To HATE the whole idea of Christmas Eve boxes

[TeeJay1970]

Don't kids get enough stuff on the 25th?

My nephews and niece now think it's their right to have gifts on the 24th as well.

Where does it end?

Yes I know AIBU!
Yes it's probably been done on here already in the last few weeks!

I quite liked the idea of them, but it seems to have taken off this year and the market is saturated with them. I've just finished engraving 4 tonight and now I'm sick of the sight of them, which is a shame because my DS's is a lovely box but I feel the over saturation has ruined it now.

Next year I'll be making him a nice bunter teller plate full of German goodies and treats instead. At least I know it will be unique and no bandwagon for people to jump on

So don’t do it.

We’ve always had Christmas Eve traditions of new pjs and watching a movie with hot chocolate. We’ve never bothered putting it all in a box but each to their own!

We don’t do Elf on the Shelf. Two working parents with two small children and not enough time. But on Xmas Eve, there is no actual box, just a pair of matching pajamas (there is a big age gap so this isn’t all that easy to procure) and a book. We read the book, then we read Nignt Before Xmas. No hot chocolate, just warm milk for the toddler this year and Go. To. Bed.

However, my kids don’t get a lot on Xmas. A present from F.C. (one asked for a board game and the other is getting a mini toddler keyboard type thing so he stops attacking his big brother’s piano) and two from us. My sister gives them books. I think I spent less than 100 pounds per head in total including the Xmas Eve stuff. They get new books and toys at other times.

To those horrified that Christmas pyjamas can only be worn in December (mine wear there’s all year round ) don’t you buy any Christmas decorations then ? Going by that logic. Then all Christmas decorations and lights put up in December are a waste of money as they can’t be used all year . I mean yes kids grow out of pyjamas but they would grow out of all clothes at some point and adults can wear the same ones for years .

I’ve realised that one of the reasons I was confused by the whole thing is that we never opened presents in our pyjamas! Maybe stockings but then we got dressed and ate breakfast and moved on to present opening. So no perceived need for new pyjamas for photos. Also, someone said their child would be disappointed if they got pyjamas as a main Christmas present which does kind of make me think that’s not a very nice attitude to presents and maybe that’s why the box seems a bit extraneous.

Huh?? It's nothing like Christmas decorations. Children usually get several months if not over a year's wear out of pyjamas or clothes before they outgrow them. To me it's a huge waste to buy something I'll only want to put them in for a month because it will definitely be outgrown by next Christmas.

Even for baby clothes they normally wear one size for about 3 months so to buy an item which will last a third of that time is bonkers.

Christmas decorations and adult clothing can be reused year after year until they get broken or wear out.

And Christmas themed clothing seems to be priced higher than other designs unless you buy it in January reduced. Which is probably sensible if you like that kind of thing and can guess what size your children will be wearing next year.

I would say I don't really care what others do but if I'm really honest I do find it a bit disastrous from an environmental point of view, pretty shocking really. Same with the current trend for baby clothes saying "born in 2018" (or whatever) on them. Totally useless to pass on once the year has passed, so they'll end up in landfill. What a waste!

Bertie and broken Christmas decorations don’t end up in landfills?

I'm 40 and growing up, myself and my siblings always had a Christmas Eve present so it's not a new thing. On Christmas Eve, I give my children Christmas pyjamas, a book and something to keep them occupied while I'm prepping for Christmas day - a colouring book/sticker set etc. It's one of our Christmas traditions - whether someone else hates it or not doesn't make a difference to us

With regards to pyjamas I purchased the next size up so he'll grow into them throughout 2019 and maybe even 2020 as the are size 2-3 and he's only 18 months 🤷‍♀️

Got to get my money's worth out of them!

I always think they're quite a chavvy idea, filled with plastic tat and shit DVDs from Home Bargains.

Your kids only get one set of PJs per year?

What plastic tat? Everyone I know puts in pyjamas (that can be worn until out grown) , some hot chocolate, marshmallows, nice bubble bath or a bath bomb and a Christmas book or colouring/activity book. Can't understand the hate for them

Why does the ‘plastic tat’ keep coming up when everyone has explained what they put in them and none of it is plastic tat?
Chavvy. Ahh, nice. You lot and your chavvy pyjamas and books
The ‘i don’t get it’ is more annoying than the boxes. It isn’t hard to understand

Ok not plastic tat, just 'tat' in them.

Dixie so the whole concept would be more acceptable to you if the items were expensive and from say...John Lewis? Get to fuck, you snob

No, because I think they're just a shit idea. Whether the stuff in them is from Harrods or Poundland.

How are nice pyjamas that will get lots of use, some bubble bath (nice bath to help the dc wind down) hot choc with marshmallows, and a book tat? It's all pretty normal stuff. People are so odd on here.

I don't even do the boxes myself, but have always given my dc (nice) pyjamas Christmas eve and make them a special hot chocolate before bed.

Loving the idea that pyjamas, films, bubble bath and hot chocolate are all chavy, who knew! The social mistakes that would be possible to make without mumsnet.

Dixie, by definition, "tat" is cheap and poor quality. And "chavvy"? Your comments reek of misplaced snobbery.

Clearly the majority of you haven't RTFT and have not seen that the op has replied and compared Christmas eve boxes to how the Nazi's started

Of course broken Christmas decorations end up in landfill, but at least they have served their purpose. And most I've owned have lasted decades. But if you have three identical sleepsuits, say, for sale in tesco and one says "I'm a hungry monster", one says "my first Christmas" and the other says "born in 2019" on it, the monster sleepsuit can be worn, then passed down to several more babies until it finally becomes too worn out to use or a popper breaks or it gets epically poo stained or whatever at which point it will probably be thrown out. The 2019 sleepsuit is perhaps bought by a pregnant mum in December 2018, her baby wears it a few times from March to July. She can't keep it for a future baby so she passes it on to a friend who is due in September. Friend's baby wears it from October to January and now it will only fit very small babies who were born at the end of the year, and she doesn't know any so it is now effectively useless. Perhaps she donates it to a charity shop, but they realise there's no market for it either and send it for rags. The Christmas sleepsuit might be bought, worn a couple of times in December and on the day itself, the parents keep it for their future children but none of them are the right size during December to fit into it so once they realise this with their last baby they try to sell it but get no takers. It sits around in the to get rid of pile because every time they go to sell it, it's not December or November and there's no market for it. Eventually it goes to landfill as it's too much hassle to do anything with it.

bertiebotts wtaf

I was responding to MutedUser.