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?

When i was little we were allowed to open a new pair of pjs on Xmas eve and I will be doing this with Ds this year along with a book . All designed to get him into bed at a reasonable hour !
As for the a box of stuff I think it's OTT along with elf on the shelf. It's like those advent calendars for adults for 100 quid or whatever containing make up. Ludicrous!

It is a waste if you're buying stuff that you already have. Fair enough wear xmas pjs all year though why not just buy nice pjs? Why buy a xmas hat just buy a good hat? It leads to doubling up of stuff. My kids already have lots of shit they barely use so the thought of adding xmas labelled shit to the mix seems overkill.

Pj's, Bath bomb and an Christmas kinder egg.

Most years, I've also put an Christmas book, in for bedtime story, but this year I've done a book advent.

24 Christmas books, wrapped up under the tree. One a night, for a different Christmas story, every night, with Night Before Christmas, on Christmas eve 😊

OP you buy what you want ignore the negative comments. I do an xmas eve box for each child. Pjs, slippers socks, book, chocs, hot choc ( although this year dd9 has a frosty milkshake thing instead), hottie thing that goes in microwave, reindeer dust etc. They are just tweaked according to the age of the child. Ds who will be 20 months has xmas bibs and his new Santa plate. I dont spend a fortune and the cost is included in their xmas budget.

Never heard of an Xmas Eve Box

Why do you need a box to put pyjamas in or candles or books or whatever

If you want to keep things together either stack them on a shelf or keep them in a draw.

Or am I missing something

Love threads like these, always two opposing sides!

Personally I'm in the camp, however my DCs have always got slippers, pjs, socks, pants, bubble bath etc in amongst one main Christmas present so I'm probably not the best person to ask.

I love the idea of 24 books wrapped to read with your DD, if I were to do a box that's what I'd do plus some lovely snuggly pjs, with snowflakes on so not just obviously Christmassy.

Please don't get me started on the bloody elf on a shelf!

I used to say to my DC, I had the final say on whether they got any presents as I know them better than Father Christmas

We always have new pj's. ... no such thing as a box though, that's consumerism for you! My girls still get pj's and they are adults, however I doubt they wear them when they crawl in at 2am

Ps I found an advent calendar company that delivers... ideal for those with dc at university/boarding school.

I haven't bothered with Christmas Eve boxes, more commercialisation of Christmas.

I prefer taking my children to church for the christingle service and just spending time together.

Our Christmas Eve box is: PJs, a snowman mug (same ones every year), reindeer “food”, maybe a bath bomb, with a note from the elves to say well done for making it onto the nice list and make sure you have a bath, get all cosy in PJs and watch X film then read X book before going to bed so Santa can come.

For us it’s about ritual more than contents and the point is to calm them down overall with sleep aids, not get them too excited with new things

Also we don’t have a specific box. Just any old box. It’s always jn the doorstep when we get back from carols.

I don’t do a ‘box’ but on the 1st of December Santa brings some advent presents - this year my 8 year old has

• chocolate advent calendar
• new Christmas story book
• a Christmas fleece blanket for his bed
• a Christmas cushion for his bed (a sequin one that changes colour)
• Christmas mug

The baby is having

• 2 Christmas themed board books
• melamine Christmas bowl & plate

On Christmas Eve they both have Christmas PJs

I dont think church and xmas eve boxes are mutualiy exclusive Mammyloveswine
Christmas eve at my house starts with the opening of the gifts and we go to church at 5pm. When we get back dcs get into new pjs and slipper socks. We read the xmas books and put out plate and notes for santa and sprinkle reindeer dust (oats) in the back garden. Christmas is about family tradition, quality time and celebrating the birth of Christ for our family.

New pyjamas for each of us
Christmassy DVD
Chocolates

We crack it open after tea on Christmas Eve, get into the PJs, watch the movie and eat the chocolates.

My two pence....

We have had a family Christmas Eve box since our eldest was born, this will be the 4th year.

Ours does not include presents, it is simply a (rather lovely) box with our family Christmas traditions in, mainly to group them together and give some direction to Christmas Eve, and vast majority of the items are reused and come out every year, very very few new things:

• stockings to hang up
• Santa plate and milk bottle to put out
• ‘Twas the night before Christmas book
• Santa stop here sign to put up in the window
• Christmas dvd (various that we have had for decades!)
• Letter from Santa for each child (these are new each year)

Then I also add pjs, blanket etc but only the usual ones we have already. Add some popcorn or snack to have whilst watching the dvd.

We find it a really nice and magical way to collate traditions for our family and get snuggled down and ready for Christmas, without any presents being included

The mince pie and sherry for santa and a carrot for Rudolph used to do the same job of signalling bedtime :)

I’m doing a 1st December box with:
-Christmas candelabra
-Christmas jigsaw
-Christmas book
-Festive mugs
-Advent calendars
These will be used all through December and then packed away but will reappear in the box next year. It’s just a way of marking the arrival of the festive season. The only items in the box that won’t be reused will be the advent calendars.

On Christmas Eve we have new pyjamas, not themed ones as they will be used all year.

My son gets;

Pyjamas
Dressing gown (he practically lives in this all year so needs a new one by the time Christmas comes again!)
Book
Teddy
Chocolate or sweets

He’s 14, I’ve been doing this since he was 2. He looks forward to this on Christmas Eve each year.

My DC are 16 and 12yrs. I have only started the Christmas eve gifts in recent years in the hope they would be wearing decent PJs for the Christmas photos rather then their usual tatty ones!

So... pj's, chocolate, hot chocolate..... oh... and can't forget the Reindeer magic landing dust that they sprinkle on the lawn!!

We’ve just sent wooden boxes to a few children of friends and family (obviously checking with parents first). We put colouring books & pens, pyjamas, slippers, hot chocolate & marshmallows and a Christmas film in there.

We don’t have children so no need for a box, but we always have new pyjamas and really nice hot chocolate on Christmas Eve.

DS is 2.5 so I thought I'd get this tradition sorted ready for this year.

I've bought things we can use every year. I got a big wooden personalised family box I've filled it with Christmas dvds and books, a Christmas hot chocolate mug each, a Christmas Eve plate and a bauble shaped Santa's milk glass. And a stop here sign. I'm planning to finish this off with ingredients for fancy hot chocolates and cookie ingredients. And Christmas pjs to unwrap to watch a film in before bed while drinking hot chocolate. I'm so excited!

All these things are stocking presents in our house.

Personally I find it a load of unnecessary nonsense, but times are changing and lots if people seem to like spending extra money and making more work for themselves 🤷‍♀️

If you dont want do it then that's fine but I don't understand the need to tell people who do choose to do it that its wrong etc. We don't do stockings, they are nots tradition in our family. We do a christmas box that appears on the 1st december. It has christmas bedding (used every year), new pjs, hot chocolate, christmas films (used every year), christmas books (1 new one each) and a christmas craft set. All of these things I would likely buy anyway. We use the box every year. The christmas craft set is usually xmas cards which are then given to grandparents and this year I have also bought a make your own crackers set so no plastic tat from crackers in our house. I really don't see what the problem with any of this would be.

There's no problem, traditions change. Just glad I never felt compelled to do it. Perhaps my gcs will demand them!

It's all just so uneccesaary isn't it? Just more and more stuff that we don't need, that children just come to expect, and we wonder why our planet is going to hell.

I get pyjamas and we have some hot chocolate on Xmas eve. That's it.

Also, as an aside, can we stop with 'jammies' for pyjamas? Argh!