How to Find the Magic of Christmas with Teens

It’s easy to find Christmas magic with little kids. A change in mindset & some creativity makes it easier to find that magic with teens.

Gone are the days of them nearly bursting to keep from telling you what you’re getting under the tree.

Instead of “ohs” and “ahs” at every house’s Christmas lights, you hear only silence or small smiles.

What used to be a long month as they eagerly waited for Christmas is now a long month as they finish up their semester’s workload.

The magic of the season is different now.  But it doesn’t have to disappear.

The magic of the season isn’t in their ages or the ohs-and-ahs.  It’s in the beauty of seeing things through them, it’s in the little moments when they are just who they are.

You just have to look a little harder, think a little more out-of-the-box.

Don’t blink.  Don’t miss the magic.  

You only have a few moments before they’re grown.

12 Ways to Find the Magic of Christmas with Teens

1. Host a hot cocoa bar & Hallmark movie marathon.  Teen girls + cheesy love stories just go together.  Do you have a teenage son?  Die Hard + Planes, Trains and Automobiles may be a fun combination instead.  Or the Santa Clause trilogy.

2. Arrange a Christmas paint night at your local wine & paint place.  Daytime sessions can be arranged for groups and they offer lots of fun designs that will appeal to teens.  You could make it a mom & teen paint night, too, invite all of their moms.

3. Give your teen free reign to decorate.  His bedroom, the rec room, even a bathroom–shop together for decorations of his choice and then help him decorate.  Each year, that can be his job.  If he’s into technology, give him the task of setting up lights + smart home system.  Or set up the lights to dance to the music.

4. Ring the bell together.  The Salvation Army Bell Ringers is one of my favorite parts of Christmas.  We always keep change ready to drop into the red buckets.  Why not be the ones to ring the bells?  Grab some Santa hats & your favorite holiday playlist + speakers and ring, ring, ring.

5. Help your teen advertise herself for holiday babysitting.  Put together a special box of Christmas fun–cocoa mixes, homemade marshmallows, postcards & crayons to draw holiday pictures, homemade scented playdough or glittered slime, etc…  Encourage her to offer herself for a free night of sitting for a single parent family you know.  Don’t know anyone?  Ask around.  Someone will know someone who could use it!

6. Teach your teen your magical ways.  Do Santa’s reindeer leave footprints in your snow?  Who really eats the treat you left out for Santa?

7. Head to the craft store.  Crafting + holidays go together like peanut butter & chocolate.  Whatever they choose doesn’t even need to be a Christmas-themed activity.  This time of year, it’s fun just to have some kind of project to work on while you’re watching Christmas movies or waiting for your newest baked goodie to come out of the oven.

8. Enlist your teen’s help to put together your yearly photo book.  If they don’t already know how to create videos, this would be a great opportunity to learn how to use a basic movie editor, so you can have a movie version of the book, too.

9. Help your teen organize a cookie exchange with her friends.  If you’re up to it, have them all over to your house to bake together with each girl bringing a favorite recipe + the ingredients.

10. Serve alongside them at a service project.  One of the best things about teens is watching them realize that the world is bigger than their own little world.  And there’s no more magical time to see that than at Christmas.

• Does your religious institution do any service projects in this season?  A local community center?
• Is there an elderly or disabled friend/neighbor who could use help putting up and taking down their decorations?
• A single parent would probably love to have you deliver a tray of baked goodies or even some pre-made cookie dough + decorations.
• For more ideas, check out these Random Acts of Holiday Kindness ideas. {free printable}

11. This year, my daughter and I are going to participate in the December Daily memory keeping project from Ali Edwards. My plan is to work on it with her each evening after everyone else goes to bed, just a little mom & daughter time.   I love the idea of a small page a day documenting our month.  I’ve tried it the past two years but always found other things to do.  The accountability of doing it with her will be good for her and I look forward to that quiet time each day.

12. Our annual shopping night is something my daughter looks forward to every year.  Mid-December, we plan a night out starting with dinner.  Working through our lists and listening to Christmas music, we go from store to store. Starbucks is usually involved.  Some years, we wander more than we buy.  It’s our little night.