Christmas Eve traditions

[Mumtobe193]

I absolutely love Christmas Eve! I think it’s the most magical exciting day of the year. There’s always a few little traditions I do for my DC each year to make it more special and memorable for them, such as new pjs, baking treats for Santa, reading a Christmas story before bed etc.

I would be interested to hear what traditions other families have, see if there’s anything I could incorporate into our Christmas Eve

Nowadays, I spend Christmas Eve doing as much as I can to get ahead for Christmas dinner. I make and freeze some things, and on CE, I prep the sprouts, parsnips and potatoes, stuff the goose (this year I plan to make the stuffing ahead of time and freeze it), make the gravy, bread sauce and brandy butter, and sometimes, if I haven't already done it, I ice the cake.

When the boys were younger, we used to have a party on Christmas Eve - just our friends and their kids, with some food and some daft games - in the hope of wearing the children out a bit. Then, once everyone had gone, and we'd tidied up, we used to light a bunch of candles, switch off the lights, and then we'd read The Night Before Christmas, and a couple of the Nine Lessons and Carols readings, and sing a carol, before putting the boys to bed. Then, when they were finally asleep, we could fill the stockings - we put them in the front room, on the hearth, not on their beds.

Baking and the local panto. The DC are getting older, so I'm planning on getting ingredients and doing a gingerbread house bake off competition. I'll be Mary Berry and just eat it all.

I absolutely love Christmas eve, I prefer it to the actual day, it's more exciting.

This year we are having a "bring your kids and a bottle party"

3-5 then a walk to mass with all the kids. I think my kids are more excited about all their mates coming over on Xmas eve than the day itself!

Visit my family in the morning (about 90 minutes away) as we won't be seeing them until the 27th. Home via McDonald's for lunch. Christmas baking in the afternoon. As it gets dark, have a little walk around the neighbourhood and while we are gone our neighbour hangs little tree chocolates on the little tree in our garden, home for dinner. After dinner we open our Xmas eve box followed by Bath, hot chocolate, new pjs on and an Xmas film. Put out mince pie and chocolate milkshake for FC (DDs choice) and then bed for the children. Mulled wine and Bad Santa is mine and DP's traditional Xmas eve evening while putting together toys

The girls get new PJ's. The elf used to bring them but DD2 (9) announced recently that she knows I move the elf and that hes not real. So there goes that one!

We bake Gingerbread which we then deliver to the neighbours as little gifts followed by afternoon christmas films .
Once its dark we take the dog for a walk and admire all the lights and peoples decorations. Then Chinese takeaway and tv snuggles on the sofa.

Ice skating in the afternoon and then home for hot chocolate and posh biscuits!!

I’ve never got the hang of Christmas Eve: shopping, prepping, stressing and the utter exhaustion of waiting for the dc to finally drop off, knowing I’ve got to drag myself back downstairs to get the gifts out, and that they’ll be up again in a few short hours.
And then when you add relatives into that
I mean we do the Christmas movies, baths, pjs, lighting the candles, read the story etc but I always feel in easy reach of a nervous breakdown.

Ours is still adjusting a bit but generally speaking: I make some mince pies, we open some champagne and we watch It’s a Wonderful Life!

That’s the very core of our tradition!

The daytime is spent prepping veg and so on. Then the Children's Service in church a't 4. Then every year since we've lived in our village we've gone to a neighbour's for drinks (nearly 30 years). Originally they lived round the corner but now are across the railway track and a field. We've walked over the muddy/frosty cow fields every year - our children did it as babies and toddlers and now are all in their 20s. It wouldn't be the same at Christmas if we didn't -we are always the last to leave (thought it's never mega late, about 9-10).

This is the first Christmas DP and I won't be hideously jet lagged as we normally fly back home from our holiday on Christmas Eve.

This year however we have our adorable DS who is currently 12 weeks old. So this year we plan to start our CE traditions.

I have a copy of Twas the night before Christmas , and even though he won't remember or appreciate it. We shall read it to him . We will go to church and sing carols and all wear red PJ's that night. Home alone will be the film of choice and a whiskey will be left for FC.

How old are your dd, @Barbararara? I remember feeling that way, when the dses were smaller, but it got better as they got older - and as I got better at getting as much as possible done in advance.

For example, once they were all at school, I was able to get all the stocking presents bought and wrapped, so that filling the stockings was a much quicker job.

It also helped once they could tell the time - we put the stockings in the front room, and told them that they couldn’t go in there without us, and they could come and wake us up at 7.30 and no sooner. It worked reasonably well - except for the year ds1 got some nasty stomach bug, and woke us - at 7.30am on the dot - to say Happy Christmas and tell us he’d been sick three times.

Barbarara I feel your pain.

Mine are 9 and 11 and I don't think this year will be any different. I'm always worn out by bedtime. DS9 never sleeps anyway and so it's always nearly 12 by the time we do presents (and yes, I wrap in advance and yes I keep them handy in a disguised suitcase so no walking down the stairs with presents!)

Then up and at 'em by 5am.

Last year I made the mistake of drinking two glasses of champagne whilst watching our annual tradition of Arthur Christmas. I was therefore also hungover as well as knackered the next day!

I'd love one of those relaxed Christmas Eves one day.

We go to the market for vegetables, late afternoon go to church, then go out for dinner then it's back to church for midnight mass. H didn't join us, and now he's left anyway. My DD's are choristers!

Ps I still buy them nightwear despite them being legally allowed to buy alcohol.

I used to be like Barbarara - Chr. Eve was always a rush, I'd be frantically wrapping stocking things (very scrappily but it didn't matter for Father Christmas things) at midnight.

Much easier now.

One tradition I must always have is Carols from Kings, preferably in peace with mulled wine and mince pies, though I doubt there'll be peace this year since will be at dd's with little Gdcs, so I dare say it'll be radio in the kitchen instead of on TV.

If we're at home, dh and I will always go for a late night walk, armed with secateurs and a torch, to nick a bit of nice fresh holly from someone's huge hedge not far away, to stick in the Christmas pudding. Shall have to do that on the 23rd this year.

I love Christmas eve!! We usually finish any last min shopping and tidying then go out for tea, baths, Christmas eve boxes and eat chocolate and watch Christmas TV. I love it!

Hopefully by Christmas Eve things will be all set for the next day, so probably just chilling with a Christmas movie. My kids are teens now so no getting up at 5am. Christmas day is busy (we eat late afternoon) and Boxing Day everone but me and my son are going to Nutctacker ballet.

Collect Christmas day meat first thing
Baking
General organising - has often been around transporting family members but that's all cut down this year
New PJs
Evening drinks, any last wrapping, and the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special

We are having our own little Christmas day this year. Previously this has been dictated by my shifts, but I'm off the whole 2 weeks this year! Christmas day is spent at PILs and we don't take our presents there as SIL makes everything about her so I just hang in the kitchen and help MIL with the cooking.
So Christmas Eve will be a day in PJs, playing with DD and her new toys. We can both drink as no driving required and do buffet party food. We may go for a walk but we don't HAVE to do anything!!!! DD's day ends with hanging her stocking as Santa only comes on Christmas Eve to our house. (Boundary put down early thanks to MN!).

We have our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. We started it a few years back and found that it works really well with us having 6 kids. It just means that Christmas Day we can concentrate on the kids and not have to rush to get a dinner ready and we find both days just so stress free! We just do bacon barms on Christmas morning after opening a few gifts and then a running buffet. We then do our Christmas Eve boxes which the elves have left once they go back to the North Pole.

It's ds1s birthday on Christmas Eve. The morning is spent lazily on the sofa. He unwraps his presents and mid morning the elves leave our Christmas Eve box on the front door step. It used to be later for the Christmas box but it was always a mad rush. We always head out for a nice lunch to celebrate ds birthday. When back we make mince pies.

I made a rule 2 years ago that all wrapping has to be done by 23rd December at the very latest as it's just stressful wrapping on Christmas Eve.

The evening is spent with us going outside to watch for Santa's sleigh. We have a takeaway for tea. DH and I usually have a curry and the children have a pizza. Then the older boys have a shower with their new shower gels from the elves and the little ones have a bath with a Christmas bath bomb. We all out on our new Christmas pjs. We watch The Snowman and then The Snowman and Snowdog, snuggled on the sofa drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows (again all in the Christmas Eve box). Then the children leave out a carrot for Rudolph, baileys and a mince pie for Santa. Once the children are in bed DH and I have a couple of drinks and watch Santa Claus the movie then sort out all the presents and stockings.

I absolutely love Christmas Eve. It used to be such a mad rush but now I just want to enjoy it.

We've spent last few years on the motorway heading to relatives!

This year we're at home. Wanted to do some baking with DS, have a walk around the village to look at the lights and sing along to Xmas songs

Daytime usually spent preparing bits for Christmas Day (peeling veg, doing gravy, trifle etc) with plenty of Christmas songs in the background. DH is usually off work so he will entertain 2.5 year old DD when she is not ‘assisting’ me. At some point we will do a dog walk in the woods, complete with tinsel round his collar & a flask of hot chocolate.

When DD has gone to bed, DH and I usually get an Indian and watch Blackadder’s Christmas Carol with a couple of drinks - our longest standing Christmas Eve tradition!

Our tradition is we go to the Candlelit Crib and Carol service then once we are home I give the children their Christmas Eve box. They then have a bath with their bath bomb and put on their new pjs. We have a little buffet for dinner, then hot chocolate while watching the Muppets' Christmas Carol. Then they put out mince pie and milk for FC and a carrot for the reindeer. I read them the Night before Christmas and then they go to bed.

A big walk, gathering holly and ivy to decorate the house (we don't do tinsel). Buy fresh flowers, something bright and yellow, to ward off winter gloom. Make the stuffing and a pudding while listening to Carols from Kings. Candlelit fish dinner. Stockings on the end of the bed.