10 Reasons Why Christmas With Teens Is Pretty Great

Inside: Christmas with teens doesn’t have to lose all the magic and in fact, it can be pretty darn amazing!

Christmas with teens has gotten a bad wrap (pardon the pun). Yes, the holiday definitely changes as they get older. And it can definitely be hard to let go of some of the joy and magic that comes from celebrating Christmas with younger kids. But it doesn’t mean you have to let go of all of it, and you shouldn’t, both for your sake and theirs.

Teenagers are still kids, whether they want to admit or not. And they do enjoy many of the holiday traditions that you’ve created as a family, even if they complain about them. These are the memories they will look back on one day and truly cherish.

You might find that you need to make some updates to your family Christmas activities now that you have teenagers. But it’s up to you to decide as a family what traditions you still love and want to maintain and which new ones to add.

No matter what though, Christmas with teens can still be fun and in some ways might even be better than when they were little. Are you still skeptical? Well let me try to make a true believer out of you.

10 Reasons Christmas With Teens Is Pretty Great

Disclaimer: Not ALL of these will potentially apply to your teen or your family. Maybe you’ll even have some different ones. The whole point is just to help families realize that Christmas with teens can still be magical, even though your kids are growing up.

NO MORE ELF ON THE SHELF

I know that some families have loved The Elf on the Shelf and continue the tradition even for adult children returning home for the holidays. If this is truly what brings you joy, then by all means carry on. But I also know just as many parents, if not more, are more than happy to send Santa’s little spy back to the North Pole the minute their kids figure out the real story behind this seasonal scam.

When I started this tradition with my youngest, it was before you could buy an Elf on The Shelf in every store. Before there was an animated TV special, A balloon in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and Elf on the Shelf accessories and pets. And definitely before there were entire Facebook groups and Pinterest boards devoted to elaborate Elf of the Shelf staging schemes.

For me, I spent years between Thanksgiving and Christmas waking up at 3 a.m. in a panic and cold sweats realizing I hadn’t moved our jolly little visitor to a new location. Worse yet was opening my eyes in the morning to find one or both of my children standing over me and staring with terror, or growing skepticism as they go older, wondering why their Elf didn’t move last night. I hated the lies I had to tell to try to keep this whole ruse going. And honestly, once people started freezing their elves in blocks of ice and positioning them next to Elsa dolls in the early hours of the morning for their children to discover with wonder upon waking – well, that was pretty much it for me.
Teens Can Be Excellent Present Wrappers

The minute my kids were old enough to help with gift wrapping, it was like a new phase of the holiday began. Even better was as they became teenagers and actually got good at it. It has been amazing to see the almost artwork level presentation that my daughter in particular can achieve with her wrapping skills. Better yet, she loves doing it!

Adding to the fun is going to the store with her to come up our Christmas wrap theme for the year with specific colors and wrapping design, along with matching ribbon, bows and tags. Seriously. she puts Martha Stewart to shame.

Even if your teens aren’t super excited about helping with gift wrap, you could also motivate them by offering them a chance to earn a little extra money during the holidays. Their labor is usually pretty cheap and if you don’t love wrapping (I don’t) or just have too many other things to do, it’s more than worth it!
Help With Christmas Gift Shopping

Another thing that some of teens can be really good at, and actually like, is helping pick out Christmas gifts. They can come up with some pretty thoughtful and unique ideas when given a chance.

Even better, if you’re willing to hand over your credit card, they can take care of going to the store and buying them for you or at the very least ordering them online. OR if you’re teens have jobs and are earning their own money, they can pay for some of their gifts for other people themselves.
Counting Down To The Christmas Cup Release At Starbucks

Yes, I confess I’ve created a few mini versions of me when it comes to a slight Starbucks addiction. They’ve been going through the drive-thru with me since they were babies, but in the early years they mostly got a cake pop as a treat or maybe a vanilla frappucino. But as the teen years hit and the early school mornings became increasingly painful, it is possible I’m responsible for helping them cultivate a bit of a caffeine habit.

So, of course they then began to notice all the seasonal promotions and none have been more cherished than the Starbucks Christmas cup. We watch our socials for the announcement about when the festive holiday additions will be released trying to be the first to share the joyous news. Then we all get up extra early so we can wait in line to enjoy our first holiday coffee in its extra jolly bright and fancy cup.

Yes, its a bit silly, but it brings us joy and isn’t that what the holiday is all about. If enjoying a coffee run with your teens isn’t your family’s favorite, there are also runs to Dunkin’ for their new holiday drinks and donuts. Or maybe you’ve got a local place that has a fun holiday treat tradition that is geared towards the older kids. Whatever it is, it’s just fun to be able to share these more grown-up holiday adventures with them.
Teens Make The Best Christmas Song Playlists

I’ll be honest, My Christmas playlist had lost some of its holiday magic over the years as I kept playing the same old tunes. I loved my Christmas classics, but as my teens have developed their own music tastes it has been fun to let them add some new and updated favorites.

Now mixed in with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Wham! and Mariah Carey are additions like Taylor Swift, The Jonas Brothers, Ariana Grande, Carrie Underwood and Kane Brown to name just a few. And the best part is that they’ll actually sing along in the car with me!
Teens Can Enjoy More Grown-Up Holiday Movies
(But They Still Love Some Of The Oldies But Goodies)

Let’s be honest, some of these Christmas movies made for kids can be pretty irritating over time. Watching some of the Disney jr or Nick jr show’s holiday episodes for the 8th or 9th time in row loses its appeal over time. And while many of the other more child friendly classics are timeless and enjoyable year after year, like Rudolph and Frosty, ELF and of course the best of them all Home Alone, it’s still pretty great when your kids become teens and old enough for some of those more mature Christmas favorites.

Yes, we’re talking about those hilarious, but slightly inappropriate, and even a touch violent more grown-up holiday movies like Four Christmases, Bad Santa, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and of course Die Hard. You can also go the more romantic, but still beyond what little kids should be watching festive faves such as Love Actually, The Holiday and Serendipity.

Also, and this may just be me, because I know this can be a polarizing topic. But if you happen to LOVE Hallmark movies as much as I do, your teens may be much more willing to watch them with you and actually enjoy them. My tween daughter was so excited the first time I let her stay up a little late and watch one with me, because she knew it was one of my favorite holiday things. And although he’ll deny it, my son has settled in a few times and watched them with us. Mostly so he could make fun of them, but still, family time is family time.
Teens Can Help With Christmas Cooking And Baking

Making Christmas cookies and preparing your family’s favorite Christmas dishes is something our kids love to “help” us with during the holidays. It definitely builds memories and can be a fun family activity. But for as much fun as it is for the kids, it can be a lot of work, stress and mess for parents. Plus, you also inevitably end up with kids hyped on sugar or having a melt down because their cookie breaks or because you won’t let them lick all the spoons and put them back in the food.

Teens on the other hand still enjoy baking and decorating Christmas cookies, but unlike their younger selves they really do provide valuable help. You may even find them watching YouTube videos so they can decorate their cookies like a pro or tuning into “The Great British Baking Show- Holiday Edition” and whipping up some fabulous gourmet holiday meal. (One can hope, right?)
Teens Can Help With Holiday Clean-Up

While having teens help with Christmas cooking and baking is pretty great, even better is that they can CLEAN UP. Not only are they now tall enough to reach the sink, but they can also wash dishes, load and unload the dishwasher, wipe down the counter tops and sweep the floor. So, put on that excellent holiday playlist they created and let them get to work, while you sit and enjoy some egg nog.
Teens Actually Appreciate And Can Help Carry On Traditions
(Or Suggest New Ones)

No, they may not want to do ALL the Christmas stuff you did with them when they were little, but they do come to love certain Christmas traditions that have meaning for them. It might be popping popcorn, curling up on the couch and watching one of those classic Christmas movies mentioned or decorating cookies or singing carols by the piano.

You may even find that they take over the planning for some of these traditions or suggest new ones they’d like the family to try. As mentioned early, I got pretty burnt out on the whole Elf on The Shelf charade. However, once my oldest figured it all out, he discovered a whole new type of Christmas joy from becoming the one to orchestrate of all Santa’s little helper’s shenanigans for his little sister and I was grateful to pass the torch.

10. Most Teens Don’t Get Up At 5a.m. Christmas Morning

The first time that my husband and I woke up on our own Christmas morning, we weren’t really sure what was going on. We ran to our kids rooms to make sure they hadn’t been kidnapped, but what to our wondering eyes did appear, but two soundly sleeping teenagers. We tiptoed into the kitchen, made some coffee and enjoyed a quiet morning until they finally rolled out of bed around 11.

Now, I know some of you have teens who still wake at the crack of dawn or you are just a whole family of early risers. But for those of us who aren’t wired that way, This truly feels like a Christmas miracle and it one of the best things about Christmas with teens.

While I will forever cherish the memories of Christmas when my kids were little and it still held all that childhood magic and wonder. I’ve found that I love Christmas with my teenagers just as much, but in different ways.