What do you do Christmas eve?

[wakeupnow]

Thought it would be nice to share any traditions your family has for Christmas eve. We normally hold a mulled wine and mince pie afternoon for local friends before going to a navity play at the church about 6ish. After that it's a quick tea for the children, followed by the santa preparation of leaving out carrots, sherry & a mince pie. Then it's stockings up & bed for the girls. Once asleep it's out with the magic santa glitter dust and the excitment of Christmas begins!!!

Well it's a fairly new tradition, but for the last couple of christmasses we've had out christmas dinner on the eve, so next week me, DH,DS, MIL and DM will be off to a lovely village restaurant for our christmas dinner, and then hope to open one gift each, then i will drive mothers home, and come back have a glass of wine, watch some tv with DH, maybe go upto the church and put out the santa pressies

Usually we stay in pj's all day and watch a few xmas films whilst eating junk. 5 yro DD scatters reindeer food out the front garden, takeaway for dinner, then they get to open a small pressie, hang stockings on the end of their beds, then a early night otherwise santa won't come

Is soooooo excited, cannot wait

I love christmas eve!

We have a relaxing morning, then go out with a few other families to a christmas film in the afternoon. We then go back to one of our houses ( on a yearly rotation) for mince pies and wine. Children all track Santa on the computer before home, quick tea, stockings and mince pies and milk out for Santa. I love the magic of christmas, though has never been quite the same as it was in childhood when I believed in Santa!

Christmas Eve is also DD2's birthday so the morning is taken up by being her birthday although we have never had parties for her yet (that will start next year when she is 4 - same as for DD1).

In the early afternoon we go to the local hospital to visit the NICU, where both DDs stayed for the first few weeks of their lives. It is all rather lovely as loads of NICU graduates turn up during the day. We check in with the Ward Sister who is amazing and remembers every child (or certainly ours, so I guess she recalls all others too) and always has time to spend catching up with everyone's news. We take a (financial) donation to the ongoing fundraising for improvements on the NICU ward, lots of chocolates for the staff, small (new) soft toys to be put in the baby's stockings and photographs and cards to be pinned onto the Graduates board.

Then, in the early evening the Christmas Hamper arrives - usually along with my parents who come to visit DD2 on her birthday afternoon. Once parents are gone, we all get into our new pyjamas and watch a DVD (Mr Popper's Penguins this year in the hamper) before an early night for DDs.

The ElfontheShelf will be leaving this year - new tradition - to return to Santa for the next year with tales of how good my girls have been. Once they are in bed, I rush round trying to get everything sorted, final presents wrapped, stockings out etc etc etc whilst DP usually falls asleep!

If time allows, I will be on MN finding out what everyone else is doing!

Lovely traditions ...
Dysgu, aren't christmas birthdays crazy?? My eldest was 12 on the 15th & my youngest will be 6 on the 20th, the build up is just mad

i usually spend all of christmas eve preparing food and cleaning the house whilst the kids watch all the christmas stuff on tv and are high as kites with excitement. i moan that im so busy but secretly i love it.

however, this year we have been invited to my dads for the full christmas dinner on christmas eve at 4pm. i have mixed feelings about it. on the one hand its so kind and kind of exciting being out the house, dressed up and being wined and dined on christmas eve. but on the other hand im feeling a bit stressed about how im going to be organised enough to go out and relax and enjoy myself?? ill be thinkin of everythin ive to do when i get home and not to mention how big a day christmas day is and im hosting for other family!!

anyway, its a first so ill try it out and be as organised as poss before hand and just not drink too much and try and be home for 8.

Last minute shopping/faffing about.

A walk.

Village pub.

Chinese for tea.

Bath, pjs and national lampoons.

Reindeer dust + santas snacks then bed for dc.

Chill out festive shag for dh and I.

Sort pressies then bed.

I make what I can in advance for Christmas dinner. MIL helps kids make cookies for Santa. DH always has to work. We bring all the presents out (except for what Santa brings) right before the kids go to bed so we can get them all excited and not have them sleep.

We tend to have lots of 'treat foods' like posh cheese, pork pie, lebkuchen etc

I do as much prep for Christmas dinner as possible (stuffing made, veg prepared, roasties parboiled, turkey stuffed etc), meaning Christmas day I spend most of the time with the kids, not in the kitchen.

We do a 'Santa run' - deliver homemade goodies to people we know are struggling a bit - but ring the doorbell then run and hide so they don't know who it's from.

We sing carols round the piano, read the Christmas story, DC get new pyjamas to wear to bed for Santa coming. I usually make some really yummy thick hot chocolate with cream on top too. We sprinkle reindeer dust outside the front of the house (even though it's usually wet so by morning it looks like a fairy has puked on the doorstep).

In many ways I enjoy Christmas eve more than the day itself

Local deli for breakfast. Then we go to the cinema, if there is anything on we can all 4 agree on or for a walk if not. Carols on the village green then home for a cheeseboardy type meal - this year we're having baked camembert etc. Then Santa tracking (even though the girls are now teenagers!) etc and maybe a Christmas or other DVD.

we always get out for a walk in the afternoon, the kids (nearly 2 and nearly 5) have a LOT of energy so I like to make sure they are tired enough to sleep well!
we also do the reindeer food / new pjs etc

probably watch santa claus the movie in the morning

As and when I get a chance I prep stuff for the morning (quick 5 mins peeling carrots and bunging in pan of water etc)

once kids are in bed, its pottering cleaning / sorting / making space / getting table ready... once we are SURE they are asleep its doing the santa thang

all of the above to be done with a baileys in hand! hic

We go to collect the turkey from a neighbour of my dad's. This is near all of my side of the family as in aunts and uncles, so we usually spend the morning there. Then we head home at lunchtime and I usually spend most of the day cooking. We usually have 18-20 on Christmas day so lots to be done. My cooking is punctuated by various neighbours and friends dropping in. I usually get cleared up around 6 and start the Christmas eve baths, reindeer food etc. Then anout 10 dh and I will start to do Santa. This takes forever. Last year the dc did not sleep till very late and we were up until 2 assembling stuff. They were up at 5am!

Myself and the DC stay in our pyjamas all day watching Christmas movies and making Christmassy biscuits.
DH is usually working.

This year we're 'giving' dd a new bedroom for Christmas eve so will have to move furniture around between the two rooms while somehow distracting dd. (This will of course add to the general atmosphere of calm and help her to sleep )

Drink

These are so so lovely to read - I had such miserable Christmases as a child and young teen that I'm busy filing these all away for next year when we're not away and DD will be old enough to start to appreciate the Christmassyness of it all.
Given me a warm glow!

We finish off whatever we haven't already done in the run-up to Christmas, have a big tidy up and make yet another lot of mince pies. We have homemade fish fingers for tea. Don't know why the fish fingers thing started, it just happened a few years ago and stuck.

Things get a bit chaotic during bedtime, which involves a bath or shower, then everyone comes downstairs to clammer round the kitchen getting mince pies, sherry and carrots ready. Then there's a big fight over who is going to actually put the things by the fireplace until dses are reminded that there are 3 of them and 3 things to put out, so they can do one each. Then there's another scrap over who gets to put the carrots out, as for some reason they all want to be the one who feeds the reindeer.

Finally it's time for bed and a rendition of The Night Before Christmas. Dses each have their own copy (the Jan Brett one is lovely) but on Christmas Eve they get to look at my Pop Up version from the 1970s which is now almost in bits so it only comes out once a year.

Once they're asleep I have to force myself to eat the mince pie, take a big bite out of the carrot, and swig the sherry, making sure that there are crumbs left on the plate and scattered on the floor, as Father Christmas is known to be a messy eater (he's in a rush).

We dont do much on x-mas eve, i relax, watch dvd's with the girls whilst dh realises he has done no x-mas shopping so rushes to the shops (usually argos) to get me a present .

Veg prep in the morning, Crib service in town centre. Visiting relatives and swapping presents in the afternoon, followed by Christmas eve hamper baileys new pjs for everyone, hot chocolate, marshmallows and something Christmassy for the bath, then takeaway and Christmassy dvd, nativity this year I think.....can't wait

I love this thread . DS's are 2 & 4 so we're still quite new to the tradition thing, for the last couple of years we've made cookies for Santa and have a treasure hunt using photo's of different parts of the house as clues with chocolate coins at the end. This is my first year being xmas host so I will most likely be faffing in the kitchen to prep as much as possible for the morning. Once boys in bed a nice and a mince pie in front of some crappy/easy telly to recharge the batteries for the madness about to arrive!

Our cul de sac do a get together out on the street. We all provide hot food , irish coffee and mulled wine. We sing carols together with the kids and usually do a bit of sledging etc ( we have had snow for the last 3 xmas and have had a load arrive today ) Then santa comes down the street ringing his bell to deliver a gift to all the children. We then usually wrap things up and all the kids do the reindeer food before headin inside to warm up and go to bed.
We have lot's of kids on our close and good neighbours , it is lot's of fun.

I LOVE christmas eve, We always go for lunch at our local garden centre as its so christmassy with dh, kids, my parents, sisters (everyone always has soup or a baguette with a whippy ice cream for pud!)

Back home for a christmas film on the sofa and prepping the food for that night and next day then off to the nativity service at the church, its lovely as they get all the children involved and they get to dress up and sing carols.

Back home for baths while the elf leaves to go back to the father christmas leaving the christmas eve hamper. Children get in to their christmas pajamas and we snuggle and watch the snowman and read whatever christmas book they got in their hamper. Pop them to bed and then we have a games night for sisters and their partners, close friends and oh's bro with a buffet and lots of drinks. Have got Britains got Talent for this year looks hilarious, am very excited!

Christmas eve is usually my first day off work before the holiday so its always hectic.

The morning, myself or dh will have to run out to get the last minute bits that you must have or Christmas will be a disaster, such as a jar of cranberry sauce that nobody but me will have (purely to make the point that we needed it)

The past few years we had headed into town in the late afternoon to watch a movie which calms the dcs excitement. Then back home for shower/bath new jammies and bed.

This year we are staying at home and having a Harry Potter day. After a rush round town getting last minute bits lovely country walk with the dog, we will come home and watch HP7 part 1. Then we will have a quick tea, Christmas eve hampers given out which contain jammies, lush bath thingie, sweets and popcorn for HP7 part 2 and snowman soup (luxury hot chocolate) for after the movie and before bed.

The dcs are all older Santa athiests, so they know downstairs is out of bounds after bedtime, so if they can't sleep, need a drink, there bed is on fire, tough! They know not to come down and spoil my fun.

Oh and ds1 excuse of he can't sleep through the noise of selotape ripping doesn't wash either :o :o

I'm usually on my own with the DCs until DH comes home from work, but as it is a Saturday this year it will be a bit different.

Lie in. Mooch around and tidy up a bit. Lunch of nibbles. Off to a swish garden centre to see Father Christmas with the DCs. Home to Christmas eve hampers (bags they have decorated that contain PJs, hot choc, DVD, socks, Christmas bubble bath). Takeaway dinner. Bath. Mince pies and carrots put out, reindeer food on the lawn. Children to bed - probably to watch their Christmas DVDs.

On xmas morning I race off to collect my bread order from the bakers.
We then get the rooms ready for any guests.
When Grandma arrives we know it's officially Xmas Eve.
After a bath the DC and I put on the new PJs Grandma brings with her.
Then we watch a movie.
I cook an enormous pork and we eat pork sandwiches with crackling and drink champagne (lemonade in champers glasses for the kids).

Before bed we put out a carot for Rudolph and a mince pie for Santa, even though we know...