What on earth is a Christmas Eve box??

[Xmasevewhat]

I've suddenly seen 'Christmas Eve boxes' popping up everywhere. In shops, on Etsy, social feeds. Never even heard of the concept and now all of a sudden it's everywhere.

Can someone explain the point? Seems like they are filled with same kind of things you'd put in a stocking. Be honest, is it just another Instagram fad/ excuse to spend money?

Jesus, bet you’re a hoot at parties 😂

Raw penguin?

I love most of these responses. Everything is apparently tat/junk/for social media.

I genuinely don’t think I’ve met a single person who does a Christmas Eve box who goes into a store and thinks to themselves “right, I must buy all of the tat and then upload 62 photos of this to Instagram”.

They might not be your preference but it’s really quite rude to just dismiss something that some families enjoy doing in such a manner. And to be transparent, I’ve never done a Christmas Eve box myself either, so it’s not as if this is something I hold dear.

I just hope some of the posters dismissing the contents of these boxes as being full of “tat” haven’t been posting on some of the Christmas threads on here. I have seen many posts over the years on here of people listing off what I would certainly classify as cheap tat as gifts for folk. Difference is, I don’t need to put others down for what is my own personal opinion. I read and move on.

If someone wants to do a box, who honestly cares? I certainly would have been really excited as a kid if I got a pair of new pyjamas and a book before Santa came.

Posts on social media designed to obviously brag about how much people have spent/received are in poor taste, but I don’t think being competitively miserable about other folks traditions is much better.

So we're eating the polar bears? 😱

No. Seal. Penguins are at the other end aren’t they.

As a parent of autistic kids, Xmas Eve boxes are a brilliant thing. They get overwhelmed by the whole ‘piles of presents’ aspect, so a stocking then gifts would still be a long process. With an Xmas eve box, it makes it much easier to break up the whole thing - new pjs, book, little toy and all that the night before to get ‘in the mood’.

I don’t do the Elf, advent calendar’s usually either get decimated or forget about (I still try!), visiting Santa is usually a big no no, the whole weeks leading up to Christmas isn’t always a joy for family like ours. So yes, we do a box and it’s something we can do like a ‘typical family’. Judge away, I don’t really care!

I’m sure seal blubber is very nutritious.

My IH always used to get new pyjamas as a child for Christmas Eve.

Now for the kids they're in a ( wait for it ) A BOX!

@Xmasevewhat more capitalist bollocks

Why would you gift hot chocolate to your children, doesn't it come in a tin to just use.

Pretty sure Jesus was gifted 3 gifts of spiritual significance

Good point. I'm sure we all know people who only gift gold, frankincense and myrrh 🤣

mine have pyjamas and books year round so on December 1st they aren't in dire need.

Not sure what this has to do with anything 🫠

No, they need those special, little individual sachets. It's a tradition they invented, you can't suggest it's nonsense as it will upset them.

Are you and @Bleakmidwinter1977 a tag team or the same person?

Don’t do it! Everyone i know with young children hates the elf on the shelf and wishes they had never started.

Just for the sake of making something ordinary enough into something that feels a bit different. Sometimes people find that fun. Add a bit of occasion. Many people enjoy making small things into little occasions.

Everyday hot chocolate is quick and cheap powder. For xmas eve, now my kids are teens, I get a good quality chocolate one, squirty cream and marshmallows. They don't get that the rest of the year LOL

Is there a law that you can't wear Christmas pyjamas all year?
My kids have never had them because they didn't want them so they just got whatever thing they were into at the time.
I have a single quilt that lives behind my sofa as I sometimes sleep downstairs when my legs are bad. It has polar bears a snowflakes on it I use it all year. We never did special boxes just had a nice cosy evening. Not everything needs a label.

Don’t do it! Everyone i know with young children hates the elf on the shelf and wishes they had never started.

I don't. It's great fun

This is hilarious, you two (or one).

If you want to get your nuts in a knot about excesses and waste have a look at some of the Beauty Advent threads on Style&Beauty .

Beauty Advent Calenders often into £100s .
So many people buying 2/3/4
And how many DoD (Drawers of Doom) that they really won't use .

Not my money , people can buy what the hell they like . A lot of these "Advent Gifts" would be a proper present in the real world .

Why would you gift hot chocolate to your children, doesn't it come in a tin to just use.

Oh dear, it's just dressing up a bit of nothing as something fun and building excitement.

You know like a carrot and cake on a plate for FC and the Reindeers.

Or re reading a Christmas Book you've read a hundred times before.

You know, a bit of fun, for kids.

🙄🤦‍♀️

No, but we know where we can find many who gift spiritual socks.

No, they need those special, little individual sachets. It's a tradition they invented, you can't suggest it's nonsense as it will upset them.

No one tell her about mini bottles of spirits 😬

This is what I really don't understand about these threads. People go on about wastefulness and consumerism and then admit that they buy stuff all year round.

Lots of us DON'T actually buy stuff all the time. Our children get their books from the library, and the ones they own are given for Christmas and birthdays. They don't get new pyjamas throughout the year, and are still wearing last year's Christmas pyjamas the night before they open the box on Christmas eve. They don't eat out or go to cafés regularly, so special meals and drinks at home are a genuine treat. And having a few seasonal garments and decorations that come out of storage for a couple of months a year means you get less bored of having the same stuff all the time and make it easier and more fun not to have new stuff all the time.

Whether it's out of frugality, or environmental concerns or poverty, the families I know who really do consume very little tend to go all out for seasonal celebrations, often with a lot of reusing/making/ using free resources.

I think maybe you need to fast to fully appreciate the feast.