A place for us christmas fanatics to share xmas eve hamper/box pics and ideas!

[Crystal15]

I've been busy today making hot chocolate cones. I've just about completed our xmas eve family hamper and will share a pic later. But for now here's a pic of my cones! Get sharing your ideas, photos. I've had so many fab ones from here already thanks to you lovely bunch!

Cones have hot chocolate, marshmallows then a sachet of dark chocolate I grated.

[BowiesBlueEye]

We only started this last year so this year I've added a few things.

Got my boxes from Matalan in their 3for2...lovely elf theme ones

All 3 have the same inside

Cosy fleece blanket
Xmas themed mug
Hot chocolate stirrer
Xmas pyjamas
Book
Popcorn box (like the cinema)
Popcorn
Nutella dipper pack
Xmas DVD
Shower gel bauble

DS2 (5) also has a Santa Comes To... book and reindeer glitter, I will pop the Santa plate in when the decorations come down from the loft.

They also have the Monopoly banking game (given out free at Smyths!) to unwrap and play.

[cowssheephens]

This is our advent box, haven't finished buying all the little gifts yet.

[Crystal15]

Bowie that's a great hamper. Going to make my own hot choc sticks to add deffo.

Cows what's in your box?

*Here's ours. We all have a joint one in a giant velvet sack.
*New pjs and socks for us all
Festive bath bomb each and bubble bath bauble to share.
*Hot choc cone each
*Reindeer food
*personalised santa plate
*Dvd and popcorn
*snow globe making for children and personalised Thorntons giant santa.
*All of our stockings ready to hang.

Think that's it all!

[cowssheephens]

A little gift each for them to open daily. Like an advent calendar..just bought and packed by us. Reastie gave me the idea on her Christmas thread. so happy not to see another Lego calendar, after buying them yearly it gets a bit boring

[Crystal15]

That's a great idea! Much cheaper then a lego advent too if u shop about

[BowiesBlueEye]

Love the snow globe making kit. If i could fit more inside the boxes I would add that!

[BowiesBlueEye]

Cows that's a lovely idea. If I have time to pick up all the bits I'd love to do that this year.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

I've done a CEH for years for my DC but this year I read the idea on here for a Dec 1st Hamper.
Mine are teenagers (will be 17 and 14.6)

New PJs
Bathrobe for DD
Jar of sweets
One of those sweary colouring books and pens
Annual (Simpsons for DS)
Bath Bombs (Lush)
Socks/Underwear

Then they can use them all December.

Haven't bought any bags or boxes yet, planning to look this weekend

[Crystal15]

Target I was tempted by the 1st of December box too. In the end I've settled for a simple 'cosy box'. It will be a big cardboard box wrapped containing all of our advent calenders, I will fish out every xmas dvd we own and every book and add that. Tub of hot chocolate. Our festive mugs. All the festive colouring books they have received over the years and their hot water bottles oh and christmas jumpers too and the crackers for the tree. Basically.it's things we mostly have that get forgotten about a lot over Xmas usually.

[Crystal15]

Oops typos. Way too early for me to be thinking argh

[GreenGinger2]

This hot chocolate set is going in ours,all I have so far.

[Crystal15]

Thats axing ginger. Where is it from?

[GreenGinger2]

Sainsbury's

[Trudee]

We've been doing Dec 1st and Xmas Eve hampers for a couple of years now and I've been going through my lists tonight.
Our elf brings the basket when he arrives on the 1st and it has all our xmas dvds and books, xmas bedding, advent calendars and pyjamas. All of these except the pyjamas are reused every year. This year we also have a playmobil nativity set thanks to the bargain thread. I found some lovely "sleeps til xmas" pyjamas in asda that dc's will love
Xmas eve will be a larger affair than usual as we're staying with extended family. Our hamper arrives in the morning (brought by the elf) and always contains hot choc, marshmallows and biscuits, dvd, reindeer dust, lush bath bomb and night before Xmas book. There will be quite a few extra adults so I've found some flavoured syrups from whittards to add to the hot choc and our activity is the Santa Scramble boardgame that I found in Smyths. I may investigate the Waitrose half price biscuit tins which will make nice reusable tins for next year

[OvO]

My photos are a bit dark and rubbish but I darent wake The Beast* to take better photos.

*The Beast being my 8 year old asleep in my bed, so I can't get access to the boxes.

These are our Advent Boxes. In them will be

Pyjamas
Cards to send to classmates
Gold/silver pens to write cards
Paperchains kit
Small Christmas craft kit
Letter to Santa kit
Snowman/Reindeer hot waste bottle
Santa/Reindeer mug
Stocking
Xmas jumper
A couple of Christmas crackers
Bar of chocolate
Mini can of cola (or the bottles with Reindeer names on if they bring them out again)
Christmas pencils
Daft dancing Santa/snowman toy
Spray snow

I put on the Christmas duvets and leave the boxes on their beds to find when they get back from school. Though I should go check want day the 1st is this year!

Some of the contents are things we bring out each year. Most is stuff they'd get during December but given at one time instead of spread out.

[ginauk84]

Love this thread, I had never heard of a CEB until SIL brought my DD some things to put in hers last year and I hadn't got one! So we sort of just had a pile of things we did together.

This year she is 3 so is really into Christmas and have been organising my box today but I would like to buy a wooden box to put everything in I can reuse each year. I do want a box that I can decorate myself - anyone bought a plain wooden box from anywhere? Have found on ebay and amazon but surely a shop would be cheaper as they must be heavy to post.

So far we have:
A key for Santa as we don't have a chimney
Slipper socks
The Snowman and Snowdog book and soft toy
Reindeer Food
Christmas Biscuits Recipe
Snowman and Snowdog Cookie Cutters
Chocolate Santa
Letter from Santa
I like the idea of a Xmas Decoration each year for the tree and think we will make our own so I will put some salt dough in there

[dani24]

I have this box for my little girl, can anyone recommend what paints to use please? I tried an acrylic paint but it looks dull and very patchy.

[OvO]

I used acrylics on mine but mines are card. Maybe you need an undercoat/primer? I'm very clueless about paints though.