What do you do on Christmas Eve?

We have picky tea and watch Christmas movies (usually The Shop Around the Corner and It’s A Wonderful Life) ❤️

We make “santas special cake” (basically just a normal cake lol) but when my eldest was 3 her elf brought a recipe for his/my favourite and we’ve made it every year since & always have some christmas eve then the rest is for santa.

my husband is often working so we to to my grans (she’s 95 & only family i have left &i’ve gone since i was a girl) then home for baths, new pjs & dominos! Bit gutted this year as my twins are 11 & one believes & one doesn’t & it’s the first year my “believer” hasn’t fully believed i think its more that she is reluctant to let go of the idea / scared not to believe just in case so i’ll still do the elves & santa etc but gutted it’s my final year of “magic” so will need to start some new traditions next year.

I used to do this with my two as well, they could splash and work out lots of excitement and then sleep well. They're both of an age where they're working on Christmas Eve now, so I take myself it's a nice moment to myself before the cookathon of Christmas!

Have grandkids for the afternoon and take them to the local christmas market and then to nativity service at church to give their parents peace/chance to do last bits and then in the evening we have the whole family round for dinner. Always beef stroganoff which i bung in the slow cooker. Long held tradition

We always go out for a Chinese. Morning is last minute cleaning prep then dressed up and out for Chinese (1.30pm this year) then home for a movie

We go to a fancy gourmet pub every year with the wider family and have a lovely meal and do secret Santa 😊 it’s been a tradition since before I was born. It makes me so happy to be able to bring my children now!

We always go to the cinema in the morning. Food prep in the afternoon, then takeaway for dinner.

We always took the children to the Christingle service when they were younger. It’s really lovely. Now they are older my daughter helps out because she loves little ones. Then in the evening we go to midnight mass. It’s candlelit.

Otherwise, we have a festive but simple family meal and warm mince pies when we hang the stockings out before bed. We always leave a mince pie, a glass of brandy and a carrot put for Santa, even though the kids haven’t believed in Father Christmas for several years.

This year we are hosting my husband’s parents and sisters. They are coming about 1500. I’m making a big cottage pie and some puddings. We’ll eat that, drink, and play games.

The morning will be spent doing some prep and setting up the dining room. Lots to do!

We prepare the veg etc in the morning, then a walk at lunchtime and end up in our local pizza restaurant for a late lunch. Then home pjs on, glass of prosecco or baileys and watch Xmas films. We have a 13 year old, he has Pepsi not prosecco 🤣

Sometimes we have our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. We always go to the crib service at our local church and then Midnight Mass. We like to spread the festivities out over all three days as it's a bit less frantic! A walk on the beach is good too, if the weather allows for it.
(Edited for an autocorrect fail)

We’ve never done breakfast with Santa

Ooh I love Christmas traditions. We are a walk into town so usually head over to costas and grab a Greggs Christmas baguette to have in afternoon and get the kids a costas hot chocolate. Then settle down to watch home alone. We’ve told our kids about Santa so this is the first time they’ve both known, but in normal years, we wait til dark, then head out to spot the lights, I conveniently, every year forget my phone and have to run back, but really I’m putting the Christmas Eve pjs by the fire. We walk for about an hour finding the brightest lights then home to surprise the kids. They get changed and bed, then time for baileys while we wait for it to be long enough for us to put the presents out 😃

It’s normally collect the Christmas food shop at 6am, then sometimes breakfast with Santa. We then pop into the city centre to have a look round. Then it’s chill at home and some form of takeaway

Work.

Actually...not this year whoop whoop!

We love going to our local garden centre on Christmas Eve and then for a walk. The garden centre is great as they reduce all their Christmas things, so we end up buying loads of nice baubles and bits for half price. We have a festive panini and a nice cake and a big hot choc. Then in the evening we have a festive buffet, get our pjs on and watch a Christmas film. Heaven! I actually prefer Christmas Eve to Christmas Day 🥰

When my children were young we always went to the cinema.

Usually visit friends to drop off/exchange presents in the morning. They always have a Christmas themed giant jigsaw on the go so we spend a couple of hours doing that and having drinks and snacks.

home to make mince pies and play Christmas music. Kids sometimes help.

In the afternoon it's the christingle service at our local church.
Both kids went to the church primary so we see loads of former school families going years back.

Special Christmas eve dinner (smoked salmon and scrambled eggs - we tried having it for breakfast on Christmas day but too much excitement and too full of chocolate coins to enjoy it so now it's CE supper). With the angel chimes alight and tinging. Friends from down the road might pop over for a drink.

Try and pack kids off upstairs not too late. Husband and I watch something on TV (usually the Ghost Story for Christmas) while stuffing the stockings.

Chill, watch NBA, watch Christmas films, drink, eat and enjoy it 🙂

Baking, pub, takeaway, Christmas film and hot chocolate. Then stuff out for santa and a Christmas story at bedtime. I love Christmas eve probably more then Christmas day

We always get a takeaway on Christmas Eve, then have a hot choccy with cream in our new Christmas mugs (which we decorate ourselves at a local pottery place). I will watch a Christmas film and eat chocolates while the kids entertain themselves and then early to bed so we can wrap all the Christmas presents… fall into bed after midnight and wait for the onslaught at about 8am in the morning .

Nothing specific. Some family might he working. Sometimes been swimming. Will be at my parents this year so will get out with them at some point.

No other traditions other than me going off to Midnight Mass while DH stays at home with DC and whoever else isn't coming.

Presents are all out under the tree already apart from stockings.

Kids open their Christmas Eve box in the morning which has a Christmas jumper for the day, Christmas pjs, some Christmassy activities, etc. to keep them entertained for the day.

DH is usually working but gets an earlier finish. We then head over to my parents’ house and watch a Christmas singalong together. Same one every year. Then family friends come round, we have curry for dinner and lay out stockings, sacks, treats for Santa and read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Then chaos trying to get excited kids to sleep and all the presents in the right places.

What? I need more details?

They want to use your fridge, want you to open their oysters, pick apart crab meat for them, cook and peel prawns??? I hope you get a generous helping?

This year- don't answer 😊

Our children are grown now but since they were very small we have always gone to a nearby hotel for Christmas eve dinner, its just around the corner so we don't need to drive. I used to work Christmas eve and was always wrecked, (retail) and we have kept the tradition going. Often some of our wider family are there too as they live locally. Afterwards we watch a Christmas movie and eat sweets until they all drift off to bed so we can do their stockings, yes we still do stockings for them, even though the eldest is in her 30s.