Do you like Christmas Eve boxes?

[lottieandmia22]

I'm not sure whether to do one this year. I kind of feel that present giving should be on Christmas Day. OTOH it's making the most of Christmas perhaps?

That’s lovely dinosaur

Why do people care so much what other people do? I don’t like to do elf on the shelf but I don’t mind if other people have fun doing it.

We do but it's the same stuff each year, not new bar Christmas PJs and a bath colour.

The Night Before Christmas book
How the Grinch Stole Christmas DVD
Knitted Father Christmases from Gran
Father Christmas Bath Duck
Christmas flannel
Tinti bath colour (red) - new
Christmas PJs - new for DC
Gingerbread men we bake on C Eve
Wind up torches
Stockings for the mantle

Ridiculous materialism. Christmas Eve can be magical and fantastic without the extra stuff some posters upthread buy. Bah humbug!

What is a believe bell?

Watch The Polar Express Alexa.

I've done one for years, I think I only started it because I had a festive box and it had the magic santa key in it that MIL sent. And it had the stockings in it.
So I threw in The Night Before Christmas book, a new toothbrush and some Baileys and voila, the Christmas Even box was born.

It never has presents though, just booze, a festive book, santa sacks, key and some magic reindeer food, toothbrushes and some chocolate.

I don't do elf on the shelf because I have neither the time, nor the inclination, but I do love doing the Christmas Eve box. Anything to keep my kids' Christmas magical.

Toning it down a little bit though, last Christmas I had an actual Santa Claus deliver the boys stockings to them on Christmas morning. They were speechless.

I'm with you Satsuki - if posters don't want to partake they don't have to without criticising/diminishing those who do. Every family has their own traditions (something that DH and I almost had to call in specialised negotiators to agree our own new set when we had DD)... and if it works for you, you're comfortable with what you do, how you do it and you're not causing offence or putting family in financial jeopardy then crack on!

Myrtle the OP asks if posters like Christmas Eve Boxes. Some do and some don’t. Don’t get all offended because someone doesn’t agree with you.

Yes we have always done it
Bubble bath
Hot chocolate
Pjs
Xmas Story book
DVD
Small toy

Never done it, never will. It sounds like a way to get people to spend even more money at Xmas.

We play games and read Xmas stories by the fire. Now the kids are older I expect we'll go to church and the pub, then come back and play a game. No presents.

I'm not offended if someone doesn't agree with Christmas Eve boxes - I do find the assertion that those that partake are slaves to consumerism somewhat far fetched

It is quite consumerist though? Buying MORE STUFF.

But not everyone is buying MORE STUFF - some people are re-using stuff, some people are putting stuff into the Xmas Eve box that they would buy anyway...

No much too busy to do another round of presents.

Oh let them get on with it. I've got enough to do at Christmas without having to buy and wrap more presents! It sounds like a massive ball ache.

Never done them and don’t plan on it. Each to their own but we wear our old pjs that still have plenty of life in them, Santa eats from a normal side plate, he comes down the chimney or uses his own ‘key’ , they have boards of books already but I normally read the night before Xmas and a few bible stories, we eat food that we already have and we look forward to the presents the next day.

Yup, what rackhampearl said

Father Christmas is quite happy to eat his mince pie off a regular plate apparently.

No, not keen. For me kids get enough on Christmas day, I don't thinking spending more money on Christmas Eve is necessary, there's lovely family traditions you can do for free and the anticipation of Christmas day for many kids is huge.

Do something lovely by all means, but that doesn't mean we have to buy more stuff.

Myrtle is IS consumerism though! It is precisely that!

No way do we do these boxes or pyjamas or anything else on Christmas Eve - it's exciting enough already and they'll get pyjamas in their stockings.

Staggering reading this thread!

Are the people who give their kids pyjamas doing that every year? How many sets of pyjamas do they end up having? Or do the kids just grow out of them each year?

I do it!

We see my best friend and her kids on Christmas Eve.

They come to us. It started because of the years I was an absolute broke single parent who’d moved back from abroad with nothing when ds was pre school age (I worked but damn nursery fees!) and my friend often hosted us for dinner, treated a coffee or Maccy D’s etc.

When things improved I wanted to pay her back so I voted for special Christmas Eve dinner one year (her DH was working). I did box for kids with dvd, stationary, puzzle books etc.
They loved it and it became something we did traditionally. It’s evolved as kids got older - the first year her eldest had a mobile we did an email treasure hunt from an elves outlook account 🤣 - we took them out on ringos.
We did cinema one year, new pjs one year, dressing gown another and last year I bought photo frames and art stuff and an xmas selfie kit and they made pictures.

They don’t have expectation of big events (which me and friend split the cost) but they do know they’ll have dinner around mine every year.

It’s become more important as they’ve hit teen years as all go to different schools and they look forward to seeing each other!

Nah. It just dilutes the Christmas day gifts.
Amazes me how easily people are suckered in and parted with their money because all the other parents do it.

We’ve done it for 20 years so it’s not a new thing. Pjs, a book and some form of sweets. I swear I’ll be buying my kids pjs and a book when they’re parents themselves! When they were tiny, it was a way of slightly calming down the crazy excitement. Then it just stuck into their teens.

I'm another one who only knows of the existence of Christmas Eve boxes because of Mumsnet. I sort of think it must ruin the giddy anticipation of Christmas Day.

Can I ask a question about magic keys that let Santa inside your house? Where do you leave them? Outside? A friend does this but leaves the key on a plate with the mince pie etc but then how does he get in to get the key that allows him to get in the house?