Tell me about Christmas Eve

[Mistlefrog]

It’s our first Christmas Eve in our own home, and as a married couple and Id love to start some traditions and nice things we do together. Obviously some traditions appear organically and others are a bit more planned, but would love to hear what other people do.

Please tell me what you do in the day,
what you eat or cook all day,
what you do in the evening together
and then after the DC go to bed

i loooove hearing other peoples traditions anyway but would love to take some inspo from you all!

DH is usually running around like a blue ass fly because he left ALL of his job (very few really as I do 90% of it) until the last minute so we dont really do much during the day.

Kids like to watch to santa tracker thing on and off throughout the day.

We do xmas eve boxes before bed with the kids so they have hot chocolate and eat their snacks and use the stuff to get ready for bed.

Once kids are in bed we set everything up (and DH insists on having a beer and watching father ted).

So not really anything super special, just the most basic/standard things.

Very easy here.I my country we celebrate Xmas on 24th. We do all the traditions and have Xmas dinner. Dc open their presents from my side grandparents in the evening.

Christmas Eve is my favourite!

Chill at home on the morning, prep bits for lunch the next day and then off to the pub about 2pm until 6ish with family and extended family.

Home for Xmas Eve boxes ( usually pjs and hot chocolate stuff ) and then Christmas film with the kids!

Might watch something after the kids have gone to bed then presents and an early night!

These are so lovely to read
and @StopsWalkingToSneeze youre absolutely right, there is a pressure to do too much.
to be honest these reassured me so much, I always want to do things at Christmas but I’m always so busy in the run up I end up spending the morning cleaning and then stressing I’ve wasted the day, but maybe I just need to reframe it that the cleaning is part of the tradition.

it’s so lovely hearing about everyone’s Christmas Eve, you see people doing so much on Instagram but it sounds like most people try to be a bit active, and spend some time together, or free themselves up so they can spend some time together over the rest of Christmas and that’s the point really isn’t it.
for those of you who find it a hard time of year too. When it seems so perfect for everyone else it can be a bit crushing, but I hope you have a lovely one this year.

i am veryy interested in this alpine supper @TrickyD
and @Greaterthanthesumoftheparts what is involved in a danish Christmas dinner? What do you do on 25th? Please do excuse my ignorance!

We eat our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve so our Christmas Eve goes something like:
Food prep & playing games with DC
Family join us for a few hours & we have lunch together
Movie with treats (Christmas Eve box appears some time after lunch with a few treats, new pjs, book & something for the bath)
DC have a bath & put on their new pjs
Track Santa on NORAD

Sandwiches for evening meal/supper
Hang the stockings, put out the snacks & magic key for Santa then read The Night Before Christmas.
Once DC are in bed, DH & I watch Die Hard with a drink
Santa duties are pretty quick these days as the DC leave stockings on door handles so he doesn't have to creep about so much, just need the pesky elves to remember to leave when they are meant to so they don't have to quickly hide in the early hours of the morning again 😂

At some point during the afternoon I make cinnamon rolls & pop them in the fridge for morning. Makes the house smell super Christmassy at breakfast!

This will be our first “proper” xmas eve with DD, first she was very little, then lockdown and last year she was very poorly. Before DD arrived we used to go to the cinema in the afternoon and DH may do that this year with DD (I hate the film he wants to see) while I tidy the house, prep the veg and wrap last minute presents. We might go to church, and then once DD is in bed we are having a really good steak dinner which we’ve also done a few times.

0n my own so last bit of tidying my five course meal over the whole day tree goes up in the middle with Christmas music Tudor, carols at kings at six I’m not listening on the radio this year always did that with stbx so want to do different this year. Then then either A Traveller in Time dvd of the start The Tudors off.

I usually have the day to myself because DH works in a supermarket (so has zero chance of getting the day off) and we don’t have children, so it’s all about me. All wrapping and cleaning has to be done before Christmas Eve. If it hasn’t been cleaned or wrapped, it’s simply not meant to be. I refuse to spend the day rushing around anymore. I have a lovely lay in, then run myself a scalding hot bath, full of bubbles, and spend an hour or two in there with a bacon sandwich and a good book. I’ll set out all the Christmas chocolates and remember to take the pigs and stuffing out of the freezer to defrost, and then just relax with a book and a box of Malteasers until DH gets home, and then that’s the start of Christmas. We’ll make home made sausage rolls, cheese straws and other picnicky bits and watch a Christmas Carol or It’s a Wonderful Life while we eat, with just the tree lights on. Not going to lie, it’s a bloody lovely way to spend the day.

@Mistlefrog danish Christmas dinner is pork with crackling or roast duck (we actually do both since we’re a large number). That’s served with caramelized potato’s and boiled potatoes with braised red cabbage and sometimes a red cabbage salad. For dessert it’s ris alamande. Rice pudding fluffed up with lots of whipped double cream and served cold with chopped almonds mixed in. A whole almond is mixed in before serving and the person that finds the whole almond in their portion wins a prize of a marzipan pig. The rice pudding is served with a hot Cherry sauce.

after dinner we light real candles on the tree and the family link hands making a circle around the tree. We take it in turns to choose a Carol, either in English or Danish which we sing while going round the tree in our big circle. We open the presents after this.

on 25th, the kids open their stockings in the morning, we have bagels and smoked salmon for breakfast and then prepare for a full roast Turkey Christmas dinner. We’ll have a walk but obviously no presents since we already opened them the night before. It’s pretty relaxed which is actually really nice.

I make a Nutella pastry tree for breakfast. I don’t actually make it as a tree shape, as I have three teenage boys and it seems like a waste to cut loads off and chuck away. It is fondly referred to as the Nutella rib cage.

This is my second Christmas of not working in a church office. I would have taken the boys to work with me for the morning, as it was a very busy day in that job! This year, we are hosting my in-laws so I’ll be making sure everything is ready for them. In the afternoon & early evening there are two Christingle services at church and the rest of the family are often out doing music or sound for that and DS 13 and I will go and join them for the last one.

For dinner, we go to the fish and chip shop. We both grew up eating fish on Christmas Eve, but in my last job I didn’t have time to cook a fish pie. It was DH’s idea the first year and I thought it was a bit weird but it became our normal.

it’s lovely to make your own traditions, have fun working yours out.

Do you have children? Sorry I couldn't tell from your post.

If you don't then I'd start something you can continue after you do have children, maybe exchange presents with your partner on Xmas eve, then you can continue that on when you have children.

I think the swimming is a brilliant idea.

@sashh no, currently ttc so indulging in a bit of dreaming what I might be like with a family and also thinking about how we can make it nice now, because I realised I was creating a bit of a limbo where we wouldn’t do this or that until we had children

Pre kids we used to do things like go Ice-skating or to a National Trust property. When DC came along we loved going to the zoo or aquarium as you will have the place to yourselves.
Hope 2023 is a lucky year for you OP.

Used to be with Mum back in home town up North, go out early eve to look at the lights and have one or two in our local.
Since Covid, and Mum dying, we've gone to Leeds Castle on CE. Very lucky to live close by, brilliant lights display, and wears the kids out.
Will do same again this year, and have just moved house, so some new traditions to establish
And will raise a toast to Mum- kids have had caffeine free coke zero in a posh glass to go with our champagne, works well!

Me and ds6 do something fun like science museum or aquarium. Best day of the year to go because it’s quiet. I’m not that in to Christmas traditions though, I like to mix things up. I’ve done Christmas in lots of different ways and it’s always fun.

The priests would be pleased that he was interested and asking questions so please don’t stop going because of that!

OK. So assuming you are not working.

Something nice for breakfast like smoked salmon and a glass of champagne.

Change the beds, it can be Xmas bedding or just nice clean bedding.

Check you have everything for the big day and do any last min shopping.

A walk to the local pub for a drink.

I think the present exchange after the children you will have in the future have gone to bed. Then it is special for you.

A take away for the evening, that's something you can start now and continue as your family grows.

Watch a Xmas film, the film can change over time. Have a hot chocolate with the film and some nibbles.