Christmas eve box fillers.

[83maddog83]

Hi everyone,

I'm starting to think about Christmas eve boxes for my 3 children. (8, 7 and almost 5).

I've ordered some lovely wooden, personalised boxes which we can use every year. I've bought Christmas pyjamas and cosy socks, and I plan to put in hot chocolate.

Looking for other ideas so wondering what you put in yours?

Thanks!

I spend the lead up to Christmas decorating the boxes. It's become a bit of a Christmas craft and a part of the traditions in our house. I buy two cheap crates from Hobbycraft and decorate them up in a different style (last year they were red and white and painted to look like shipping crates from the North Pole). I do this in the evenings when the kids are in bed, usually with a Christmas movie in the background and a festive drink to see me through! Just in case anyone feels I'm a downtrodden women doing "mothers work" I just want to add - I do this through choice and because I enjoy it!

We put our boxes out before we head to bed on the 23rd so they are waiting for the kids Christmas Eve morning. They believe it's been left by the Elf to say thank you for letting him stay. It always contains PJs, not Christmas ones, but ones they will love (so last year we had Harry Potter and Hey Duggee). Always a bath robe each and always a box of biscuits (for the family), a DVD and hot chocolate.

Then the rest of the contents depend on what we have planned for the day. I like to put at least one doing thing in there (last year we all sat around and made paper chains - think I found the kit in home bargains).

The box is there to keep them busy while I prep the dinner for the next day, and my husband gets the last of the presents delivered.

By early afternoon all jobs are done and we all come together to do one of the crafts and watch the DVD. Then when we've had dinner they have a bath and put their new PJs and robes on. We warm the hot chocolate and have that with the gingerbread house they made with Daddy a few days earlier. Then it's off to bed with one last read of "the night before Christmas".

They will be 7 and 4 this Christmas and both remember the boxes and are already hoping the Elf visits again this year. I know they won't believe it for long (especially the 7 year old) but they love the Christmas Eve traditions so much I think I'll still be doing it when they're teens. Only the contents may be a little more grown up as it's unlikely they'll want to sit and do paper chains with Mum and Dad at 15 lol.

Movie. Book. Pyjamas. Slipper socks/slippers. Popcorn. Hot chocolate.

I do boxes, which are basically the same, but I call them advent boxes as ours come out on 1st December. They contain everything that the DC would have had in the month of December, but it all arrived in one go.

In ours, we have/have had:
Christmas PJs (two pairs, one to wear and one in the wash)
Christmas jumper
Christmas socks
Advent calendar
DVD
Mug with hot chocolate sachet, marshmallows, cookie or fudge or something like that
Craft set - paper chains, decorations, etc (best things were from Yellow Moon - the do acrylic paints and plaster gingerbread men, tealight holders etc)
Letter to santa set (can be just a piece of paper and pen)
Some Christmasy stickers to decorate the letter
Christmas cards (to write to family and children at school)
Christmas theme book
Bath bomb
Reindeer food
Jigsaw or a game of some nature

Oh I think I might change our box to 1st December that's a much better idea.

I love the mock horror of some posters. It's the Christmas topic and people can do what the hell they like for Christmas and their kids surely? We don't celebrate or do anything for New Year - doesn't mean I think people are stupid for spending money on it if they enjoy it

Oh and I do:

Book
PJs
Hot Choc (but he has now declared he doesn't like it so prob some Christmas chocs)
Puzzle

We don't do films anymore as DVDs are pretty obsolete so we just download one etc

I also changed mine to a Dec 1st box, as sometimes we didn't have enough time on Christmas eve to really appreciate it all.
What goes in it depends on what I see/can budget for.
I'm usually super organised present wise, so can often afford some extra bits for ours.

I put in books to read over the month,
Christmas puzzles/clouring/quizzes etc
A lucky dip style dvd selection (we have all the movies so can't put them in the box or the kids will know it's not from the elf, so I just print the titles and cut up and we each select one in turn)
pyjamas
bath stuff
sweets & popcorn
mugs & hot chocolate
some years other bits go in, for example I bought myself some Christmas teatowels & oven gloves, so I'll put them in this year.
Last year I splashed out and got new bedding & cushions, I won't be doing that this year as there is simply no need/want.

It can be as big or small as you like, and tailored to the whole family.

No one I know in my friends & family do it. Some friends think I am mad, but it's what we in my family like, so we do it.

I don't understand why people have to be faux outraged by it.
If you don't like it, don't do it. No need to be snidey to people who do... It's unneccessary and quite rude.

Our Christmas Eve evolved from me letting DD(21) have a present from under the tree on Christmas Eve. It was always PJs And then when the other two came along we did the same and about 6-7 years ago we started to put them in s box with hot chocolate cones for a Christmas Eve treat. We don't make a ding or dance of it but it's nice. Not commercial trash, just a quite sweet thing to snuggle up in on Christmas Eve with a little treat. Sometimes I'll pop a book in too, it's my circus, it's my Christmas monkeys 🐒

Thanks everyone, some really lovely ideas here. I love hearing how we all do things.

sawyers do you put an actual Christmas Monkey in the box as even I think that's a step too far 🐒 🎄

We do Dec 1st Box now , mine will be 20 and 17 , DS grumbles about My Traditions (but secretly he likes them. DD is well into it all)

They have PJs (winter ones) underwear ,new bathrobe , some bath smellies , Advent Calender (chocolate one) and a jar of sweets

When they were little , the CEH was to get them settled with a bath, pjs and off to bed after some quiet time .

It was all things they'd use and keep using all winter , and I'd have bought them anyway .

I was counting how many posts till there was a What;s all this fresh Hell, more presents ? post . Didn't have to wait long

We have a copy of “‘Twas the night before Christmas” that we keep separately to the other Christmas books and always comes out of the CEH as the bedtime story on 24th. I bought it and read it for DDs very first Christmas and she still wants it every year (last year, she was 13 and asked for it to be included).

We have pjs, lush festive bath bombs, hot choc as new items.

We also reuse certain things every year- book, DD plastic Santa plate and snowman glass from toddler years for Santa snack and drink, her snowman covered hot water bottle (used across winter), and her stocking.

But the reusable things are also an important part of it for us - dd has always known that I did the CEH as it’s for the family here, not just Santa bringing things to her. (And there was a year when she spent some of her communion money on DH Christmas PJs when she saw a pair that she thought were perfect!)

@Greyhound22 Literally 100% surrounded by 🐒🐒🐒s at home and at work so definitely wouldn't be surprised if one turned up in a box!

We also do December 1st boxes.
Contents have included:
Pyjamas
DVD
Board games
Books
Gingerbread house
Christmas cooking pack - cookie cutters, stuff to make and decorate biscuits etc
Advent calendars
Panto tickets
Ice skating tickets
“Invitation” to visit Santa (homemade and depending on where we’ve booked!)
Christmas jumpers
Voucher for local garden centre (each kid chooses a new bauble every year)
Key for Santa
Lush or body shop Christmas smellies

When they were younger the Elf would sit on the top of it as though he had brought it. Now they are older it’s just brought out on 1st December and the artificial Christmas tree and stockings are got out at the same time
Love it

Dec 1st boxes AND xmas eve boxes AND presents

More money than sense!

We always do a box to share. It has:
A new dressing gown each
New (matching) pyjamas for the dc
A Christmas film
Snacks for with the film
Snowman soup
Bath bomb
Reindeer food
Santa stop here sign (reuse every year)
Magic key (reuse every year)
Santa milk/carrot/pie board (reuse every year)
Letter from Father Christmas saying on nice list and to go to bed early
Letter from the (now departed) elf saying thank you for hosting

It now doesn't fit in the box anymore so there's always the odd bit that has to go next to the box 😂