Christmas Eve

[CabanaBayLife]

Please tell me your Christmas Eve Traditions,

Mine are get up early morning then go to harvester for breakfast then to cinema followed by back home to open Christmas Eve presents usually PJs, Slippers, Christmas DVD & bath bomb. Then earlier bath with new night clothes and then snuggle with a Chinese in front of the Holiday or Elf with a couple of glasses of wine, copious amounts of chocolate then bed ready for Santa.

Thanks in Advance

A busy day tidying and cooking. The relatives come over for dinner (homemade pies, a gammon plus a birthday cake for my niece) and then by 8 o’clock they leave. DD goes to bed and we then sit and wrap her presents and each other’s and then it’s probably bed time for us.

Well this year I'll be working until 1pm, but after that, it will be earlier bath, new jamas, hot chocolate and a movie before bed, then set up a plate for "santa" with mince pie, carrot, beer and bed with special christmas story.

Special breakfast followed by trip to santa then picking up last minute food, then early tea, off to evening mass and back to do mince pies and tipple for Santa. Bed for kiddies and wine open for grown ups before we get all the presents under the tree and do stockings.

@Xenadog you wrap the presents at 9pm on Xmas eve after feeding the family?! And here's me planning on being all ready and wrapped by Dec 1st

All food for Christmas dinner prepared while listening to Carols from Kings on the radio and drinking damson gin

All presents must be wrapped and under tree by lunchtime

Pick up capon and chiopolatas from butcher on way home from seeing Christmas lights in town

Go for a long walk with whoever wants to go and the dog

Open one present before bed

DH watched The Guns of Navarone in afternoon

Light candles

Neighbours will usually pop in for a few drinks

Go to church or carols in the evening

Fire must be set with logs for santa coming down chimney....

I can't remember ( other than last year when we were in Australia ) the last time I didn't work till 5 on Xmas eve. So for us it's always been a working day followed by a chilled evening with cold gammon and jacket spuds and salad for tea and a relax with White Christmas on DVD and a glass of wine. DD is 26 and away from home so it's just me and OH now and it's still the same. When she was little it was the same and we snuggled on the sofa with hot milk and biscuits watching White Christmas too.

This will be my first Christmas with a baby so I’m ridiculously excited! She will only be 3 months old so I’m not sure what I’ll be doing differently but we will definitely have matching pyjamas (so cute).

I usually go to family on Xmas Eve or they come to me and we have turkey and stuffing sarnies, we open the Christmas chocolate and have homemade mulled wines. We are very interested in food.

I can’t wait until my little one is old enough to understand so that we can make our own little traditions.

A day before Christmas, all our family will gather together busy preparing food, packing gifts and decorating the backyard for some games. When the clock strikes at 12 we will joyfully sing Christmas carols, giving gifts and eating all the food we've prepared.

It's a lazy day for us, lots of snuggling under blankets watching Christmas movies (we've watched Arthur Christmas 2 years in a row so probably that one, I love that film, and The Santa Clause). We will get pizza hut for dinner, that's a new tradition with a bit of a backstory. Probably do a craft like painting Christmas baubles.
Once the kids are in bed I do a last few bits of wrapping with a glass of something nice and then swipe their stockings out of bed and return them. DP moans about the amount of presents I've bought and goes to bed and leaves me to it but he loves it really.

It's my mum's birthday so we've always done movies and a meal. When we were little it was a trip to the cinema and then parents go out for a meal with their friends. As i got older we went with them for the meal. Now its evolved into all day movies at my parents house followed by a Chinese take out. And every year we opened one present after midnight, usually something my dad had picked without my mum's help. Though last year was our first Christmas with DS so we opened it a lot earlier.
However this year is different as my parents are visiting my sister. It's weird as it's my first Christmas Eve without my mum. I think we will have a snuggly day watching movies and eating rubbish. I'll probably prep a few things for Christmas Day. And I'll make sure to skype my Mum.

Christmas eve is my favourite. Christmas day is overwhelming with visiting family so Christmas eve is just for us. The elves deliver us a a Christmas Eve hamper containing Santa's magic key, a special plate, a mug, a recipe for Christmas eve baking, new Pjs for the whole family and bathbombs for the kids. There is also a Christmas eve activity. This year, we are going to the theatre. Last year we went to the Harry Potter Studio Tour, the year before it was a trip to the cinema. Then we have a picky tea and play a game or watch a movie. The kids go to bed and dh and I play Santa and drink wine.

I do all the food prep on the eve of the 23rd and lay the table ready for Christmas Day so that Christmas Eve we can relax. We normally have bacon sandwiches in the morning , afternoon we meet at the pub with friends and children for a meal and drinks. Christmas Eve box for the children then a film with ourChristmas pjs snuggled out with some treats

I'll do last minute food prep and probably go to the shops for the essential thing that I forgot. If I'm lucky OH will take kids out somewhere to give me space to do the food prep.
Kids will get more excited and hyper and behaviour will probably deteriorate as the day goes on. Will attempt to put two excited kids to bed at a reasonable hour, tidy and clean downstairs in preparation for santa Christmas day guests. Drink some wine and retrieve the presents from their hiding places to put them under the tree.
We don't do xmas eve boxes, we have 3 birthdays near xmas in this house, the last thing we need is aanther day with presents

Ours depends on whether or not I'm at work. This year I am not 😁

So we will get up and have breakfast as normal or we might go out for breakfast depending on where is open.

Depending on the weather we will go to DHs grans (50 miles away) and drop off all that side of the families presents have some biscuits forced down me, and come home for half 3.
Dd (9) will have a bath, then me and dd will get ready for christingle.
Go to christingle early, If you get to church late it's standing room only (and it's a big church) christingle in our church is amazing, It's so magical and Christmassy, plus dd loves the jelly tots on the orange.

Go home and hope DH has remembered to put out Dds Xmas eve present, new pjs and maybe a book.
Then she can have a hot chocolate and Watch a film in bed.

I go to my mums and 'help' peel veg while having a drink or 2.

This year on the 23rd we are going to a Christmas market, will come home on the 24th and the kids will have their Christmas boxes waiting, get a take away and watch a Christmas movie after they have bubble bath and get their new pjs on. Watching everyone's Christmas box goodies for new ideas. Might do the bath bombs this year that's a good one!

Normally, I have to go to work in the morning (or take a whole day's leave) and DD comes with me. DH used to have coffee on the shopping street near me and meet us later. Now though, he is supposed to work on 24th as well (or take a full day's leave) - and he works near home rather than in town (I am city centre). But that used to be followed by buying DD's birthday cake in M&S and getting any other small bits we wanted, and lunch in town before heading home.

The other thing that changed last year was we did a Christmas Eve swim for the first time - that may be on the Sunday this year, or 24th, we don't know yet - but it was great fun! Cold, but hot showers after, and mulled wine and chat for a while before everyone went their own ways for Christmas.

Once we get home, DD bakes cookies for Santa, and DH and I do prep work for Christmas dinner - peel veg, make stuffing, DH rings DMIL to remind him how to cook sausage meat....

We have a "platter" dinner, cured and cooked meats, cooked and smoked fish and shellfish, cherry tomatoes, olives, cheese, pepper and carrot sticks, hummus, pate, crackers or naice bread, ...a mix of nice things that everyone likes to pick at.

DD (as the youngest) lights the Christmas candle, to show that there is "Room in our Inn" for weary travelers, and we remember the good and bad things about the year just finishing.

Then we get out the Christmas Eve Hamper (see other posts on relevant threads) and DD sets up her stocking and snack for Santa, before going for a festive bath and into new cosy PJs. She comes back down for a hot chocolate, and then we read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" in bed to her (and maybe another story too) - she's mostly gone past bedtime stories but it still seems to be an important Christmas tradition for her.

Then DH and I relax, and aim for an early night ourselves as the run up to Christmas is always mad busy, so we are shattered!

It's just me and one teenager so all pretty laid back.

I'm hoping to be on annual leave, so we'll have a lazy day, definitely no shopping, baking or wrapping, my food shopping being delivered mid morning.

We'll eat something naughty for breakfast (Brioche Nutella French Toast possibly) and either go out for a nice lunch or dinner, we haven't decided yet, my shopping delivery will include lots of things for grazing, so cooking will be minimal. We'll both have new PJs.

Normally it's a cooking day, topping up the mince pies for Christmas present opening. Preparing veg for tomorrow, trying too find space for DHs last minute food shop, he usually gets loads of perishables at stupid prices, luckily at that time of year the garage is like a fridge anyway.

It depends on who is at home let year there were 6 of us, this year 3 or 6 . I'll be making a non Christmas pudding pudding for DS1 and DSiL if he's here too.
Then I cook a special dinner , the last few years it's been meatball lasagne but this year fish pie has been requested as that's what the kids had when they were small

Finally any last minute wrapping, I always vow to do it earlier but fail, despite having been up til 2am one year, DD was up at 4am

We spend the morning baking and we have homemade pies on Christmas Eve. Pies last until after Boxing Day and it means we don’t need to cook any meals other than the main dinner. The lemon meringue pie is my favourite

We usually go to the cinema or panto then out for dinner, then it's Xmas eve presents which is usually new pjs bath, hot chocolate all the usual Santa plate stuff, book and bed.
I then sit and wrap the rest of the presents with my Xmas hat on and a glass of Bailey's

This is the first Xmas eve in 6 years that I'm looking forward to as I'm not sat around worrying if exdp will turn up or not.

Christmas Eve for us is another Christmas day. We get up, head to the in laws for Christmas lunch with all of DHs family, presents after lunch and a few drinks then home for a Christmas movie, bath, new PJ's and bed.

Christmas day is spent with my family. I always feel bad but DH has always celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve due to various family members working every Christmas day so it's worked out well for both our extended families that we can continue traditions without any conflict.

This year dh is nightshift. I am meeting dd from her work (late afternoon ) going for dinner then home to ours (dd staying too) lush bath candles lit tree lights on crisps wine crimbo tv CANNOT WAIT.

Also going early to meet her so I can go to m and s and hopefully pick up food bargains lol.

This year (if it all goes to plan )

DD and I will go up to That London on the 23rd to do some last minute smooching round the shops and look at the lights. DD will convince me to buy her some last minute presents , she is very fond of "The Twitch".

So , lie in on Christmas Eve , breakfast , (it'll be toast and coffee type)

DH will try and slope off to the gym but I;ll ban him. (He'll have gone on the Sunday )
DH and I walk down to the shops if it's nice . Or get the bus if it's grim weather .
He'll try and convince me that he needs a nice bottle of whisky and I'll refuse to believe him that we have enough bread (I believed him last year and the bread we had was mouldy)

Dinner - fish fingers for DS , Quorn fish-less fingers for DH,DD, me , chips , salad.

Lounge about , phone parents. Watch TV

The annual Christmas Photo of the guinea-pigs , they have Christmas hats perched on their tiny heads and sit on a Christmas fleece . They play along because they know they get Christmas veg.

DD will take over the bathroom then might go out with her mates .

Love It

I have booked leave on the 24th but I'll be back at work on the 27th.