Christmas Eve Boxes

[DBN1]

Since when did they become a thing? I'd never heard of them before this year but they seem to be mentioned as if it's a normal part of the Christmas traditions.
Do you have these and if so, how long have they been part of your Christmas?

Not knocking at all, just genuinely curious.

We don't, but it's quite late when we get in from mass so it's usually put mince pie and booze out for father Christmas then straight to bed for the kids. Also if I'm honest I don't think we could afford to get another set of presents on top of the stockings and then other presents for Christmas day. They get enough.

Really dont see what some people on here find so dreadful about pjs

They are comfy and everything

The vast majority of posters on here seem to give pjs, something to do on Christmas eve evening and some 'edibles'

I get not wanting to do it yourself, especially if you havent done it since your children were tiny

When i was young, and im 49 now, my parents bought us new clothes for Christmas day....so that was a habit i carried on when they were small, dont do it now as they really arent fussed

DD is 12 now and I’ve akwats done a Christmas Eve box but it wasn’t planned as such.

She has a bath Christmas Eve and then gets new PJ’s and dressing gown to snuggle in. It made sense to put them in a box.

Then over the years I added hot choc, slipper socks and a small cuddly toy (niknak size nothing big).

It’s just a lovely tradition that DD loves and takes no real effort. We love it.

Meh, I prefer the tradition of the DC fetching The Night Before Christmas from the bookshelf than putting it in a box. Deciding which plate from the cupboard would be the best one for the mince pie, bottle of beer and carrot. Getting the stockings out from my bottom drawer and hanging them up on the kids bedroom door handle.

Same things, same memories for the kids about things we did on Christmas Eve, no box involved - nothing extra has to be bought.

Same friday

When the children were very small it was a book about the nativity or the night before Christmas

Now it tends to be comedy books as both ds have a quabillion books they want for Christmas and dd doesnt read unless she is forced to!!

minecraft

I still get the children to put the mince pie and milk out for santa

At nearly 20, 17 and 15 they are a lot less bothered about the crumbs the next morning

They used to be so excited about that

I had never heard of them before joining mumsnet, and have never done them. It's just one more thing to get stressed about.

I still do a stocking for DD (18)

I hate the Christmas eve box 'thing', it's just over the top and kids already have so much today. I'm sure some people have been doing this for years, but the whole commercialisation of the Christmas Eve box puts more pressure on parents and gives stores another excuse to sell us more rubbish!

I can't see why you'd be giving a box full of things to your child on Christmas eve, when we were kid, Christmas eve was the exciting time waiting for presents.

Find it quite wasteful to be giving things like Christmas themed PJs on Christmas eve. My son will be getting his on 1st Dec so we can get as much wear out of them as possible!

This isn't a tradition in my family, but I think it sounds nice.

We always got a pair of pjs for Christmas as a child (40 years ago!) - surely most growing kids need new pjs on at least a yearly basis? So to me it sounds nice to spread things out and give that on Christmas Eve rather than adding to the Christmas Day pile (we only do one gift from each relative on Christmas Day itself).

Our family tradition is 'tree presents' i.e. small presents 'from santa' that fit on the tree itself (things like nice socks, nail varnish, few chocs). Usually 2 per person, one to be opened Christmas Eve, and one Boxing Day. It just stretches out the excitement rather than cramming all the present opening into one day.

Find it quite wasteful to be giving things like Christmas themed PJs on Christmas eve. My son will be getting his on 1st Dec so we can get as much wear out of them as possible

My children wear their pjs all year....they aren't Christmas themed

I wash them obviously!!

moaning

Im afraid to mention our boxing days presents at this point

Shit

Mince pie and a glass of something left out, was excitement enough for mine. Hot chocolate and a story was most nights anyway. You just picked the more Christmasy stories as it got closer.

Never did new PJ's although that sounds reasonable and lots do, either with or without a box.. We always get up stupidly early to open presents so by 8am it's time to put on " nice" clothes for the day ahead. I grew up in a freezing house - no hanging around in dressing gowns for us in December.

The problem is that special days are intrinsically linked to " stuff". Yes most people do presents but the volume has increased over the years. Yeas people may have done new PJ's but now it's a "thing" with more " stuff".
Let's hear it for traditions that don't involve " stuff".

I am sitting here with a sleeping 8 week old DS getting all excited about future Christmasses now.

Our ‘tradition’ (although It irritates me to call it that, we don’t always do exactly the same thing ever year) is a nice family meal, sometimes Roast Ham, playing a board game (not a new one, we’ve got plenty of games) & going to Midnight Mass. Simple and no new ‘stuff’. Midnight Mass was Christingle Service when DC were younger.

Just another commercial idea.

We always bought a christmas book to read with the kids on Christmas eve. They lend themselves better to that night. By Christmas day night, the excitement bit has gone.

barbiegrl, I know that German potato soup with hotdogs in it. I know it as Kartoffel Goulasch and I make it like soup whereas my mum makes it much thicker. I was going to make it this week. We eat it with wholemeal bread, it's the only bread that works with this soup.

There was a thread a few years back full of Christmas traditions, what everybody's Christmas was like. Much better than this narky thread. I can't find it, I looked. I cringe a bit at the Christmas 'fans' continually using 'Xmas'. So important a season for you that you can't type the extra letters. I'm not religious really but 'Xmas' is a travesty and seeing it from the earnest Christmas 'must have this, must do that' posters grates a bit.

The Christmas Eve box in our house is a blessing to me
I include new pjs with ds’s latest favourite character - so he is eager to get dressed for bed
A dvd to watch and hot chocolate sachet - so he sits calmly with hot milk to wind down for bed
A new book- that he can read in bed to get sleepy

The entire point of the box is to get him into bed and asleep as easily as possible because otherwise he is super excitable and wont sleep, not just to chuck extra presents at him the day before

I used to do new PJs, a Christmassy book and DVD on Christmas Eve when mine were little, but they’re 10 & 14 now and not bothered. Never called it a ‘box’, though.

I’m not up for adding endless new ‘traditions’ to Christmas, to be honest.

Love Christmas Eve boxes , dm did it with me as a child and I loved it. Never anything over the top. Just a family box with pjs,a Christmas mug ,a Christmas film, some hot chocolate and marshmallows with a Christmas story book.
We got it at 6pm Christmas Eve and we all would get in our pjs and watch the film etc it was a lovely tradition and yes I now do it with my own.

Find it quite wasteful to be giving things like Christmas themed PJs on Christmas eve

Why though? DS has a few pairs of Christmas themed PJ's, he'll get one pair on Christmas Eve, he'll wear them till he grows out of them. They're pyjamas, just because they've got an elf pattern or whatever on them doesn't mean they don't get worn in February

What other traditions do people have that would make a pair of pyjamas and a Muppets Christmas Carol dvd tip it over the edge? We have very few "traditions" and they've changed and adapted since I was a child to fit into what it had become now.

My Christmas Eve Present for DS is finished already, its exciting and I'm pleased with it and can't wait to assemble it all 🎅

Rufusthebewilderedreindeer We got boxing day table presents

a book (same one every year - the night before christmas),

OK, I am now super confused--the children get a copy of the same book every year...??

Rufus My MIL does table presents for Christmas dinner She has little organza bags that she puts them in that we have to give back at pain of death so she can reuse them the following year.

PJs for the children, we might watch a Christmas film. Mainly so the children look presentable in the morning when taking photos

We don't use a special box though, I just wrap them up!