What goes in your Xmas Eve box?

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Found a lovely big box while out shopping today, wondering what others put in theirs for Advent or Xmas Eve?

If for 1st Dec I'm thinking I can put things in that are used all month so maybe better value... also DD turns 6 a couple days after 25th so Xmas things go away and Birthday things come out quickly.

Ideas list under consideration so far:

Xmas PJs
Chocolate coins
Advent Calendar - wrapped up as a present
Oranges/satsumas
Xmas teddy bear - DD adores anything soft and furry
Furry xmas blanket
Xmas themed hot water bottle
Hot chocolate packet or set
Xmas jumper - school will have a jumper day before the end of term
Xmas hair slides or similar
Xmas bubble bath or bath bomb if I can find one
Small size Xmas mug/cup - can find one in a £1 shop
Xmas craft bits - DD loves making stuff

There are bits I can put in that are not new but from storage:

Xmas pudding bobble hat
Xmas Books
Xmas baking cutters

That's obviously too much, but anyone do anything more original?

These threads are always flooded by faux confusion from posters

"Sorry what is this? A box? For Christmas Eve? Filled with things? Not in my day.."

We eat a baked ham with hot bread on Christmas Eve then we prep stuff for the main event while singing Christmas songs (that bit is to the great annoyance of DH who hates Christmas songs but he loves a Christmas tradition).

Mine is just a couple of gifts opened a day early but when the DC were young, it helped calm them down and encouraged them to get ready for bed-new PJs/hot choc drink/DVD/book. Done.

Now they just like it as it’s tradition

Ours is a family one. The DC would have new pjs for Christmas anyway, plus a hot choc, and an alcoholic drink for mum and dad (wine and beer), our existing copy of The Night Before Christmas and I'm thinking maybe the new bauble for the tree they've chosen themselves, so we can put it on the tree before bed. Maybe a bath bomb when they're older.

We do an xmas eve box but it only contains pjs and book for each child. It's a bit of a bedtime box really and it's just things I used to give on xmas day anyway, but someone once said pjs are given the night before so the dc looked lovely in the photos on xmas morning. Genius idea, so I started giving them xmas eve instead.

we don't do a December 1st box, I hadn't realised that was a thing. we get out the books, dvds and crafty bits we've collected over the years then. plus I give them any books/dvds I've found on my travels to add in. there's been years I've forgotten the advent calendar and we haven't started till the 3rd/4th 😂 we won't this year dds have sold some outgrown toys for the overpriced £40 Harry potter funko one.

Christmas eve dds get a fleece blanket (not Christmas themed their favourite character or theme. dd1 is Harry potter slytherin and dd2 will probably be cats or lol. new pjs again just fav character not themed. a treat - so toffifee for dd2 and heroes for dd1. bath bomb (Primark £1 great shaped ones). new book and DVD to share (second hand). oh and a cracker, the big ones if I can find them! we don't have a box we just wrap it up.

These xmas eve boxes full of presents really do take the magic away from Christmas, honestly they do. Children are overwhelmed by the excess of stuff, nothing feels special to them anymore.

I'm not saying it to be sanctimonious, like 'I'm a better person than you because my child just gets a satsuma and a yoyo', I honestly do believe it spoils Christmas by taking away the anticipation, and reducing the enjoyment of receiving presents.

December 1st elf arrives, usually with an activity book, or similar. The advent calendars are out ready.
December 24th, they get a Christmas mug with sweets in next to their advent calendars, and a dvd each.

Last year the elf left a new pair of wrapped pjs under the tree and the stuff to make pancakes in the kitchen. He also added new friends as we progressed through December. We now have elf, little Santa and miss mouse who visit!

I swear I kick myself every year for starting yet another sodding ‘tradition’ ! I am weak.

This year I have sworn I will not buy so much crap. I’m sticking to that.

cherryplum I totally agree. I have two much older children, and I never did these things before Christmas Day. I think I feel the pressure now with my dd, as lots of people do it. I only started doing the elf two years ago, when she asked if I thought she might have an elf visit! It’s really hard when kids know about these things.

I do 1st Dec box, sort of. I also have Easter, Summer, Halloween changeovers so 'boxes' of sorts. Our 1st Dec box has- xmas jammies, kids plastic cups, plates, little decorations and lights/ lamps, little paper calendars I write on all the festivals/ markets/ events we will go to. The red/ xmas themed throws/ blankets/ bedding we use year after year but only at Xmas. Tablecloths, cushion covers for the sofa cushions, Santa themed chopping boards, Christmas scented candles, kitchen spray, washing up liquid, tea towels and bathroom towels and flannels that are red. It'd tacky as hell but the kids love it and DH is very into Christmas so it works for us. DH takes the kids out for an hour or so on the 1st Dec and they all come home to Christmas and love it.

When DD was little I used to buy a bedtime book with a Christmassy theme in December. Often these were from the charity shop.

I also bought her new Pj's and made up her bed with Christmas duvet cover for Christmas Eve ( it made her really want to go to bed, so it was a massive parenting win!)

This has become a " family tradition" now. So new PJ's and a book, in our house. We still have the same Christmas bed linen.

My friend NEVER did hot chocolate, and only made it on Christmas eve as a bedtime drink...so she used to get her little ones a new mug each and a packet of marshmallows. ( again, made them want to go to bed as they massively looked forward to it! - Parenting win!) She still does this and her DC love it, even though they are all teenagers now!

You need to make up a little tradition of your own. If you do ALL of them, it won't hold as much any value for them...

I don't know why those who disagree with these traditions couldn't just scroll past - OP did not ask for your opinion on whether she should do it or not.

Our Christmas Eve box has a new pair of PJ's, battery powered toothbrush, Christmas special magazine or activity book, bath bomb and Twas the Night Before Christmas. As children we always got new PJ's on Christmas Eve and read the same story. I've added a couple of other bits to try and encourage my children to get ready for bed.

We do Christmas Eve box, but not dec 1st. It ‘magically’ appears whilst we are out for the afternoon.

Ours contain:-

• new pjs for the dds
• hot choc on sticks
• a bath bomb (to encourage bath time)
• stockings to be hung up. (Obviously the same each year)
• a craft kit to amuse them whilst we make tea (egg and chips) for the dds.

I had been thinking of doing Christmas Eve boxes for my four youngest nieces/nephews but changed my mind and instead have settled on doing them each a box for the first of December, contents so far...

Character Advent calendar
PJs/Slippers
Santa hand wash
Penguin hand towel
Santa toothbrush
Christmas tree soap
Christmas colouring book
Scented markers
Chocolate coins

I want to put a few other bits in each but I haven't thought of anything yet; The boxes themselves I bought in The Works and they are a decent size. My siblings/mum are constantly telling me I buy the little ones too much and it's true I do but they love it and I love seeing their little faces, it's once a year I don't see the harm.

We have new pjs, their stockings, Santa Claus the movie DVD, some cookies and a copy of The Night Before Christmas. We watch the film, read the book at bedtime and that's it. Not very exciting but our tradition

We usually do new Christmas PJ’s, Christmas bedding, a bath bomb, hot chocolade, a Christmas film, reindeer food and their stockings

Mine share one and get
A pinata shaped like father Christmas filled with celebrations they love doing that
A Christmas book that we read before bed
A set of Pj's each
Hot Choc cone each

Why not get stuff that will be used all year. Xmas themed stuff is such a waste.

Black balaclavas
Crowbars
Skeleton keys
Bags marked away

We all get dressed up, take a lovely family photo and then break into the neighbours ' houses and steal their Christmas Eve boxes.

Bags are marked "swag" , I am struggling with predictive spelling....that's traditional too!

From what you have said it sounds as though the box would be best given on 1st December.

Definitely check out home bargains I was in there yesterday and had lots of the items you have listed for sale, at obviously really low prices!

Enjoy!

Why not get stuff that will be used all year. Xmas themed stuff is such a waste.

What is a waste? Christmas themed PJs get worn year round till they're grown out of. Christmas bedding is used every year for about six weeks (so lasts years). My son's stocking was mine, so is now 30 or so years old. The bag it all comes in, the books, the Christmas Eve plate. All reused, all recycled.

Omg that's such a lot of stuff! That's more than I'd buy my kids for Xmas day (and money isn't an issue here).
Since when have people expected presents on Xmas eve too!

Absolutely nothing it’s an overly commercialised Americanism just like Elf on a shelf. We didn’t have these when I we were young or when our DC were young (ours are now teenagers). Most kids get enough spent on them at Christmas time without buying into this. Also most mums have enough on with in December/Christmas time without messing about moving Elf’s or thinking how else to overindulge their off spring.