What do you put in Christmas Eve boxes?

[Underthehills]

DS is 5 at Christmas. DD is 1 in January. What do you put in your Christmas Eve boxes? I haven’t done one before. Sooo excited it’s coming 😂 🎄 🎅

"This. They already get enough crap on Christmas Day. Do they really need more?"

Surely that depends on whether you buy them crap or not? Personally, I tend to avoid buying shitty gifts, and my DC tend to be given things they need and or want.

LadyMonicaBaddingham
Nothing, because it's bollocks

I have to agree, what in earth is the point of it when they get a Christmas stocking and presents the next day anyway.?! Some people have more money than sense.

I've done CEH since mine were little then switched to Dec 1st Boxes when they were older
CEH were to wind them down ,we went out for a walk to feed reindeer or swans/ducks . I would wait till DH was bundling them out of the front door and I'd "just go and check the back door was locked " then put the hampers in front of the fire .
Mainly pyjamas , bathbomb , Annual , mini pack biscuits , hot chocolate sachet and a glass jar of wrapped sweets that was theirs , not sharing .

Now they're adults (they'll be 20 and 23 by Christmas ) they get:

Pyjamas - winter not Christmas
Socks (work and regular)
Underwear ( mix of Next/Primark/branded from TKMaxx/Victoria Secret )
Leisure wear for Ds
A new robe every couple of years
Selection box

I have huge bags that have been dragged out the last 5 years and will keep going till they burst
DD also gets Day1 of her Beauty Advent (that I make for her ) It takes a while to get all the bits together . She doesn't use loads of different skincare as it irritates her skin, doesn't like coconut , and only uses cruelty free . The Advent Calendar is part of her present but just spread out more .

My DS doesn't bother with clothes/shopping , he'll just wear whatever . Not fussy about brands . So buying a years worth of socks/underwear/leisure wear suits him and me . I;m not buying him useless tat .

We also do Winter/Christmas Bedding (Dec 1st but DD has Nov 1st )
Christmas handtowels , tea towels, handsoap, drinking straws, shower curtain and toilet paper .

Not doing chocolate advents this year but we have a little tiny tree/decoration advent that is years old and used every December
Cannot have one of those advent candles that I had as a child as the cats are demons and would knock it over

My DS is a bit Bah Humbug but secretly likes the Christmas Traditions . DD is all for it . DH is just anything for a quiet life

Doing the Dec 1st Boxes stretches all the nice things out
When they were little they couldn't wait till the day , bit more relaxed now .

@Maireas maybe some animal figures?

My dd has a "zoo in a tin" that she loves to play with and it tidies up nicely back in the tin.

One snowy night is a lovely book

Baker Ross does some lovely christmassy crafting kits, like reindeer pom poms

The zoo and animal figures are lovely ideas! Thanks

@TwinsAndTiramisu same here, DS is a Christmas baby so I try to spread things out over the entire month as much as possible. And ooh global Christmas card exchange - how lovely. How do I find that? Can I just google it?

So many great ideas! Thanks! I am definitely planning to incorporate things that will reappear each year and become traditions, that’s part of the point.

@Underthehills

There are a few Facebook groups that you can join, I'm on a couple.

Little tip here, only exchange with people who you have private messaged and established they are genuine. A lot of people are just greedy and out to receive as many cards as possible, you won't get one in exchange, and when international postage is about £1.75 a card and you send out 20 in good faith, it's really irritating to get nothing back. I learnt this the hard way the first year I did it. Also, avoid anyone who's Auntie is sick and would love to receive cards, or other sob story. And, anyone who comments (spams) their address every time someone posts that they are looking for new people to exchange with. Again these are people who just want as much as they can, with no intention of reciprocating.

We do pjs, slippers or fluffy socks, hot chocolate bomb type of thing, reindeer food, bath bomb and nibbles to go with a film. Then the stuff that comes out every year - Santa's plate, magic key, hot chocolate mug... essentially a cosy night in pack to start calming them down!

1st December box has a Christmas jumper and advent calendars normally.

Usually new pj's, a bath bomb, and a treat like a hot chocolate sachet or pack of popcorn.

@TwinsAndTiramisu thanks for the advice 👍

I really detest this sort of reply
I don't buy my DC "enough crap" and even if I did , so bloody what if I chose to buy them some extra presents for the begininning of December

We like the spreading out of gifts .
They are usable , non tat things .

Last year I got the lovely gift of Covid for Christmas , so if I'd saved it all for the 25th I'd have been pissed off and disappointed .

No-one is holding a gun to your head
No-one has any business with what I buy at Christmas

All we need now on this thread is the Is this A THING ? mock horror eyebrow raised po faced poster .
No it isnt but if someone wants to then why not ?

"All we need now on this thread is the Is this A THING ? mock horror eyebrow raised po faced poster ."

They've been already. It's always been a thing, it's known as tradition and yes, they know full well what they're doing.

It's now a thing to go online and try and make people feel inferior for doing something nice for their kids. Sad really.

We doing matching pjs 🤣 for the annual picture, chocolate, hot chocolate sachets with candy canes, I make a Xmas movie ticket that we will watch in the evening and everyone has a personalised tree decoration to hang up - I now have years of personalised decs on the trees - it's lovely and makes our tree ours 🥰

They both get
Xmas pjs and a lush bath bomb
then DS14 gets - roblox voucher and hot chocolate spoon or bomb
dd 9 will get a Christmas ty beanie or mini brands & a posh strawberry milkshake ( she doesn’t like hot chocolate)

And also chocolate coins

New PJs, we have always had new PJs for Christmas Eve (i'm 36) and we'd get a magazine and some chocolate etc. Usually all in a gift bag.

And fluffy socks.
Copy of TTNBC.
The Christmas stocking (my ds uses my old one)
A bath something or other, bomb or bubble.
The naughty/nice badge to confirm if you've been good 😁
Reindeer food (we use bird seed with coloured sugar sprinkles in, the sugar melts away and so birds don't ingest it.)
Jingle bells.
Santa plate.
Some festive paper/pens/envelope to write a Christmas letter to Santa. This gets left out with the fireplace stuff and magically is gone in the morning!

It's all stuff we'd be using anyway and I like a bit of pomp so it makes me happy. We have an elf who brings the calendars and bits and pieces over the span of the month so I don't do a December 1st box.

Bit of history, Xmas eve 'boxes' (werent originally in boxes) started during WW2 when rationing made xmas impossible to celebrate in a normal way, one thing that wasnt rashioned was paper so books where easy to come by. Some countries goverments even encouraged this as reading was not only educational but it was also an 'escape' from the reality of the times.

As such we always include an Annual in ours, along side the other decades old tradition of new xmas eve PJs.

We also include a new toothbrush, some kind of toiletrie like bubble bath and a food (like a fun cereal), a hot chocolate and a small teddy.

This is all used to get ready for bed on xmas eve (wash, put on new PJs, eat breakfast for supper with hot chocolate, brush teeth, read annual then bed with their new teddy).

Other than children (who are growing) why do people need new pyjamas every year?

"Other than children (who are growing) why do people need new pyjamas every year?"

The Christmas Eve boxes are for children

@JubileeTissues yes but some people on the thread (unless I have read it wrong) are saying 'everyone' gets new PJ's.
If it's for children then ok. Although I usually upgrade my daughter's ones from summer style to winter when it starts to get cold at night - which is more likely October/November. Bit daft to have to wear outgrown ones for 2 months. Buy them when you need them. Clothes that are essentials shouldn't be gifts in my opinion.

New jamas
The same Christmas books every year
A new Christmas themed book for her to read - we got diary of a house elf or something last year
Hot chocolate
Same Christmas mug
Chocolate coins
Sparkly bubble bath
Christmas colouring book and pens
Reindeer food
Slippers
A new Christmas bauble

🙋🏻‍♀️ I'm having new (matching with DS) PJs this year for Christmas Eve. I need some and I deserve them.

@FidginSpinnins of course if you need new jammies then get new jammies.
But it's the buying them 'just because it's Xmas Eve" mindset I don't understand.

My Grandma used to tell us it was so the reindeer didn't poo on you 🤷🏻‍♀️ I have since learned it's so you didn't look scruffy on pictures taken on Christmas morning 😁

And it's nice to treat yourself at Christmas I suppose, more likely to indulge perhaps. My current PJ bottoms have a hole in the crotch and I'm wearing DHs old decorating tshirt, I definitely need new ones, especially if we were going staying with family 🙈😆