Anyone who has seen Harry Enfield’s Kevin the teenager, knows that it is an all to accurate portrayal of teenagers. While the kids have the magic of Santa and carols, and the adults look forward to putting their feet up and having a few drinks, this difficult to please age group can often be a nightmare at Christmas! Gone are the days when you could buy them an advent calendar full of chocolate to fill them with delight – nowadays it seems nothing short of Kim and Kanye West’s lifestyle and gift budget will please them, and they will probably find something to moan about still! So what can you do to include your teenagers in the festive excitement and make it a happy Christmas for everyone?

A Christmas sleepover can be a good idea to start with – when school breaks up, get them to organise a sleepover a few days before Christmas with their friends – put out some festive foods and sweet treats, make hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows and leave them to it. It will give them something to look forward to and keep them occupied in the run up to Christmas.

Get them involved in helping with the family festivities – if there are younger children in the family, maybe encourage them to take them to see Santa – it may even awaken a bit of their own Christmas sparkle form not so long ago, and will help out all of the adults if they can keep the younger ones amused for a while! If they are creative, they could even get involved with helping them to make some Christmas cards or baking Christmas cookies!

Then of course there are the gifts – no more teddy bears and toys, it is all about smartphones and trainers! But if your budget doesn’t stretch to that (and to be fair, who’s does?!), how about getting them something that they will remember and enjoy? Some pretty jewellery is a good idea, or if they like action how about a tank driving day with https://www.armourgeddon.co.uk/tank-driving-experience.html if they are 16 or over (this is a great idea for big boys too!). Something that they can remember and treasure is always nicer than the latest phone, which will probably be out of date in a few months’ time!  Hopefully this year your Christmas will be more happy holidays than Harry Enfield!