Christmas Eve presents

[WelshMoth]

Every year, we tend to go to our city Winterland on Christmas Eve, leave after dark (bout 6) after scoffing some hog roast, then home. New PJ's always await on the doorstep in little gift bags for the DC.

This year, I've bought two little vintage suitcases (Home Bargains - £7.99!) and I thought of giving those to the DD's instead.

Please can you give me suggestions on what to put in them (as well as new PJ's)?

Also, should DH and I give them from us instead of Father Christmas? DD's are 7 and 10.

We do new PJs on Christmas Eve, as we do the German tradition of gifts on this day, so it's a compromise. They are from us but my DC are older. I put in a Lush bath bomb each with mine and new socks/slippers. Like the idea of the suitcase, that's sweet.

If I left mine on the doorstep though they would get nicked!

A blanket, mug & hot chocolate, christmas dvd, a book. I'd give them from you, Santa hasn't been until they're asleep!

We do pjs, some treats (I'm thinking a choc reindeer and IKEA spiced apple juice this year), a DVD to watch (am varying between the Snowman and the Snowdog and Nativity), an activity to keep the dc busy while I do various prep (we have sticker books) and something to tempt them into the bath (like sprudels or sparkly bubble bath).

Oh, and we give them from a mysterious benefactor who may or may not be an elf, we feign ignorance. We always go out on Xmas eve and I sneak back in (having 'forgotten something') and stick out the hamper in front of the fireplace, we them make sure the dc are first into the house to discover it.

Very similar to the above. The elves leave a box on our doorstep on Christmas eve. A glittery bath bomb, new PJs and slipper socks, a food treat, hot chocolate with chocolate spoons, reindeer antlers or santa hats and a christmas DVD.

I do a Christmas book or poem. A Christmas bath bomb and pyjamas.

And pyjamas for her bear

I just do pj's and hot chocolate. Can't you do the case on Christmas day?

Oh and I say these are from me. So she can get all ready for Father Christmas.

No Elf business.

Presents on Christmas Eve? Doesn't that kind of erode the excitement of Christmas morning?
But then I don't consider bath bombs and new pjs to be "presents", I suppose.

Nope, its all carefully designed to get the DCs into the bath and bed with minimal fuss and ensure they look semi presentable in the christmas morning present unwrapping photos.

They're sneaky those elves.

I should point out mine are 10 and 8 and are still buying into the elf excitement.

I've started the tradition of taking DD to town and letting her choose one thing to buy on Xmas Eve. Mind you, she's only 2.5 so we've only done it once. but we'll do not again this year.

DD gets new pj's, a Christmas jumper (to wear to panto), panto tickets, a sticker / craft book and some chocolate.

It's there when we wake up, the elf leaves it as he has to go back to the north pole to help Santa. It's got stuff in to keep DD (and MIL and DH!!!) busy whilst I get the prep done before we go out in the afternoon.

Forgot to add, it's just a cute way of presenting the new PJ's (or Santa won't come, it's a true fact. Same as if you don't have a bath before putting on the new PJ's) and a few bits we do anyway. If anything it adds to the excitement.

We don't wrap the things in it, it's just a little bag with stuff. And reindeer food. Can't forget the reindeer food

Not Xmas eve, but a week or 2 before Xmas ... Last year, my daughter, bought some books including some Xmas books, grand daughter was18 months last year .... Wrapped each book, put them in a box under the tree and each night, she unwrapped one book, and read that book. She can re use these books again each year.

I like the tradition of new pjs etc on Xmas eve. What about a dvd? Polar express or something similar? A new blanket, slippers, kids nail varnish, a little cake of stollen or something similar?

In our house the elves leave a box on Christmas eve that contains pjs, popcorn, marshmallows, squirty cream and special elf hot chocolate mix (Jamie Oliver's spiced hot chocolate recipe with chocolate stars instead of grated chocolate). I might do bath bombs this year too. I don't include a dvd because we watch the same one every year (Raymond Briggs' Father Christmas)

I'd say keep it simplesnd just do PJs. We tried the hamper, and found that

a) DS never wears PJs and wasn't going to just because it's Christmas
b) DVDs are better given at the start of Dec so you'll get more use out of them
d) ditto Christmas books
c) ditto Christmas mugs
d) I'd rather they skipped baths and went to bed a bit earlier
d) it did detract a bit from the anticipation of the next morning.

So we get all the mugs, DVd etc out at the start of Dec with the Advent calendars and on Christmas Eve we make mince pies and put out carrots for Santa, no presents for any of us.

The elves leave PJ's for us all, posh popcorn, marshmallows, hot chocolate and instructions for what the elf has planned for us that day. Previous years have included cinema tickets, panto tickets, a sledge the year we had snow, 'lunch reservations' etc. We mix it up each year.

We do little gifts to help them get ready and into to bed. So pyjamas, bubble bath, soaps, toothbrush, jellycat toy and a new book, sometimes a jigsaw depending upon what time of day the boxes are given to the DC.

We've done new pjs for the last few years from the elves, I might do hot chocolate this year too.

I like the popcorn idea.

We always go to the Christingle service, usually the 3pm one. The pjs are waiting when we get back at about 4.30.

Who does the snuggliest PJs?