What do you put in 1st December boxes vs Christmas Eve boxes?

[ChristmasIsComing2023]

What do you put in 1st December boxes vs Christmas Eve boxes??

We do it on Feb 13th. Snuggly PJs to wear on the day. Tailormade, so they will be instantly grown out of.
Mugs, three each and three hot chocolate flavours. We throw the unwashed mugs directly into landfill to avoid overuse of water.
Plastic tat, the bigger the better, usually order from Shein and have it shipped from China to make it more special.
Valentine's breakfast is obviously a big occasion, we keep the kids off school until lunchtime to enjoy that one. Heart shaped pancakes always a big hit along with all the usual stuff.
We try to keep this holiday occasion fairly low key, as we are usually getting together some bits and pieces for Easter box, the main event of the year.

@Honeychickpea my daughter is "meh" about Valentine's. Halloween on the other hand.... that's her obsession so there will be some papier mache pumpkins and gonks dressed as witches coming soon 😂

@EarthlyNightshade ha ha....

@Needmorelego

Yeah that's what I mean. I replied nearer the start on what I put in my nieces December bags. I just meant it's crazy all the responses to this are mostly criticism. I'd have liked some ideas for this years - perhaps some more eco conscious ideas considering so many people were bothered!

Personally, I think it's an either/or thing.

We do 1 Dec as then the items can be used for entire month (or longer!), and I don't see the point in giving something 24 hours before Christmas day!

So in ours, it's usually some of:

Advent calendar
Bauble (this year have got Uno and Polly Pocket ones!)
Christmas jumper
Christmas reading book
Christmas sticker book
Decorate own gingerbread man
Christmas plate/cutlery
Christmas craft

To be fair until I came on mumsnet I actually thought I had invented it! Obviously I was wrong.

Nothing, because they have never been a thing in my house.
New PJ's on Xmas eve and that's it.

We don’t do either really, although we do have an elf which was a gift from an elderly relative who had no idea what it was but thought it was cute. Thankfully he’s a well behaved one who just hides for the DC to find him each morning. He brings the wooden advent calendars and sticks a chocolate in each night. He also hunts around and collects any Christmas soft toys and books together, and digs out the Christmas mugs for us.

Christmas Eve we don’t even do new pyjamas. They are for Christmas night as they were when I was a child.

I try really hard to be mindful of what I’m buying, for the environment, less clutter, and so as not to waste money. I actually love Christmas bedding, pyjamas etc and feel tempted every year, but so far haven’t succumbed. I’m trying to not go overboard with Christmas presents as well. We really want to take the DC to Lapland before they get too old, and every time I almost buy some piece of unnecessary shite I put the money in the Lapland pot instead.

Nothing, I don't do either. Ridiculous trends & waste of money.

Dec 1st we get out the magnet advent calendars.
Dec 24th we have one box for the family which contains the same thing each year -stockings, Christmas DVD to watch that evening, previous photos of us with Santa to reminisce over how small the kids used to be, usually a food treat bought at the school Christmas fair.
No bloody elf, who has got time for that in December

Thank you to the people who actually answered my question in their replies and to all the other posters I don’t even know what to say 🤷‍♀️😂 I already started Christmas Eve boxes for my little ones first Christmas with a small toy (a snowman rattle the first year and a little car last year so nothing big or expensive), a Christmas book, some winter pjs/a sleepsuit, a letter from Santa and a bauble. I think I put in some baby snacks last year as well and this year I’ll probably put some sweets or chocolate in.
I was thinking of doing the December 1st box as I thought it would be a nice way to start the Christmas season every year 🤷‍♀️ I wasn’t thinking of putting gifts in it I was just thinking things like Christmas pjs, cups, Christmas books, hot chocolate, some sweets and some of those fluffy snow balls or something 🤷‍♀️ Obviously the cups and adult pjs and anything else reusable would go back in the box to be reused every year 🤗

I have not RTFT but :
Used to do the Christmas Eve Boxes when they were little

I do Dec 1st boxes as my DC are adults . I think I started when DD was 14/15.
They get pyjamas (winter not Christmas) so it gives them a chance to wear them through the colder months . DD gets some 'nicer' pyjamas and some Primark ones . DS gets loungewear and tops
A robe every other year
Underwear - socks /boxers for DS / underwear sets for DD.
Toiletries
Selection box

DD gets a box of beauty gifts on Dec 1st (I used to do the 1-24 but it got more difficult)

We have Christmas Bedding that comes out on Dec 1st , kitchen tea towels , handtowels in the loo/bathroom, Christmas toilet paper and straws .

The Dec 1st boxes are things they need but not a present , so its Tradition now

Personally I find Beauty Advent Calenders range from "nice treat" to "obscene" but it's not my money of someone wants to splash out hundreds of pounds on them .

We don’t do boxes as such, but on 1st December we have breakfast together (unusual on a weekday in our house because everyone leaves at different times), wear our Christmas jumpers if inclined, open our advent calendars and have a mini mince pie after our cereal. It just marks the beginning of the season.

On Christmas Eve I always send the dc up to the attic to look for the box of things needed for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day - table decorations, the window candle, Santa plate, story book, Christmas stockings. The purpose was for them to see that the attic was very obviously empty of toys (now hidden in my car). They’d helped bring in the shopping out of my car the day before and knew the boot was empty (when they were still in the attic). To this day, and they’re teens now, they haven’t figured out where the gifts are stashed.

There’s nothing new, and certainly no tat in the Christmas Eve box. It’s just things I don’t want cluttering up the place before they’re needed. But there’s magic in nostalgia and they love unpacking it. It’s full of memories.

I do Xmas Eve box but that only started because dd always needed new pjs around that time. It's basically a cheap box from card factory and we reuse the same one. She has an elf toy (not elf on a shelf) and we pretend she has bought her the box. It has pjs, book, little teddy and hot chocolate nothing too extravagant. Dec 1st is just an advent calendar

And they can be any pjs just ones she needs as grown out of the others. Not Xmas ones. And the stocking is in the box too

No actual boxes, but for Dec 1st, I get out the DCs old cups and plates, bedding, books and the Christmas toys I knitted when they were babies. None of this is new.

They will get an advent calender (this year, chapter books) and a pair of themed pyjamas (they are still growing, so the eldest gets a new pair, the youngest gets a previous pair - these are then handed down to younger cousins).

No boxes for Christmas Eve either.

We do try to have saffron cake on St. Lucia's Day, orange and lemon cake on St. Clement's Day, and chocolate fish on St. Nicholas' Day.

Yes, we are a church going family.

No, I don't wait until Christmas Eve to decorate .

Advent boxes arrive after the Advent procession service at church. They have the seasonal stuff that is used for the whole of December. They have the advent calendars (the oldest of which was mine as a child), advent candles, a nativity set, some Christmas books, some scented oil and candles, a letter from the elf, the elf, and some hot chocolate/mulled wine/mince pies.

The elf brings the supplies for other seasonal activities each weekend in December: making a wreath, baking, making and writing cards, decorating the tree.

When the children were little, the Christmas Eve box was about encouraging children to go to bed calmly. Cosy pyjamas (re-used for anyone who's the same size as previous years) stockings to hang, thank-you cards so children can write their thanks on Christmas day, treats for Santa and the reindeer, more hot drinks and mince pies. There used to be bath bombs or bubble bath, but the children prefer showers now, so some sort of nice shower gel and maybe a pillow spray. I would take them out for a walk to tire them out, and the box would be there when they got back home.

Now they are teenagers, and the box has more stuff about preparing for Christmas day together, so we still go for a walk, but the box now has vegetable peelers, ready for a Christmas Eve food-prepping session.

@Vebrithien I like your cake traditions, and might adopt them.

Jesus Christ 🙄

Christmas toilet paper
I really hope this is a parody of the other posts.🙄

the box now has vegetable peelers, ready for a Christmas Eve food-prepping session

This confuses me. So do you put your normal veg peelers in the Xmas box, or do you have special ones for Xmas? Surely most people just have veg peelers than live in a kitchen drawer?

Do you not peel veg at other times of year?

If you haven't started yet, think carefully whether you want to commit.

Unfortunately, we do elf on the shelf. They (yes, we even have 2), arrive on the 1st with the chocolate advent calendars (thank goodness I didn't start extravagant calendars at least!)

I bought a wooden personalised Christmas Eve box when dc were about 1 and 3 thinking how lovely it was. For a few years, I lovingly filled it with carefully thought out crafts, reindeer dust, hot chocolate stirrers, novelty toys and accessories, matching pyjamas and slippers and baking projects.

Now, I put last years pyjamas in it if they still fit, new if not, a hot chocolate sachet from the cupboard and a present each from under the tree. I don't have the brain space or desire to be thinking of new and exciting things for it and can't wait to do away with it. They get enough on Christmas Day and the excess of these extras really winds me up!

Agree. And nor does anyone need a Christmas Eve box either!

I know I'm very old but do try and keep abreast of trends but have truly never heard of 1st December boxes - how long has it been a thing? I used to do advent calendars for my children/grandchildren, so not a complete grinch!

They are not single use here. We all have Christmas bedding. It appears every year. We get a new pair of Christmas pyjamas each every year. We wear then until we outgrow them (kids) or they are done (adults). Yes, I have about 5 pairs now, but I wear them all year, apart from when it is too hot in summer.