Christmas Eve- what do you do?

[EchoLimaYankee]

This year DH is off work on Xmas eve. I would love to make a special but not crazy day of it. We have a 2 and 6 year old.

Sadly, we live nowhere near the coast. We do have nat trust membership though. I would have loved to have gone to a christingle service like I did as a child. That’s not happening this year obviously!

What do you do? What has worked well for you?

I normally have some last min cleaning in the morning, then we try to go out somewhere. This year iy will only be for a walk or to a playground though. When the kids were little it was generally to soft play to run off some energy!

When we get back the Christmas eve hamper will have magically arrived (care of me nipping back in to go to the loo once the dc are in the car). There will be an activity to keep the dc busy while dp and I prep veg or do any other remaining jobs. Then we decorate a gingerbread house (the house having been built on a previous day) and maybe play a board game.

The dc have an early bath (encouraged by bath bombs from the hamper) and get pj's on, then I force them to watch The Snowman while they complain (but normally they get sucked in) and then we watch a film.

Then we put out stockings (including a stocking for each of our 13 pets - the dc insist on this) and do bedtime, which will include reading a now rather battered copy of the Robert Salbuda Night Before Christmas.

Then, on a good year, we pop out the presents and have a drink. On a bad year I will be panic wrapping or trying to construct something like a trampoline. We do the stocking swap just before bed.

Swimming. Strange as it sounds it calms them and resets them and they get a good night's sleep. We have been swimming on Christmas Eve for years now.

Normally we have people arriving, nipping for last minute groceries, exh would have to go and buy the only present he was in charge of, mine... then christingle, dinner out then midnight mass (kids were choristers). Now everything has changed, kids grown, gone separate ways from h (all amicably) and there's covid, just my dp and me for Christmas,

Water world at Stoke, a bit of a drive fit us but it's really quiet as tired them out. They have now out grown that so my plan is (for next year) to go to a Heath spa for the day - a good gym session then swim, movie and early night

Love the idea of swimming, dd has ASD and is always on edge Christmas Eve, swimming would help chill her out so we might do this. We usually have a take away in the evening, watch a film and attempt to play a board game.

I'm with @SummerHouse - swimming is the best way to wear out children and in recent years we've found the pool has been empty

bake and decorate a gingerbread house
pop to the garden centre for a mooch around the decoration, last minute cheese purchase from the farm shop and a hot chocolate
track santa on NORAD
watch a xmas film

We tidy and clean in the morning and then get our Christmas Eve basket out. It has our mince pie plate, Night Before Christmas Book, Snowman and Father Christmas DVD and reindeer food.

We spread the little traditions out during the day sprklongvthe reindeer food and putting out the Santa stop here signs, hang the magic key up.

We then watch a film after lunch. We have a Christmas Eve sleigh that arrives with sweets in for the kids before we go to the crib service. It is still going ahead this year but we will stick to watching online.

We have a takeaway pizza and watch Snowman and Father Christmas then hang stockings and read Night Before Christmas.

We usually give our DS a Christmas Eve box in the morning- it mainly has craft activities etc (basically some things to keep him busy)

Whilst he does an activity we do a last minute tidy for the morning.
Then we usually go out for a really long walk in the afternoon (past years we have taken DS swimming or to soft play if the weather is hideous) as we want to tire him out as much as possible.
Then when we get home we order a take-away, watch Christmas films etc

COVID regulations permitting, we are expecting DS1, his DP and their own DS, who is 3.5. Last year they spent Christmas abroad with DP’s family and the previous year he was only 18 months so not very aware of what was happening.

We are not at all religious but our DIL is a Catholic and we all went to DGS’s christening in Brazil. Her mum had a little Nativity scene on display,. I asked DIL if she thought DGC would like one here, so I have bought a very pretty set of Nativity figures and will make a little tableau.

We have never had such a thing before, but hope DIL and DGS will enjoy it as part of a Christmas Eve celebration.

Working as I do most years. Dh and ds will go out for a walk. We do an xmas eve box for ds so will watch a film and open that

NORMALLY we would cohost a big drinks party at my dad's, the whole village come, its super fun and sooo festive and everyone says they really feel like Christmas has started when they come. Then home in a taxi for whatever easy meal the kids have chosen, fajitas, or Chinese, or buffet.

This year I have booked dinner at our local pub for the 4 of us which actually I am really looking forward to. Can walk there and back.

Have done the cinema in the past on Xmas eve (don't). Swimming is a great idea if your kids are younger.

Baking in the morning with DC - something sweet for Santa. They want to do a chocolate cake this year. I will also make a Christmas crown at the same time ( pastry with cranberry, Gruyère and pistachio). Then we’ll get dressed up into Christmas jumpers, wellies and make sure our hair is done. Walk to a special place locally to meet extended family outside. All sit by the lake with hot drinks in flasks and wish each other Merry Christmas. Usually take a photo of everyone together there. Walk home and set up a buffet on the table with my crown in the middle, lots of cheese, breads, cold meats, salad, fruit and always a pork pie! Pull the Christmas Eve boxes from under the tree to find new pjs and lovely bath bombs. Have a bath, change and all downstairs smelling gorgeous. Sprinkle the reindeer fold outside, set Santa’s tray up and cut him a slice of cake. Everyone jump on the big sofa with a slice of cake each too and put the Grinch on. When finished, kids to bed (that’s a big job when they’re so excited - lots of stories, singing and questions) and then me and DH will have a glass of bubbly and bring all the presents downstairs before bed once they’re asleep.

Meet family for breakfast. Then we take the dds to see Santa and a cup of tea/hot choc out. Then to a crib service where FIL sings in the choir, and back to in laws for a cup of tea/mince pie. Then we head home for either a takeaway or a buffet tea, Christmas film then bed.

Not doing any of that this year.

Lazy breakfast, followed by a walk in local woods with kids and dogs ( kids are 6, 5, 3 & 20 months).
When home snack and something crafty or a few easy games ( like orchard ones, hungry hippos). early dinner, bath then movie with hot chocolate. Once kids in bed DH and I have a bottle of champagne, and put presents out.

I always worked Christmas Eve until I had kids, so enjoy doing very little now.

Well I have to work in the morning usually 8am- 1pm, when I get home I get to work cooking the gammon for Christmas Day. Then I do the kids Christmas Eve boxes, we get chinese and then they have a bath bomb with the ones in their Christmas Eve box, we watch the nightmare before Christmas and track santa and then they go to bed at 9pm and I have chill Time before santa arrives and all chaos ensues 😊

It can be a tough day, waiting, the excitement, treading water.... As pp said space out the activities.
Our best Xmas eve was the local theatre, 3 actors doing the snow queen in an arts type place.
Another was dancing on ice Disney and London.

Do ginger bread house... Keep them busy.

I'm pretty busy all morning prepping and cleaning, will have christmas music blaring and the kids love it, we're all in a super good mood. I have a few activities for them to do throughout the day, selection of movies and tv specials. I make them a 'posh' lunchbox at lunchtime , basically expensive versions of what they usually find in their lunchbox, they'll usually eat this in front of the TV while watching a movie and this kills a couple of hours. We always go on a Christmas light safari in the early evening and visit family, we'll only be able to visit the 2 households who are in our bubble this year but we'll be able to spend more time with them rather than the usual 15 minute flying visit before moving onto the next family which will be nice and a bit more relaxing. I try to make sure we're home by 7.30, then its time for the Christmas eve boxes, shower, snacks and The polar express.

We go to a Christmas Eve afternoon party every year, it’s lovely, lots of kids running around; a buffet and drinks...

For this year I guess it will be a playground, we are tier 3!!

DH normally works Xmas Eve but finishes early afternoon. It's his birthday too. So we do presents and bacon butty breakfast before he goes. Then in previous years we've gone bowling with the kids which was fun followed by a meal out. Or just a loooooong dog walk and a pub lunch.

Usually the nativity service at the church up the road, then admiring all the decorated windows on our way home and friends round for champagne and Chinese food (we're Jewish so this is almost the traditional way of doing things!). This year... bleurgh. We'll probably go for a walk to look at the windows, then a takeaway with our bubble. I bloody love the nativity service, very sad to miss it.

Most years, DD came into work with me for a couple of hours (I had to turn up but everyone brings their DCs) and we would meet DH on the main shopping street nearby afterwards for last minute shopping and a sandwich in a coffee shop lunch before heading home.

Once we get home, we all work together on prepping for the following day (peeling veg, making stuffing etc) and baking cookies for Santa's snack. Even very small DC can help getting veg from cupboards, pulling out pots, stirring things together....all with Christmas music playing and we dance around the kitchen as we feel like it.
As for baking, I am not totally cracked - we do the same recipe every year, that we do not infrequently anyway and can be frozen - so I freeze a half a batch from earlier in Nov/Dec so that if we don't have the time or energy to bake from scratch on 24th, I can just slice and bake the frozen dough.

The past few years, I haven't needed to go in every year (I take a full day's leave instead) so we have done a Christmas Eve charity swim locally (very short, DH holds the towels) and had hot whiskies afterwards with the other swimmers at the local sailing club. Before going home for nice sandwiches and coffee lunch.

Then doing the prep stuff in the afternoon.

"Dinner" is "Platter" - take out lots of yummy cold things from the fridge and put them in the middle of the table for people to help themselves. Cooked and cured meats, smoked salmon, prawns, hummus, breadsticks, cheese, crackers, cherry tomatoes, carrot and pepper sticks, lettuce etc.

Once we tidy up from that, we go into the sitting room where the tree lights and side lights are on (so nice low level lighting) and we have a few minutes quiet family time remembering the good and bad of the year just finishing, and those no longer with us. Then the youngest lights the Christmas Candle (an Irish tradition showing that there is "room in our Inn for any weary travellers).

We pull out the Christmas Eve hamper, with new pjs for everyone, lush festive bath bombs, DD's plastic plate and glass with Santa on them (from toddler years) and her snowman hot water bottle, her stocking and the family copy of "Twas the Night before Christmas".

DD puts out her snack for Santa (milk and freshly baked cookies), and goes for her festive bath and into fresh new PJs. Downstairs for a hot chocolate together, and then I read her the book in bed as a nice relaxed bedtime with a fair chance of getting to sleep as normal.

@Iamblossom

NORMALLY we would cohost a big drinks party at my dad's, the whole village come, its super fun and sooo festive and everyone says they really feel like Christmas has started when they come. Then home in a taxi for whatever easy meal the kids have chosen, fajitas, or Chinese, or buffet.

This year I have booked dinner at our local pub for the 4 of us which actually I am really looking forward to. Can walk there and back.

Have done the cinema in the past on Xmas eve (don't). Swimming is a great idea if your kids are younger.

Why dont to cinema lol as we planned this for this year

This year I will be doing all of the extended family zoom calls on Christmas Eve so that we don’t spend the whole Of Xmas day on the phone to relatives (bah humbug)