Christmas Eve Box/Crate

[Sunfl0wer20]

Do your kids have a Christmas Eve Box or Crate?

My little boy has just turned 4 and we usually do a box that I pick up from somewhere like home bargains or b&m.

This year I’m looking to get something more personalised that we can keep and reuse year on year.

I have seen lots of lovely designs on Etsy etc but can’t decide between the box or crate. I kind of like the idea of the crate and displaying everything nicely and will probably get more in there than the box. But I’m sure he would get more excitement out actually opening the box.

Pointless little dilemma but interested to see how other people do things.

I'm doing a box. I've bought one from The Works that I'm going to paint and personalise myself. Agree with you that the opening up of a box is far more magical, if that makes sense? Just the not knowing what's inside, builds the anticipation (for me at least).

I have never done either but, if I were going to, I would choose the crate as I think it looks nicer. I think if you filled it carefully, you wouldn't be able to tell just from looking at it what was inside.

Hobby craft has boxes you can decorate your self too.
I personally lean towards a box. My Dd is 4 also, she has one from last year that's like a shoe box but it has little elves on it. It was really cheap and I use it to store Christmas decorations Haha. I was thinking about getting nice ones.. I might do it next year as I think I'm going to get us all new stockings this year that are personalised on Etsy.
I've seen them everywhere though, on Next and not on the high street too. :)

We have a personalised crate that I bought on Etsy. We use it as a family Christmas Eve box so there's treats for us all in there, including me, DH and DDogs so no trouble filling it. DS is too little but DD loved it last year; digging around to see what was in and distributing items.

Is this a new "thing"? I've never heard of it... just sounds like yet more "stuff" to buy.
Isn't Christmas Day enough?

We have an xmas Eve crate which has a lid! Best of both worlds

It’s from ‘plantabox’ a few years ago but assume they still do them

I,d save the money towards a better christmas preseant. REad night before christmas or a version of the nativity, make mince pies have hot chocolate, watch the polar express. Their are a lot of other niice things one can do with out having to buy more presents. Oh and I like to go to a christingle service.

@LaVitaPuoEsserePiuBella really this is the Christmas board. No. It's not "new".

OP the works have good value boxes you can personalise and reuse year on year. Personally we do 1st December boxes and include advent calendars and Christmas jumpers or pyjamas so they can wear them all month

We have a crate. Personalised from Etsy. I plumped for crate as I figured with advent calendars etc that the elf turns up with it means I can fit them in without worrying about shutting a lid. Purely practical!

Oh and edit to say the crate holds advent calendars, Christmas pjs, Santa letter writing stuff and the elf!

Christmas eve boxes don't have to be about "buying more stuff". Ours is going to have the same stuff in it year after year (eg stocking, santa plate), plus some snacks and PJ'S. Hardly mountains of "things".

OP I got a personalised box off Etsy. It's for the whole family rather than just DS. I think lifting the lid off a box is more exciting than a crate

• Is this a new "thing"? I've never heard of it... just sounds like yet more "stuff" to buy. Isn't Christmas Day enough?* Haha, no it's been around for ages. We've been doing it for more than 10 years!

We just use a cardboard box. They are really only bothered with the contents. I think it's a nice outlet for the immense excitement of Christmas Eve and also directs the evening e.g inclusion of a dvd I have chosen rather than the boys falling out over what to watch on Netflix. I don't buy extra as such but I might take a small present they would have got on Christmas day and stick that in.

My daughter has a box we got from eBay. It's personalised but small to medium,
Prob about the size of a big shoe box.
the lid gets balanced on.

We use it every year.

The older kids (22 and 14) have plastic home and bargain boxes we re use.

I love Christmas and doing this for them.
Even the 22 year old wears his jamas for the obligatory photo.

I keep them all and when I get to 12 years will do them all a calendar. (I've only been with their dad 5).

It's nice because since I started doing them the oldest has had a baby and she will start to be in them also.

We did do boxes originally but then one year they weren't big enough so we bought bigger ones. Then we realised that they were taking up space in the loft so we do big Christmas bags now.

@LaVitaPuoEsserePiuBella

Is this a new "thing"? I've never heard of it... just sounds like yet more "stuff" to buy. Isn't Christmas Day enough?

been around since I was a child in the 80s so I would hardly say 'new'

I just have a little crate that says something like ‘Christmas eve box’.
I fill it with new Xmas pjs for everyone, Xmas socks for the girls and boxers for the boys.
A few chocolate treats and a game - we’ve had new packs of uno, happy families, donkey, or sometimes I pick little games up from flying tiger.
Don’t put dvds in as we will just watch a film on tv.

We have a wooden box with a clasp I got from Hobbycraft a few years ago, which I then painted how we wanted. We just put the same things in each year; a Christmas DVD each to watch (ours after DS goes to bed), some sweets, a bath bomb or bubble bath for DS, and the copy of The Night Before Christmas we’ve had since DS was a baby. So whether you get a crate or box might depend on what goes in it. If we added pyjamas or something to ours, it wouldn’t be big enough, for example.

@LaVitaPuoEsserePiuBella the majority of our box are things we reuse each year or would buy anyway. For example, our Santa plate, night before Christmas book plus some nice hot choc.

It's about the tradition rather than "stuff"

We found one a couple of years ago in a cheapie shop - just a plastic box with a lid. Nothing special, but we can fit all 3 PJs, hot chocolate sachets and dvd in it