To think Christmas Eve boxes are absolutely ridiculous and unnecessary?

[dressinggownwearer]

Just that really. Do children not get enough at Christmas without giving them even more the day before?! What are Christmas Eve boxes even for/full of that can't wait until Christmas Day?! Am I being mean and a grinch or do people agree?

In mine they get pjs not Xmas ones just fluffy pjs so can wear anytime a bath bomb to use that night and a Christmas cup with hot chocolate an pack of sweets and a xmas story book everything they would Normally have on Xmas eve just in a box makes it more exiting for them.

@MagicSummer

I notice that most people seem to put new pyjamas in these Christmas Eve boxes. Is it a thing that people wear pyjamas all day on Christmas Day now? What if you have visitors - do you get dressed then? Where I come from, you wear your best clothes on Christmas Day, the sparklier the better!

We do both. DS has new pjs for Christmas Eve and then in the morning he’ll stick in them until after breakfast and get dressed. He loves his Christmas pyjamas and they don’t cost much.

IrmaFayLear

You do realise it’s a choice, don’t you?

I agree. I don’t do them. It ruins the specialness of Xmas Day itself and the joy of waking up to your presents.

I agree. I love Christmas and buy my children lots of presents, but somehow a Christmas Eve box seems a step too far.
I think if it contains a DVD, hot chocolate and festive pyjamas, that's ok. Anything more is a bit much really.

Well, I should say they don’t sound consumerist in and of themselves, I guess like everything Christmas related they could be done in a way to make them flashy, as could the Christmas tree, the presents, the advent calendar etc....

YABU

Christmas pyjamas
Christmas film (muppets Christmas carol)
Christmas book (night before Christmas)
Small bag of snacks
Hot chocolate
Santa key

The only thing we buy especially is new pyjamas. We use the same film, book and santa key every year and we use general snacks and hot chocolate

It's not a hardship or an expense and the children love it (as do we!)

Agree. As a small child (in the 60’s) we were allowed to open one small gift on Christmas Eve. It was basically bribery to get us to calm down and get to bed!

It’s unbelievable what children expect now.

I think it’s something that younger parents who are caught up in social media have fallen for. Similar to elf-on the shelf.

It’s times like this I wish we had AIBU from the 1840s (or whenever).

What’s with all these new fangled ‘Christmas trees’ that the young people have fallen for? Awful German import. What’s wrong with a Yule log and a bit of holly?

It's nice to have Christmas Eve traditions, but my issue with this one is that it's rooted in yet more commercialism. Fortunately it wasn't a tradition when my children were little, and we had a great time with a Christmassy video, carols, mince pies etc.

Do people still watch dvds? I'm amazed so many people say they give their dc dvds

We have new Pj's on Christmas eve- I think that is a nice tradition. Kids like it that they get to open a prezzie and we have a cheesy family photo. Even as teenagers they still love it.

YABU. Firstly, it doesn’t have to involve children getting ‘more’ but rather spreading the fun and treats out a bit. A massive present opening on Xmas morning can be a bit overwhelming and anticlimactic sometimes IMO.

Secondly, different families have different traditions and cultures. I’m from a Polish immigrant family and Xmas Eve was a BIG deal in our house. Huge get-together, elaborate meal, various rituals... and yes, some gifts. I absolutely loved Xmas Eve as a child, even more so that Xmas day in many ways. On the other hand, I didn’t get a stocking and neither do my DC. Maybe I should start a thread about how ridiculous and unnecessary Xmas stockings are?

I’m going to pinch some of the ideas (same plate for reindeers, same glass for Santa’s whisky, etc) and start doing this as DC are still young,

great! i love traditions and now my DC are grown up and roll their eyes at a lot of things, it is lovely to know that if i don't do a particular thing at a particular time (Halloween, St Martin which we celebrate here, Christmas) they question it. It's part of our family traditions and they will carry some on and add their own.

Is it a thing that people wear pyjamas all day on Christmas Day now?

Do we really want to get into this too?

Haven’t RTFT but I don’t think the box in itself is a terrible idea, in fact I think can be made into a lovely tradition. It doesn’t need to be about materialism/excessive consumption.

-A large wicker basket or box that you use from year to year, Christmas mugs that you use from year to year, hot chocolate and marshmallows, a Christmas book to read together, a dvd to watch, new pyjamas for everyone. The empty stockings to hang from mantle/staircase/bedroom doorknob/bed.

I think that’d be a lovely way to spend Christmas Eve with one’s children.

@formerbabe

Do people still watch dvds? I'm amazed so many people say they give their dc dvds

My kids do because we only have a very basic TV package, no Netflix etc. So if they do watch a film it’s usually on DVD.

More commercialisation of Christmas. I am a grandparent carer and despair at one of my dd's who seems to think trends from social media are instructions from the government or police. Mrs Hinch, ridiculous games like pie face or whatever, newborn canvasses that cost hundreds and must take place before the newborn is 10 days old. The refrain that "everyone does it" drives me mad. Who is everyone?

I had happy christmases as a child as did my siblings without spending hundreds. I have stopped the silly stocking fillers and buy better quality gifts. Last year I bought gs2 a great gaming chair that he had wanted for ages. I put back the extras that amounted to £100 and bought the chair for not much more.

But each to their own. I like the small gift on the doorstep upthread.

My kids do because we only have a very basic TV package, no Netflix etc. So if they do watch a film it’s usually on DVD.

We have Netflix, but the film selection on that is very limited.

If I had little ones now they’d generally watch everything on sky/Netflix/etc, but I’d still have a DVD in the box - it’s little things like that that make it special/different.

I'm in my 50s and nobody in my family has ever owned any items of Christmas clothing, bedding or anything like that. It's just a relatively new way that marketing people have found to get people to spend more money on Christmas and buy stuff they don't actually need. Christmas is fun because it's a chance to spend time chatting, playing board games, eating nice food, watching festive tv, etc. How does buying a load of extra glittery tat improve that? Even when my kids were tiny I don't think they needed an extra box of presents to help them get excited for Christmas.

@popcorndiva

North Pole breakfast is done on 1st December when the elves on shelves reappear. You have to decorate your table and give lots of sugar and pastries as shown below

Well - that certainly doesn't look like sugarbird overload on a plate or anything.

The the wonder Santa is clinically obese. If the reindeer scoff that lot, too, I'm surprised they can get off the ground!

Do people still buy DVDs?

@CharlottesComplicatedWeb

Agree. As a small child (in the 60’s) we were allowed to open one small gift on Christmas Eve. It was basically bribery to get us to calm down and get to bed!

It’s unbelievable what children expect now.

I have to lol at this comment. You have no idea about all children. My DS has written his list for Santa and has asked for a cheap game on his computer (£5) and a book he would really like to read (it’s a subject that he really got interested in during lock down, specific historical content). I know he would love a PS5, but he would never ask for it. He’s also unlikely to get one as all consoles are mine, apart from his switch.

@TheKeatingFive

Is it a thing that people wear pyjamas all day on Christmas Day now?

Do we really want to get into this too?

Ah, why not! In the blue corner, Our Pyjamas Are Clean And Comfy, It Makes The Day More Fun, In Fact We Change Into Fresh Ones After Getting Up. In the red corner, That's Disgusting and Common, Don't Pretend You Didn't Sleep In Them, Your House Needs Fumigating. I want a good clean fight, now, you hear? First round, ding ding!