To hate the idea of Christmas Eve hampers?

[leobear]

I know, I know.....Scrooge! But surely the magic of Christmas Eve is the simplicity of it, and the anticipation of what is to come. A hamper is really a big box of presents, and feels to me like overkill. But maybe I'm just a misery guts!

Think I will name change to FunHatinScrooge..
Yes to a new bauble every year.
Yes to a real tree. No fake plastic tat here.
No to Xmas Eve hamper.
No to a full turkey.
Yes to a turkey crown with all the Xmas foofy bits.
No to watching the Queen.
No to anything involving church.
Yes to going to bed on Xmas night thinking thank fuck it is over...

YANBU - Christmas is too materialistic as it is

I've not heard of Christmas Eve hampers before but I love the idea and will definitely be doing it this year!

My child gets new pjs and stays in them all day Christmas day. She loves new pjs. Primark for every day, something nice for Christmas. This year it's been Boux Avenue plaid jammies for the autumn/winter (cos she's too tall to fit in kids jammies) and for Christmas Eve she's got a new pair of Jack Wills pj bottoms. Can't wait to hang up the stockings with the pjs. And we do clothes for Christmas cos madam likes the gorgeous knitted sweaters from Jack Wills which do not fall into the realm of acceptable expenditure for clothes day to day. I love Christmas, Cratchett, consumerism, kindness and all.

There will be no hampers in this house. There will be new pyjamas -all round but that's it.

We do pjs, polar express dvd and night before christmas book (dvd and book are recycled from the past 4yrs)

We have xmas breakfast as well I suppose and the children have to have breakfast before presents and they're not allowed chocolate until after Christmas lunch either

Do adults really enjoy watching Polar Express, Christmas films etc etc? I have clearly failed on this parenting level, nothing bores me more than having to sit through a childrens' film.

One year when I was much younger we had to wait until Boxing Day for our presents, due to various family visits etc etc. We survived, it's not all about the presents.

I enjoy it, we only watch it once a year, it's a special cuddle time with two very excited children who love the movie - obviously I'd rather watch something of mine but its Christmas Eve, I'll let them watch what they want :)

Oh I love the delicious irony of people complaining that a Christmas Eve hamper is materialistic and confirming this by stating that it detracts from the magic of the presents on Christmas Day. Well yes, if to you Christmas is all about the presents on the day. To me, presents are a very tiny, token gesture on the day and because they're not really the focus at all, we do things like the Christmas Eve hamper.

We have a £5 present limit for everybody. We're anything but materialistic actually. But yes we do a hamper on Christmas Eve. It isn't about presents at all. The letter from FC I make myself, the bath salts are mixed up from ones I have, wrapped in tissue paper from the cupboard, the marshmallows are from the baking cupboard, the hot chocolate from the tin next to the tea and coffee. The only 'bought' thing is a book (charity shop) and sometimes some pyjamas. It is bog all to do with giving stuff to greedy and grasping little children. It's about creating anticipation and beginning the festive period. It creates the opportunity for cosy baths and family DVDs on the sofa. It marks out our Christmas as the beginning of something special. It's celebration and joy and pleasure in just being together on a day full of anticipation. The mundane bath is special for that one day, so is the bedtime drink and story. It marks it out as special and if my dc are anything like me, this is the shit they'll look back on and adore. For me, it was never about the stuff. It was a celebration of us being together and embarking on the beginning of a special few days.

It's very rude to ascribe meaning to other people's traditions (and yes it's been going on for years, at least a hundred in this family) just because you do things differently.

Love the Christmas movies, we watch elf, miracle on 34th street ( old and new version) the grinch, the Santa clause, nightmare before Christmas, Scrooges, muppet Christmas carol, its a wonderful life, Arthur Christmas, mickeys twice upon a Christmas and loads more

Except polar express, for some reason the children hate it

And I know there are no capital letters in that list...I will ask for some for Christmas

Ragwort - I'm exactly the same, there isn't a single children's film that I can sit through without getting bored. Luckily the DCs are the same and hardly ever want to watch films.

I always use to get new PJs on xmas eve with some posh new bubble bath and a DVD to watch so I have continued this tradition with my own DD. I didn't know it was considered a "christmas eve hamper" though.

we watch nightmare before christmas and the snowman,we also watch national lampoon,the kids actually like that!

ChristmasPixie123 neither did I

ringaringarosy my eldest is terrified of NBC! I love it as well the Snowman is a must watch, loved the Snowdog last year too

We recorded the Snowdog, it' still on our Sky+, haven't got round to watching it yet.

I enjoyed it, short and sweet. Also love Father Christmas

The only reason I make a big deal out of wrapping pj's & packet of reindeer food is that it fools my dc into thinking bedtime is a good idea on Christmas Eve. My dc generally have us up at 4am so I like to get them to bed as early as possible as dh and I are usually assembling toys till 2am.
I have to say I do love reading how different people celebrate Christmas though, no two houses sound the same.

prettyplease you would die in our house as we generally have selection boxes for breakfast around 5am

nsisaddict I never get to photograph present opening either. I usually am staggering around with a bin bag screaming advising 'don't loose the instructions', wading knee deep through wrapping paper and opening numerous packets of batteries

Where I come from we celebrate Christmas Eve. And get all presents on christmas eve and go to Midnight Mass afterwards. No presents on Christmas day. And we all get a good lie in on Christmas day as well

ours are 11 and 12.... so no more 6am wake ups.... nice.... but we don't do Xmas eve stuff.... I'm working...

our Christmas film tradition is Home Alone because everyone here likes the slapstick and Christmassy feeling... and we always cry at the old man's story...

I always did new pj's on Christmas Eve as my mother did in the 40's. I still do for dgc and my dd who is nearly 40! I also have special stories for bedtime on CE but I bring them out every year if we have dgc staying. The big favourite is still Raymond Briggs' Father Christmas. I also have a lovely paper sculpture book of The Night Before Christmas which is much loved.

I'm Hungarian, (English DH) and though everything else is English tradition we celebrate Christmas Eve as you'd do in Hungary by eating a special meal and dessert that I make followed by the children being allowed to open one present from us.
It's really nice to have a "Secret Christmas"!

I nevet had a Christmas Eve Hamper.
I wouldn't mind one.

One rule we had when dc were teens was that no one was allowed to go out in the evening on Christmas Eve. It was my own family's rule too. No parent wants to be anxious about anyone's whereabouts especially on that night. Everyone had to be home for dinner then it was family time until Boxing Day.
I was a bit worried that my step children would be awkward and dsd was. She insisted on partying etc on CE but her brothers loved the sense of "battening down the hatches" and being together.