To ask what the hell is a Christmas Eve box?

[tallulahturtle]

Is this something people are doing? What is the point?

I am doing them this year. They have pyjamas (just normal but new), reindeer food, letter from santa, a chocolate coin and a new book. Can't wait for them to open them x

I have three (all bought by me).
DP - game of thrones pj's, pack of peanut m and m's
DD - Tigger pj's, selection box
Me - Tesco Disney pj's, Lindt chocs.

In our family, since the year dot (before Christmas Eve Boxes), we ALWAYS opened a present at bedtime (or just before), on Christmas Eve. I think it helped my mum (a single mum) calm down three under 7's in the late 60's/early 70's).

I still do it now (but with Christmas Eve Boxes).

No harm done, no different perhaps from opening the tub of sweets before Christmas Day.

We always have a Christmas Eve Eve takeaway- so yes even Christmas Eve Eve has become a "thing" for us. I may post a picture on FB so I can get maximum hatred in here

When I was a child (a long time ago) we always got new pajamas on Christmas Eve, watched a film as a family, drank hot chocolate and went to bed after putting out the bits for Father Christmas. I've done this with my children for about 5 years which is effectively the Christmas Eve box. People have cashed in on their idea to be fair and labelled it as a way to calm down the children (tho it works for me). It's not an entirely new thing

philoslothy

Watching dr who christmas specials here

As ds2 says "its boxing day eve, eve, eve"

It annoys me how much people hate on other people's traditions 🙁 it's Christmas and everyone does things differently! For what it's worth, I'm in my 20s and I have lots of friends who've been given new pj's on Xmas eve since they were born! It's not really a new 'commercialised tat' what's tatty about new pj's? Kids need pj's don't they? So parents just wait until Xmas eve and do it then! You can buy films from the poundshop and pj's from primark or asda for example which wouldn't cost much! Or you could even just put a film in the box that you already own. I think it's a lovely idea and once you have the box, it will presumably be there for life (I had the same stocking growing up until my mum stopped doing stockings!)
Can we all just be jolly and happy?! It's Christmas

LET'S BE HONEST....IT makes the kids go to bed easier, it really does.

I don't think posters are hating other people's traditions, we all have them. Maybe not exactly the same thing but as families we all have things/routines/plans that we like to follow.

I think what people don't like is the 'keeping up with the jones's' or the 'if you're not doing it this way then you're just wrong' mentality. There's another thread talking about presents and some posters on there are really sneery at the posters who (rightly, imo) don't make all the presents from Santa but allow their kids to see that family and friends care for them and buy for them - and should be acknowledged as such. Talk of 'credit-taking' makes everything a bit sour and there's no need.

I remember a fab thread here a few years back all about people's different traditions at Christmas. It's a shame that it was posted in Chat because it's obviously not available now but it was really interesting, informative and good natured. :)

I feel like I'm reading a different thread to you, Lying.

The whole 'if you're not doing it this way then you're doing it wrong' mentality thing is not coming from the Christmas Eve box-ers.

To me it's those that hate the idea that are the ones that are telling us that we're doing Christmas wrong. We're wasting money, don't have real traditions like wot they do, have fallen into a trap of some sort, are doing it to out smug other parents etc.

TBH this is MY Christmas tradition - it's not Christmas if I haven't argued about this at least once. . What will I do when I no longer use MN.

You could be right, PrOvOke (blimey your username is hard to type!)

I keep referencing another two threads that I've been posting on and the 'doing it wrong' one is actually the one I meant.

I think sometimes that something's lost in the tone and it's easy to catch somebody's tender spot without meaning to; difficult to get back from that as well.

I've been reading all of the things that posters do and some of them are really lovely I might even pinch them myself. I absolutely ADORE reading about people's different traditions. We do Christmas Eve because we go to my Mum's and she's Austrian so the whole family is there. Christmas Day is quietly at home so I don't get the angst and stress that many posters do - and yes, I know I'm lucky!

Are you planning to not use MN? I think you should rethink.

I do buy the kids new pyjamas on for Christmas Eve. Growing up my sisters best friend always had new PJ's hung on the last day of her advent calendar and I was really jealous so started it for my DC.
Other than that we have all DH's family and DC's godparents and their children round for dinner and a big party so no need for any films, hot chocolate, bath bombs etc.
DH usually takes them for a massive walk in the morning, then they stay up late and go straight to sleep when we finally kick everyone out.

I don't think anybody has posted any keep up with the Jones' type comments or suggested that if you don't have a box you are not doing it right. The unpleasantness has only come from one direction

We've been doing this in a roundabout way for as long as I can remember. Every year after Christmas dinner (which we do on Christmas Eve) we gather round our ancient Santa present container. My grandma opens him up - presumably from a hole in the bottom, noone but grandma is allowed to touch the Santa - and pulls out one present for each of us, adults included. He's very old now, so the presents sit in a sack by the side of him rather than us foraging around his innards. It's the one family tradition that I miss, since we don't go home for Christmas anymore. The Christmas Eve box is nice, but it's not the same as ancient, creepy, winking Santa.

I've only ever come across this on MN too. Nothing really wrong with it but I find the whole idea a bit twee...each to their own though!

^ great example of a shit sandwich there

I do them for ours,
They have different things in depending on the age of the child.
They always include a Christmas book, new Christmas pyjamas, and a Christmas toy of some sort. Then the older two get a sweetie cone and a hot chocolate cone made into a reindeer, a film token, a key for Father Christmas to get in, an activity book and some Christmas socks.

Oh and I make their boxes myself.

I love all things Christmassy etc but I really hate this Christmas Eve 'box' shite. Mine have always had new PJs Christmas Eve, we all have hot chocolates too, but they get enough Christmas presents as it is without an actual box with pre Christmas presents like DVD's and books too.

Lots of us miserable gits, like me, moan about the way kids seem to be so entitled these days and I don't think they need to be given 'stuff' to make Christmas Eve special. Making a fuss about putting a mince pie and a carrot out for Santa, going outside to see if you can see him yet, a Christmas story that you read every Christmas Eve can make things just as special without giving kids an expectation of presents.

Though as I said, I accept that I am a grumpy cow sometimes.

I don't see why the mere act of placing something in a box would give a child a sense of entitlement. I could argue that it has the opposite effect, and encourages children to appreciate the joys of delayed gratification by waiting until Christmas Eve for things that non-Christmas box children don't have to wait for (pyjamas, watching Christmas films, reading a Christmas book, seeing Christmas stockings, drinking hot chocolate).

I'm not going to argue that, because I don't think it's any more true than that having a box creates a sense of entitlement. There are plenty of different ways to raise lovely children, and also to have a fun yet meaningful Christmas, and I'm suspicious of anyone who claims that their way is the one true way and anything else is tacky/consumerist/lacking in magic/wasteful/shabby/done for Facebook/no fun for the children etc.

What if you do a Christmas Eve hamper but your dcs don't get loads of presents - are they still in danger of becoming entitled?
What a load of bollocks this whole thing is - you do or you don't do it, who gives a fuck what traditions other people get up to.

...have fallen into a trap of some sort...

You have. It's a "tradition" that isn't traditional but was made up by people wanting to sell shit to frazzled mothers. And it worked

I think all these newer traditions are popping up as less people go to church now. If you don't have Christingle/Carols/Midnight Mass to go to on Christmas eve ,you'll look for another way to make it 'special'.

I have done this for 17 years

It is my families tradition

Like breakfast at a local cafe which we have done for 15 years is my families tradition

Like lighting a candle in front of my mothers picture every christmas eve which i have done for 16 years is my families tradition

Merry christmas everyone

Broomstick and Stately, you seem to have taken my comments very seriously, which is a little odd, as it's just my thoughts on the subject of the thread.

I haven't seen anyone say that their way is the 'only way' but I may have missed that post of course. What other people do doesn't interest me at all, nowt to do with me and we all choose how we bring up our kids and the traditions that we enjoy.

It wasn't made up to sell shit to frazzled mothers. It clearly started because it was a family tradition in a few homes, was shared online in a 'this is what we do' nice way, others saw it and liked it so pinched the idea.

Now you can buy all sorts of stuff for it. People have taken the idea and made it something to sell/buy. But it certainly didn't start as a commercial thing like Elf on the Shelf. I'm not guessing here - I remember when it first came to MN and that first thread was from a thread on MSE, it was just people sharing a nice family idea.

And I'm not a frazzled mother, no-one has sold me anything except the original idea.

And can I just recommend you all buy Beanboozled. Our Christmas Eve box had this in and we are all traumatized after vomit/stinky socks/dog food jelly beans!