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!

Christmas eve hampers ?!

I tend to get DS new PJ's for Xmas if he needs new ones and would give them to him Xmas eve but if he doesn;t need new PJ's he doesn;t get them. I often buy a new DVD to watch Xmas eve, because... well its nice.

Is the problem daring to give anything new before Xmas day or making a big deal out of it being a present. BEcause I'm safe with one and not the other!

Thing that strikes me with that is do the parents not do the snuggly/relaxed new pyjama thing, send the kids off to bed and then have to put an apron on over the pjs and start faffing around peeling spuds, wrapping up last minute presents/putting the Playmobil together before wrapping it/stuffing the stockings/doing a last minute run for the cream that got forgotten? Or is that just our house?

Oh and YANBU OP. It seems to take the shine off Christmas day of there are gifts on Christmas eve as well.

I've never heard of a Christmas Eve hamper. Is this like a ploughman's lunch ? i.e a tradition dreamt up by a marketing team?

I enjoy the ritual of a Carol Service, Nativity or Midnight Mass , most Churches would offer one of those on Christmas Eve.

I have no interest in chocolate, a new DVD or pyjamas . Champagne would be OK though.

I've just asked everyone in the office, none of them has heard of a Christmas Eve hamper.

we do a hamper but its literally new pyjamas, hot chocolate mugs and a dvd

I do now get new PJ's for the children who are all teens + but that's because they need them and it's a good time to get nice warm ones for them to take back to uni. Don't wrap them up though but do change the sheets on Xmas eve.
We eat Rudolphs pie (Shepherds pie made with venison and pork) and drink a bit too much before we all go to Midnight mass.
Never have made a hamper or done the elf on a shelf stuff. It would be yet another thing to remember to do in December.

Jersey - how many hot chocolate mugs do you now have - surely there is a limit to the number any one family needs?

I have to admit, I had never heard of them in RL either! I read about them on here. As well as Boxing Day hampers to "ease the boredom"

I've never heard of it. We do start eating and drinking all the Christmas goodies officially, as opposed to the run up to Christmas when the whole family are sneakily having the odd quality street from the tin.

Have always done Christmas pyjamas, a book or film, hot chocolate etc on Christmas eve for the last 19 yrs. I did a sort of hamper last year that comprised of the same things and some little cookies etc for my youngest children. Older ones got onesies which they were made to wear so I could take incriminating photos

Is it something recently dreamed up by a marketing department somewhere, to make people feel they need even more occasions to buy for?

Like baby showers Coupon?

I'd never heard of this until I read it here. Tradition is a lovely thing but this just seems like yet another way to make mothers feel enslaved and overwhelmed and anxious.

Coupon, I think you have nailed it! It's just like baby showers.

YANBU! I read a post here today about a Boxing Day hamper! Wtaf? I think it's rather sickening too....as if presents on the day aren't enough.

Why don't we just frigging offer crap on a daily basis in case our little darlings don't already have enough?

Children are enslaved abroad, making more and more shiny things for us to gobble up and throw away.

Well in my country we open presents on Christmas Eve, after Midnight Mass.

I think the Spaniards have it right though; they celebrate Christmas as a religious/family occasion and then give/open presents on the 6th of January (when the three wise men brought presents for baby Jesus).

Poppy - you will find that a lot of people including mumsnetters don't seem to understand the connection between Christmas and religion .

My mum always sends me us a xmas hamper from John Lewis or somesuch. Full of yummy treats, wine etc. We really enjoy it.
My parents live in Australia and really miss us, so I don't mind them!

Poppy - I think that's different, though! I'm not a total Scrooge, I don't object to presents! It's more the apparent need for constant gratification, especially now things like Halloween have become such massive deals.

I think I love you, moondog.

YABU, i think you're projecting your own experience and expectations of Christmas on to other people.

Christmas is about being with your family, giving and receiving and just having a good time. If people are doing that then why not let them get on with it. Surely its nice that people try so hard to make things lovely for their children, especially when we know some people barely seem to bother feeding them.

I know I'm sounding very worthy, but it does annoy me. People are trying to do nice things and spend time as a family watching a Christmas film and are being derided as being these greedy sickening spoilers.

I for one was never given pyjamas as a present and I don't count clothes, bubble bath or food as presents really as by that logic Father Christmas comes monthly in our house. We used to get our presents on Christmas Eve as we're Jewish and my mother felt this meant we weren't celebrating Christmas. We used to get Hanukkah presents as well. I know there is a lot of nostalgia for the time of an orange or a lump of coal but I think its great people work so hard to make things enjoyable for the family.

This thread is the first I've heard of it.

Have always done new pyjamas for christmas eve since DS's second christmas. For us it's become a tradition but we don't do christmas hampers.