gifts he has given us.

We go Christmas Eve. I’m glad you enjoy going Christmas Day. Realistically though Church is 60-90 mins. What else do you do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not OP but I'm really enjoying reading everyone's Christmas Day ideas and traditions. Here are some of ours:

- We do gifts in two parts so it takes longer. Stockings happen first thing and often include little items people will want to put on or play with -- new slippers, a wind up toy, a Rubik's cube.

- We make "first breakfast" after stockings, usually something like biscuits from a dough that we put together the previous night so it doesn't take long. We make tea, coffee, and hot cocoa so everyone gets a hot drink with breakfast.

- Then the rest of our gifts. We take turns with each person opening while others watch, so even though we don't do a million gifts, this takes a while. We also have this game we play with the cat where we give him empty boxes and torn wrapping paper as "gifts" and that extends this as well.

- People hang out on their own for a bit after this. We'll put on music and DH and I will do some prep for lunch/brunch. No screens during this time, by tradition. It's for reading, playing with gifts, trying on your new socks or sweater. Cozy time.

- Lunch/brunch. A sit down meal and our biggest meal of the day. Sometimes it's breakfast-y, but some years we do elaborate sandwiches or soup and fancy grilled cheese, whatever sounds good.

- After lunch we play the board game my mom always sends as a family gift.

- Family walk or hike, weather permitting. Even if it's snowing (especially if it's snowing?) or raining we'll generally go out and just walk the neighborhood. The only time we skip this is freezing rain, which sucks.

- Home, people get cleaned up with showers and changing clothes, more solo time putting gifts in rooms.

- Dinner is leftovers from previous night (that's our big Christmas dinner, there's always tons of food) or from lunch if they prefer. We don't all sit down together for dinner, it's chill and people can decide what and when they want to eat.

- Around 7 we put on a family movie (recent selections: Home Alone, Die Hard, Jurassic Park, Singin' in the Rain -- we figure out what we're going to watch in the days leading up to Christmas with suggestions and voting until we find something everyone is happy with). We all pile on the couch and snuggle in. Little kids go to bed right after the movie.

It's funny because when I spell it all out like this, it sounds kind of regimented, and I guess it is in the sense that we do plan the meals and the movie in advance and the schedule was developed over time. But it's really a very relaxed day. One of my favorite days!

Kind of weird and formulaic but ok

[Anonymous]

Do whatever is easiest for you! Let them do whatever they want within reason. This whole "Christmas day has to be so special thing" isn't a requirement. It's already been special for them because they got presents. Let the rest of the day be relaxing for you. Do less. Much less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a family that does family Olympics. Lots of different games or challenges for points and they have a trophy they keep all year.

Bad idea. The littlest kids are at a disadvantage and don't always lose gracefully. Seems like a recipe for crying, tears, and disappointment.

Or it's a great way to teach teamwork, not being a sore loser, being a graceful winner, etc.

[Anonymous]

I am a big advocate of outdoor time. For everyone. Walk or play. Let the kids run. Always makes for a better Xmas.