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!

Ragwort as they are older teens now and spend half their time wandering around in their boxer shorts. Photos in their pj's are positively modest and the better of the two evils.

YANBU but I reserve the right for the pyjama fairy to come on Christmas Eve

On ever heard of this on MN too.

DD puts her PJs on and has hot chocolate for her supper every night. TBH, as another poster upthread said, Christmas Eve is the time I get presents from the car boot, where they have been hidden as I buy them, and wrap, wrap, wrap, as well as semi preparing food for the next day.

New Christmas PJs are an absolute necessity in our family and have been for generations now. If that makes me materialistic so be it but I could equally say that people who don't do it are miseries. Or, you know, I could just not worry about what other people are doing in their homes on Christmas Eve...

pmsl @ "big family slipper.

there is a sado family who live near me and i can actually imagine them doing that.

All these 'traditions' seem a bit try hard as if just doing things as they happen isn't good enough. Surely things like this evolve naturally?

Our Christmas eve is early, simple dinner, carol singing at the hospital then home for sausages rolls, mince pies and wine with friends.

Lovely evening!

never heard of it! But we always used to have extra pressies on New Years Day, as DH was always working on Christmas Day.

This is a new one on me.

If you don't like it, don't do one.

But I don't personally give two hoots what others do in their house on Xmas eve.

My Xmas eve tradition is rushing down to Iceland to buy more trifle and Baileys cheesecake.

I think YABU. I'm doing a small one for my eighteen month old in the hope she will go to sleep on Christmas Eve.

What happened to a stocking and a pillow case full of presents on Christmas Day. It's totally gone over board. I read on another thread how some woman buys her children at least 100 presents EACH! Not silly little ones either. Apparently her whole lounge was just full to the rafters with gifts. It would take all day to open them! I would have died of boredom after half an hour! Christmas to us is about the family getting together and having a delicious Christmas dinner and lots of laughs.

yanbu
ds birthday is xmas eve .
pjs ect are under the tree for xmas morning
we do watch xmas films and track santa online.

Link to the 100. Presents please!
Yanbu op I agree.

The obsession with quantity of gifts over quality is odd.

I think very excessive gift giving, extra hampers etc is a veryworking class thing.

Givemeaclue - Really? New pjs on Christmas Eve with maybe a book or reindeer food is very working class? Please expand on that? Do the middle / upper classes let their children sleep naked? Or maybe richer people don't love their children enough to spend their money on them, preferring instead to fund their lifestyles while their children go without?

YANBU i loooove Christmas but I hate them too. I like the idea of new PJs if they are actually needed and drinking hot chocolate in front of a film etc, but why dress it up as this big deal? And as for Boxing Day hampers... Well the less said about that the better. Actually, I hate all hampers that are not made up of nice foods, hampers are for food not 'themed' gifts!

I do think that Christmas can be a bit of an anti-climax. At least a month of anticipation, preparation etc - then it's all over in one day. Nicer to spread the fun a little into Christmas Eve and Boxing day.

For us, DH won't finish work until at least 4pm on Christmas Eve. We will have hardly seen him for the preceding two weeks so the main excitement of Christmas for DS will be having Daddy at home! I like the tradition of a Christingle service on 24th, then a special dinner and immediate family presents - so we're much worse than the hamper thing! That leaves the 25th for a stocking from Santa, seeing family, presents from/to grandparents, cousins etc. We like the sales on Boxing day (spending DH's bonus!) so that makes a 3-day Christmas!

'Big family slipper'

I'm on a silent commuter train trying to contain snorts of laughter. Thanks Hector!

I like new Christmas PJs. I only get new ones once per year. They've always been a CD present for me, though I am going to start doing it on CE for DS this year. We open stockings in our PJs and leave the main ones until after brunch. Nice to have DS in new festive pyjamas for stocking photos!

I only heard of these hampers when I joined Mumsnet... DD gets new pyjamas on Christmas Eve so that she looks nice in the photos on Christmas Day, but that is it in my house. Christmas Eve is usually spent having a meal with friends, then at my parents house wrapping up the stocking etc while DD is in bed.

I'd rather be working class with good intentions than a middle class cunt.

I've never heard of Xmas eve hampers or new Xmas pjs outside MN. We mark Xmas eve by allowing the Christmas chocolates, nuts etc to be opened.

I feel thinking of Christmas as the festive holiday period as they did in good ol' days of 12 days of Christmas is a great idea and much better and less stressful than all the (commercial) pressure on the one day to be everything.
So I like reviving some Christmas Eve traditions and celebrations. I think alongside "The Night before Christmas" & "A Christmas carol" and the Christmas Santa films the Mumsnet Christmas Eve hamper with Christmas PJs is a great idea.
Just don't let it become too much - just a little something to go along with snuggling up for a Christmas Eve movie
Some friends of ours spread out the pressies over the 12 days of Christmas BTW, which is an idea ?

So what about a giant MN slipper then?

Working class thing?

Better than being all bloody worthy and buying your kids a sponsored goat from Oxfam.