Christmas Eve

[angeltattoo]

What do you do on Christmas Eve? We never plan anything and it always then just feels like we're 'waiting' all day.

The kids are a bit older now (8 & 6) and I don't have to spend the entire evening wrapping and also for the first time in 8 years I am not cooking Christmas dinner, so no mountains of veg to peel.

So it would be good to do something nice but I can't think what, what do you do?

Thanks

We go to the pub but that's probably not helpful with kids.

We put the tree up.

Take the teenagers for a fancy meal. Couple of years ago The Ivy, this year somewhere local. Hopefully it will be a better xmas than last year which just felt so flat and miserable.

I used to hate Christmas Eve as a child, because my parents would just be cleaning, preparing stuff, fetching relatives etc and it did just feel as though we were waiting around.

I don't think it helped that for nearly as far back as I can remember, I had awful insomnia on Christmas Eve (taking ages to go to sleep and/or waking up at about 2 /3am desperately hoping it was morning, and then not being able to go back to sleep) and so used to dread going to bed. I'm sure it didn't help being stuck in the house all day!

It was so bad that I even suffered a bit with Christmas Eve insomnia as an adult and even now with children, I worry a little on Christmas Eve!

So I make sure we head out somewhere on Christmas Eve, a couple of times when we've had zoo season tickets, we'll go there, I think once we went to the beach. This year, we're planning to go to a castle we've got annual tickets for. They always make it very festive, and it has huge grounds so lots of walking and fresh air

Then home in the afternoon, maybe a festive film and easy food for dinner.

@beachtosunset

I prefer Christmas Eve to Christmas Day because of all the magical atmosphere. The promise of it all to come: Decorating the dining table, my list to Santa, listening to the Carols at Kings with homemade sausage rolls, hearing Rudolph's hooves on the roof top, watching A Christmas Carol.

I'm 8 years old and have an MN account.

This made me roar 😂🤣😂🤣

We go to the bakery for pastries for breakfast and have a slow morning with a film or two. We cook 'picky bits' for lunch and snack through the afternoon with last minute wrapping, food prep and baking and setting the table. In the evening we go for a Christmas light hunt- we drive around with hot chocolates and get a takeout of some sort. Then we watch love actually and go to bed.

Me and my mum always have a meal or a takeaway Christmas Eve, sometimes we’ll do something fun like ice skating or visiting relatives or that we won’t see at Christmas. Last year we had a few cocktails in town and then went for food, came home and watched a film and watched my mum fall asleep on the couch, took myself off for an early night

Work ... it's a normal working day for most people maybe an early finish if you are lucky ... unless you work for Next (fortunately I don't). Never forgot the year my niece worked for Next, DB had to pick her up very late Christmas Eve and she then started again at something like 4am Boxing Day ... luckily she has a very strong work ethic.

Church!

We go to the panto on Christmas Eve. We get home and the elves have brought the Xmas Eve box with games to play etc.

My favourite day of the year.

Christingle service, followed by a quick trip to the pub.

Christmas Eve is my favourite!

8am uni age DS and I go to the farm shop to fetch the turkey etc then stop for a coffee on the way home. We have done this since he was 9!

When we get home we wake the others with fresh pastries and coffee plus the discovery that the elves have left a hamper for us all containing new pyjamas, hot chocolate flakes, marshmallows, popcorn, bath bombs and a tattered copy of Stick man and Santa comes to Glasgow to read.

We lay the table for Christmas Day, DH preps the veg and we all get ready at our leisure before meeting about 8-10 friends for an early dinner and some festive cheer at 4pm.

Home to watch a Christmas film with hot chocolate by 7pm then off to bed so Father Christmas can fill out stockings. I cannot wait!!!

The first thing that happens on Christmas Eve is that I go to have my hair done. It is my self care moment. I sometimes have my nails done too.
Any food that needs prepping will be done but I try and precook as much as possible.
As a family ....8 of us ....we will go to see a movie. Sometimes we split up to do this depending on what is in the cinemas. We go out for a meal either at lunch time or later. The other meal is a fend for yourself sandwich.

Going to a Panto is the best way to spend the Afternoon, followed by a special tea.

We go to a 6pm Mass and then drive around our local area looking at the decorated houses. When we get home we have hot chocolate and watch a film in our PJs with some treats

All adults now but when the children were younger,we got up and had a special breakfast. Watched a Christmas film. Went to the park.
Had pizza for dinner and then they got a gift off the Christmas tree. It was always pjs, bubble bat and a Christmas book.
So then it was bath, bed and reading new books.

Mine are wee so we either go a walk (not Christmas related!) or go swimming in the morning. Christmas Eve box and a film in the afternoon, then a relatively healthy dinner before the excesses of the next few days.

Pizza and a movie. Sometimes that means going out to eat and then going to the cinema, sometimes it means a takeaway and a cosy night on the sofa.

I think we will go bowling or swimming in the morning to burn some energy off and then home for film etc. We have small DC so will start the bedtime routine off much earlier (obviously with the leaving things out for Santa etc incorporated) to enjoy it fully so that they don't go to bed much later than normal as will then have the finishing touches to do before we go to sleep.

My tradition is to go to a local Waitrose and see what leftover massively reduced meat etc I can find. Usually get some lovely big joints and various nice bits and bobs

I make sure any wrapping is finished first thing so I don't end up panic wrapping like my mum used to, then have a fairly relaxed morning doing prep for the big day. The afternoon is Carols from Kings, usually while the kids (8 & 10) write and decorate a note to Santa letting him know he can use the loo while he's here, and making sure he knows about any local roadworks (DS1 is autistic and always worries about the big guy alone in the sleigh when there are no service stations in the sky). Then we pick DH up from work, snuggle up and watch Muppet Christmas Carol, have ham and chips for tea (I always put a big ham in the slow cooker first thing to last through Christmas), and then put the mince pies etc out. I always go to midnight mass while DH stays in with the boys, which is one of my favourite bits of Christmas.

Food prep, set the dining room table, visit to friends for a takeaway.

We have done panto or a visit somewhere for a walk before but I find it a rush if I’ve got food prep to do.

Usually a quick trip to supermarket for extra milk as will purposely avoid shops for a few days.

Last minute housework, ironing, Christmas music on, Christmas movies.

Chinese food or pizza for tea.

Prepare veg if I am cooking.

Then relax with book or watch Tv with family.

We normally have the in laws staying with us. We go for a lunch time meal at our favourite restaurant and a walk round our local park in the afternoon. Party food buffet in the evening!

Christmas Eve is definitely the best day - all the festive sparkle at its very best. By the end of Christmas Day the house looks like I used to at 2am on the way back from the club.

The day will be a bit of prep and tidy followed by a good walk. We would normally have a cosy pyjamad evening of games and telly. Lights down low and Christmas tree shining.