Christmas Eve Boxes - what's the point?

[imaddictedtomn]

My friend and I were out today and saw a place selling Christmas Eve boxes.

The woman selling them said they were very popular.

Is this a thing now?

My friend and I were of the same mind - Do DC's not get enough on Christmas Day that they have to have more stuff on Christmas Eve?

Or are we missing something?

While I like the idea of Christmas Eve boxes I find the elf on the shelf thing as creepy as fuck. As a child I would've hated to see one of these smirking creatures around the house.

Thank lumpy

Ivymaud, as long as it's Waitrose coal? I hope it's not some kind of substandard Asda or (god forbid) Morrisons variety?

I think it's quite sweet but Christmas is busy enough without organising bloody boxes. Also, my ds might get a book as a present from a relative. I don't want to devalue that gift by giving a book as a little extra the day before.
We live abroad and are always visiting family at Christmas and staying in someone else's house. We've started the new pjs on Christmas Eve thing as a tradition we can take with us wherever we are. It doesn't belong to my family or DH's so will feel like something that is just for our little family in amongst the chaos of our large, loud extended families.

We drink hot chocolate, not necessarily every day but a lot. DD has needed an extra milky drink at bedtime for years, to help with lack of sleepiness and lack of eating enough by day. We've even, shock, horror!, often added whipped cream from a can to the top to get extra calories into her!!

For Christmas, to make it special, I usually get the type that is a lump of chocolate with a wooden spoon stuck into it, to melt into hot milk.

Does the coal not have to come from Harrods' for Christmas though?!

We do them, mainly so the dc's have nice pj's for Christmas morning and something to keep them busy Christmas Eve evening. They are getting older now so we have changed it a little. This year they will be getting a DVD to watch, pj's and a bath bomb.

I don't buy special boxes though.

Not my thing at all but if others enjoy it, good for them as long as they don't make my dc want them because I am not going down that road.

How can you not love a lovely box like this one?!

I am tight so we have a family one. Fits in 4 x pairs of PJs, naice hot chocolate, marshmallows, DVD and bottle of sloe gin with plenty of room to spare.

I'm going to copy a pp and add the Santa plate too.

Movingup- that is a beautiful box. :)

Extends the consumption and wifework.

I don't get it because I'm too tight to buy new pyjamas for Christmas or a DVD. Can't see the point really.

They get winter pyjamas when winter starts. We already have Netflix and amazon prime so no way in hell im buying a DVD.

I do Xmas eve boxes for my young nieces and nephews but don't give them presents for Xmas day. They love it!

@2014newme at least hot chocolate tastes nice... now why we all insist on having Brussels sprouts on the Christmas dinner table is beyond me!

My Xmas Eve box is just a cardboard box covered in wrapping later that I reuse every year. The stuff in it is just stuff I would otherwise give on Xmas day. I started it because it's just me and DS and we always watch a movie Christmas Eve and I thought it'd be a nice tradition. I find it helps takes the fever pitch excitement down a level or two, he opens it after dinner then we chill on the sofa in our PJ's with the movie and popcorn then read the Christmas themed story book in bed. No one else has to 'get it'. It's just something we do because we enjoy it.

*Wrapping paper obv

In our boxes we don’t have hot chocolate but all boxes have a chocolate orange. We only seem to have them on Christmas Eve and my mum now does the boxes for my siblings, their DH’s, all the grandchildren and my DH and I - we’ve made it into our family tradition.

Hot chocolate with a slug of peppermint schnapps in, is epic.

Just thought I'd let you know, you fighty lot

Peppermint schnapps you say?

Personally not into Christmas Eve boxes. Feels like bringing Christmas forward a day and at more expense! Ours are sufficiently happy & excited just watching something on TV / playing with games they’ve got already. Each to their own.

I’m shocked that people are bringing class into it. How last century
My very working class Christmas Eve box has come from John Lewis and will contain boden pyjamas and Emma bridgewater mugs it will look good on Instagram though

I’m shocked that people are bringing class into it.

I’m not, it’s MN

I'd never heard of it until I met my daughter in law, her family have been doing it for years. I used to give my kids a relaxing bath bomb each so they would go to bed

We do a Christmas box on the last day of November. It's bought by the elf and has Christmas bedding, new pyjamas, a wooden advent calendar, so treats like foam shower gel and some chocolate. That kind of thing.

we do ours on 1st dec. Not a box either but a gift bag crammed with stuff. Cold weather hits hard so its cosy socks, bathrobe, fleece blanket type stuff as well as the advent calendar, christmas sweets, pjs, crystal grow your own snowman type craft kits. Tree up 1st Nov....err as we take down the halloween tree.

I do remember when I was small getting christmas bed linen on christmas eve, bathed, new pjs and for some reason the tradition of bathing my dolls and getting them ready for santa too. I have only heard of christmas eve boxes in the last few years but it does seem many of us had a similar tradition in our childhoods.