Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Christmas Eve boxes?

135 replies

Phycadelicsilhouette · 25/09/2019 12:09

Just wondered what people’s opinions are on the modern ‘tradition’ of ‘the Christmas Eve box’.
I’m no Scrooge, I love Christmas. The music, the lights, the light switch ons, the pantomime, the food, the board games ect ect.... BUT after jumping on the Christmas

OP posts:
Neoflex · 26/09/2019 06:05

is it just me, or aren't the best Christmas photos the ones where everyone looks a bit disheveled though?
Everyone wearing mismatched pjs, mum with her cuppa spilled down her nightie, kids with matted unbrushed hair, chocolate round someone's chops.
All the good signs of the chaotic Christmas early morning and everyone frantically running around saying "He's Been!!!!"
That's how you look good on Christmas photos.
Don't need a new pair of pjs for that...

Passthecherrycoke · 26/09/2019 08:06

Are you not all getting a bit whipped up over nothing for the sake of it? It’s only a box.

MsMustDoBetter · 26/09/2019 08:15

Each to their own.

We have a lovely sit down dinner with family. We are a large family, so the excitement and preparations are magical enough.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Christmas Events & celebrations
Maxineputyourredshoeson · 26/09/2019 14:00

@Neoflex But that’s exactly how it is, well in my house anyway, just in a new pair of pyjamas.

We don’t have matching pyjamas or even Christmas themed pyjamas just run of the mill bulk standard ones.

As I said earlier in the thread this is something my family have always done, back to my grandparents, if not before. I have chosen to carry on that tradition with my children. To me it isn’t something new, my mum is 57....

Chocolatedaim · 26/09/2019 14:24

Oh I love the whole “he’s been” moment. We have to walk down the stairs in the correct order to check as well (husband, me, Dd, then DS)😁 husband goes in first and we then all follow...it’s the small things like that that make it magical for me, not the big social media posts, personalised Xmas eve boxes or the Harrods posh stockings. My Dd has my stocking from when I was little, it’s all frayed and so old that pretty much every year it requires sewing a little but there is no way I could part from it.

formerbabe · 26/09/2019 14:32

Everyone wearing mismatched pjs, mum with her cuppa spilled down her nightie, kids with matted unbrushed hair, chocolate round someone's chops

So 1980s....

Nowadays it's only magical if you're all sitting in your matching Christmas PJ's on your crushed velvet grey sofa surrounded by mirrored furniture and mums brows are freshly microbladed.

theatrenerd31 · 26/09/2019 14:44

We do it, we'd do new pyjamas anyway (it's what I use to tell the years apart in photos). Apart from them it's the Father Christmas treat platter that's reused every year, Santa stop here sign and magic key that are also reused yearly, a film, some popcorn and a bag of sweets to wind down to help get ds ready for bed. He tends to get dvds for Christmas anyway so I pinch one from his Christmas pile.

It works to ease him into bed, he loves that we cuddle up, watch the Santa tracker, make reindeer food and sprinkle it, and stick the new film on to enjoy with the treats. It's much more of an experience than his other gifts will typically be, and it's a lovely way to ease into things for him and help the grown ups feel Christmassy before the slog of the evening starts! We'll be repeating it for the baby as he gets older too.

Ilovemyhairbeingstroked · 26/09/2019 14:57

I did it for the last 5 years . Xmas pjs, hot choc cones , specially made cupcakes a new Xmas story , chocs and a bath bomb . I spent ages finding a nice box . Last year my kids couldn’t be bothered with any of it . The cakes went dry , they wanted a shower not bath , and they don’t keep their pjs on . So not bothering this year , I’ve told them this and they couldn’t care less ! Was nicer when they were younger .

JaJoJe · 23/12/2019 10:58

Its hardly modern, we did it all my life so it was definitely a thing through the 80s/90s/00s and now - I think 30+ years of being a thing is a traditional lol.

I mean it might be 'modern' in the sense that I doubt they did it a 100 years ago but they did virtually nothing we do now back then.

Weebitawks · 23/12/2019 11:14

Well we do them as my mum bought them some lovely wooden engraved boxes a couple of years ago. We just put a pair of jammies and a book that they would get on Christmas eve anyway and some chocolates. The only extra thing I've bought them this year is some reindeer food and special mugs to have their pre bed hot chocolate in (just because I saw some nice ones and would have given it to them for Christmas anyway)

To be honest, what's the harm? Mumsnet can be a bit tiresome with the inverted snobbery about people who are just trying to do something nice for their kids. A book and jammies are hardly rank consumerism at its worst 🙄

New posts on this thread. Refresh page