To ask about Christmas Eve traditions for couple with no kids

[Goricki19]

Hello! This year is the first year myself and my partner (of 7 years) will spend Christmas Eve together. We both usually go home. My own traditions involve a lot of family - we live in close proximity of a lot of family,so we usually have a few people all day then meet others at the pub, at least two siblings are always at my parents. Never mind my mums 2 siblings and their partners lol. We have drinks,we eat “Christmas Eve soup” we have cheese,we listen to Christmas music,home alone is likely to be on and my mammy is likely to be worried about the next day while my dad is trying to decide should we leave the beer outside or not overnight. If there is grandchildren their is obviously a lot of Santa excitement like any house (this isn’t every year as my brother co-parents). My partner usually goes to her sisters house and after her sisters boyfriend leave they set out the Christmas presents for her niece and order chinese. We have a lot more things too as in go to mass,walk around the decorations etc etc. However when I mentioned doing one of my traditions which is basically watching Santa leaving the North Pole on an Irish tv channel to my partner she said “aw and what do that for the next 30 too - I’m not your ma n da” then I said well why don’t we go to the pub and she said “that can’t be a tradition encase we have kids” I said well let’s make a nice dinner - again “sure we won’t always make a nice dinner on the day before Christmas” feel like I can’t win! Any words of wisdom??

DH and I are having our first Christmas Eve/morning together this year (it will be our fifth together). We haven't decided exactly what we're doing but will probably swap presents, cook a nice, bit not necessarily Christmassy, meal, watch TV, have some drinks and watch TV. Very low-key!

We'll be going to my mum's for Christmas Day lunch and on to his parents' on the 27th so we're just looking forward to having Christmas morning together tbh.

Pub

I feel like so many weekends are spent this way of a nice meal,Netflix etc that I want to make it different - maybe I’m putting to much of an emphasis on it ! I think it’s because my own is always so
Exciting I’m comparing it when I really shouldn’t be. I hope yous enjoy your first Christmas x

We have Christmas dinner on Christmas eve and eat party food on the day. We add a new decoration every Christmas eve. We watch Nightmare Before Christmas. I start a new book every year. A couple of more personal traditions I won't share here.

Find something that is special to you both. A new decoration may work as it is your first one together, or something like trying a new food or drink. Going on an evening walk around the block to see the lights and decorations? Or maybe a takeaway? Making mulled wine or apple juice?

I stay in drink a few glasses of wine and watch nightmare before Christmas. He goes to the pub with our mates.

On Mumsnet? YABU

Eat out at a pub and go to midnight mass.

Enjoy! The most important thing is that you both enjoy and engage with whatever you are doing.

My ex and I would always get a Chinese, watch enchanted, prep all the veg for the next day whilst listening to Christmas music, have a bottle of wine or two. This tradition extended to when we had kids. Fuck knows how enchanted ended up our Christmas Eve film but it did. As a kid, our Christmas Eve film was the slipper and the rose. Neither remotely festive 😂

My DP sometimes works and I often stay home alone (I have a chronic illness and we have limited friends or family in the local area due to a move for DP's work) but I love it. I gorge on xmas food, watch a xmas film and wrap presents, if I'm able I go across the road for midnight mass at our lovely (naice) church.

If DP is home we still gorge on xmas food, might do a film or play a board game or something but nothing out of the ordinary- I just quite like enjoying the house really, lighting the fire etc and absorbing the festive feeling. Will usually sit and text friends from home and DP might go and call his dad (up north). If it's not raining we'll do a walk or drive to see some xmas lights.

We're probably v. boring but I'm not bored 13 years in - can't wait for xmas eve!

Cook the ham Xmas Eve and have friends round 7pm for a buffet and drinks. They'll all leave early by 9pm. Xmas atmosphere go to mass in the morning and maybe a Bailey's in your kitchen together whilst cooking the bird. And chill watching films afterwards and possibly some other people might invite you for the evening.
Christmas day is shit being alone even with a partner if you're used to big family stuff.
Happy fucking Christmas

My DH don't have children. We relish having the time to ourselves before mad large family time.

We often wrap presents for other people together in the late afternoon, listening to christmas carols.

We have a nice meal, light candles and a bottle of champagne. Not Christmas food but something tasty and homecooked - think proper lasagna or fish pie - that doesn't involve huge amounts of faff that evening.

Then we might play a board game (more carols in the background) or watch a Christmas film like Elf.

We stay up til midnight and then we open one present each (we usually get each other a few presents at Christmas).

I always madly overdecorate our sitting room so there is always a tree and loads of lights everywhere.

I love it!

Christmas Eve buffet with finger party foods
A Christmas walk to see the lights
Mass or Nativity in local village
Home Alone (nice to keep a childhood tradition)
New book exchanged with hot cocoa (Icelandic tradition)
New Christmas PJ’s
Homemade mulled wine
Bubble bath with Christmas smellies

It's October.

It's not Christmas in October. It's forward planning for someone who is not spending time at Xmas with the usual bumph and is asking how to cope.
I fucking hate Christmas

You can’t not do something because you may have children together in the future. That’s like saying one of you will die before the other so best not spend any Christmases together.

Traditions change and evolve. Enjoy your child free Christmas while you can.

You DP is VVVU if they don't want to watch Santa leave on the six one news 😡 next they'll be saying you can't track him on NORAD! 🤣

Before we had DS we went out for dinner with family, then church, then the pub on Christmas Eve.
We now do the same except skip the pub

Following with interest. We live overseas which has meant lots of Christmases spent just the two of us. I generally don’t enjoy it, it’s so bloody boring. I hate hanging around the house at the best of times. We do a nice meal and maybe go for a decent walk but it’s just like any other day off but with fewer options of things to do. One memorable year I did my tax return as DH had the flu and I couldn’t think what else to do! So I’m interested to see what ideas other folk have!

Eat a Chinese, open a bottle of Prosecco whilst wrapping the last of the kids presents (after they're in bed) and watch a Christmas film (one that hasn't been seen already in the month of December, or a Christmas version of a programme)

Why not make your tradition that you take turns deciding how to spend Christmas Eve?

Am I right thinking you are both women?

Not to everyone's taste but a beauty type evening, do each other's nails, hair, sip champagne.

Both buy an outfit for the other to wear. You have to wear it no matter what. You don't tell each other, you just get given a bag / box and go get changed in separate rooms - it could be something nice that you wouldn't normally see the other in, it could be fancy dress, it could be anything.

Obviously this can be extended when you have children to include them.

Start something that can last 30+ years, maybe a new decoration or something for the tree that you can add to each year.

Are you a soppy couple? Write a not to each other saying one thing you have enjoyed about / with the other this year - after reading put in a jar and add to it each year.

Have fireworks?and/or a barbeque.

Go to the cinema and for pizza after - this can be adapted when you have kids so when little it might be a film at home and frozen pizza.

Order from a take away you have never used before, preferably a type of food that is new.

Buy and play a board game.

Pretend you have kids, each buys a toy that needs to be assembled and removes a piece, the other has to try to assemble it, without instructions. Add wine and trying to keep quiet.

Just because you do something this year doesn't make it a tradition! Just do something nice for the two of you and then plan to do something else nice next year. 'Doing something nice' is then the tradition...

We both work in jobs that require us to take at least 2 weeks off over Xmas (Southern hemisphere so it's summer here), so we always go away. Places we've had Xmas day include Thailand, Fiji, Australia, Cook Islands. This year on Xmas day we'll be on our way to Cambodia 🙂

We have a tradition of gifting each member of the family a new tree decoration on Christmas Eve. This can easily be extended to when you have kids and is special as we all unwrap them together before the kids go to bed and put them on the tree when all lit. We also tend to do hot chocolate etc with it. It’s nice getting them out each year too and the kids remember which is theirs and use them to decorate the tree the following year. When they leave home I’ll make a box of them to give them for their first tree.

I'm just amazed every year that apparently no one on MN has to work in Christmas Eve.

We have adult kids who will.be in the pub with their mates. Dh and I will be at work all day, will come home at 6pm and just veg out for the evening.

When DC were small.my parents used to arrive on Christmas Eve, we"d have a take away together then dh and I would go to the pub with friends.