Best Christmas Eve box ideas for kids: what to put in a Christmas Eve box

Santa excitement tends to reach its peak on Christmas Eve. If you struggle to stop the kids bubbling over on the 24th, a Christmas Eve box might just keep them occupied on the sleigh bells countdown.

What is a Christmas Eve box?

A Christmas Eve box is a box full of small, festive presents that’s gifted the night before Christmas. This is a tradition that has suddenly grown over the last few years and is likely inspired by the fact that, in many European countries, presents are exchanged on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day.

It’s often also seen as an extension of the Advent calendar – we all remember the anticipation of the double door on number 24, after all. Christmas Eve boxes are a bit like that: a prize for your patience all through December.

What is the point of a Christmas Eve box?

A Christmas Eve box is not compulsory and lots of parents feel like there’s enough going on at Christmas already. But there are also many good reasons to join in with this modern festive practice if you feel up to it.

Firstly, it’s something that you can hopefully become a tradition year after year. Secondly, on a more practical note, it offers a bit of distraction on a day when most children can barely contain themselves, and parents have a to-do list as long as Santa’s Naughty and Nice lists put together.

Finally, it also helps in calming the Christmas mania. Waiting for the big present-opening of the 25th can be really tough, especially on younger kids, so receiving a few presents on Christmas Eve can help take the pressure off.

What should I put in a Christmas Eve box?

Traditionally, a Christmas Eve box contains things like festive pyjamas or a Christmas DVD. The idea is to get them ready for bed early and keep them busy – rather than them running rampant until 11pm, high on the promise of Santa – while you get on with heroically knocking festive jobs off your chores list.

But a Christmas Eve box can include anything you like, from craft projects and Christmas books for bedtime to more quirky ideas that may provide inspiration for a new Christmas tradition.

Here are the best Christmas Eve box ideas for kids of all ages.

How to make a Christmas Eve box

Your Christmas Eve box can be as lavish or as simple as you like. A simple shoe box, covered in festive paper will do the job admirably, but if you want it to last for years, you could buy a plain wooden lidded box or apple crate and then paint and stencil it, or decorate it in other ways.

If your art skills are limited, things like Scrabble tiles and stickers are an easy way to personalise the box. But remember that it doesn’t even have to be a box: a sack, basket or similar will work just as well and can be reused year after year.

1. Grab an empty box, sack or basket

2. Decorate it on the inside and outside or personalise it with your child's name

3. Fill it with a handful of thoughtful presents

Where can I buy a Christmas Eve box?

If you're not the crafty type and would rather buy a ready-made Christmas Eve box than decorate and fill one yourself, you'll find them on sale almost everywhere, including popular supermarkets like Tesco and ASDA.

For personalised boxes and sacks, head to Not on the High Street, Etsy or Amazon, all of which sell customised boxes in various designs.

And if you want one to embellish, a craft supplier like Hobbycraft sell wooden boxes and hampers that you can add your own stickers, stencils and more to.

How we chose our recommendations

We surveyed Mumsnet HQ parents for their best Christmas Eve box ideas, and scoured the internet to find the most creative and Christmassy buys as well as the most fun and festive boxes themselves.

We then trawled the Mumsnet forums for ideas about how to fill Christmas Eve boxes for every age group and whittled those down to five of the best ideas in each age category.

All you need to do now is sit down with a sherry and wait for the big guy in red to arrive from the North Pole. Oh, and peel four million sprouts, wrap 63,000 cubic square feet of presents, locate the trestle table, buy the emergency Aunt Bessie's and finish writing your Christmas cards.

Why you should trust us

Mumsnetters and Mumsnet HQ have lots of experience in making Christmas special on a budget. We’ve seen what goes down well in Christmas Eve boxes and what piques less interest, and we’ve put together more reindeer hot chocolates than you could shake a candy cane at.

About the author

Poppy O'Neill is a Content Editor at Mumsnet and a mother of two. She's been researching and reviewing baby and child products for 2 years, with a particular focus on baby essentials, toys and books for toddlers and outdoor play equipment. From potties to paddling pools and bunk beds to bedtime stories, she loves to deep-dive into research and find the best products out there.

Poppy is also an award-winning, best-selling children's and parenting author of books such as Don't Worry, Be Happy, The Extraordinary Book That Makes You Feel Happy and Mother Power. She specialises in children's mental health and her books are used by therapists, teachers and SENCOs across the UK. She won a The Week Junior Book Award in 2023, her books have been translated into several languages and she's been featured in The Guardian, The Sunday Times and The Sun.

After earning a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Leeds and a PGCert in Fashion and Lifestyle Journalism from University of the Arts London, she worked in fashion for most of her 20s. When her children were young, she undertook an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Chichester and re-trained as an author and freelance writer.