Advent box instead of Xmas Eve box?

[MissAtomicBomb1]

Anyone else do this?

My DC haven't been particularly enthused about Christmas Eve boxes and it seems a bit close to the big day to be properly appreciated.
Thinking of putting together an advent box, as something similar went down really well the other year. It seemed more exciting somehow and the gifts could be appreciated in the few weeks leading to Xmas.
Ideas so far...advent calendar (obviously!) Xmas PJs, a Christmas themed story book (read the Christmas pig through Dec last time). tree decoration

Any other ideas? 🎅🏻

No better count down to gifts than gifts I guess.

Is this the same as a Xmas Eve box but on the 1sr rather than 24th?

Why not just do an Advent calendar?

I sort of do this, despite being sniffy about Xmas eve boxes. I always give mine a cheap selection box and an advent calendar at the beginning of December and the last couple of years I've added pj's or an Xmas mug. Mine are teens and young adults!

The elf brings a box at my house. Just pjs advent calendar and craft decorations. They love it.

Craft sets to make your own decorations and/or cards.
A Nativity scene set if they haven't got one (I have the Playmobil one).
Biscuit shape cutters for making biscuits.

Kind of but thinking less of hot chocolate/ reindeer food etc & rather things that can be enjoyed in the run up to Xmas like a Christmas book

On the first my DC have always got Christmas pyjamas and advent calendar’s.
When I put up the decorations I also bring out the Christmas crockery, bedding, books etc we already have.

On Christmas Eve they get new pyjamas (not actually Christmas ones), a bath bomb and a few treats to eat when watching a film that evening.

We do this, chocolate advent calendars, small chocolate Santa, a new Christmas story each, new pjs, their Christmas mugs with their names on, crafts and sticker books for the month ahead. We also do a Christmas Eve box but don’t buy anything for it but pop in the snowman tonie/ night before Christmas hardback, their stockings to hang up and the plate for Santa

We do. My DC are too old for elf on the shelf & lots of the fun things that we used to do a few years ago such as going to see Santa. Just looking to inject a bit of fun now they're getting older.

Mine still get Xmas eve boxes of pjs and chocolates and they're 38,36,31 and 27!!! Gawd knows how many pairs of pjs they all own! The eldest still wears her ones from when she was 14!

The crafts/baking ideas are a good shout. Maybe a gingerbread house?
@Thewildthingsarewithme we always read The night before Christmas at bedtime on Christmas Eve too!

How old are they? If you are looking at Christmas themed story books they must still be quite young?

Christmas mugs and glasses depending on the age of the children. The works are doing 10 books for £10 and there are a lot of Christmas ones, for littlies only.

12 and 9 so a bit in between!

Your younger DC might enjoy the Christmasaurus books by Tom Fletcher - I’ve read these to my 9yo for the last 2-3 years and I’ve enjoyed them too (he can read them himself but it’s our bedtime routine for me to read to him for a bit too).

I did a 1st Dec box once but it didn’t seem to be overly appreciated so I haven’t bothered again, so instead I fill a wooden advent calendar (hand-painted myself from The Works/Hobbycraft) with chocolates. Sometimes I’ve found a very small item that will fit in the drawers either in a charity shop or on special in the supermarket etc that I put instead of a chocolate ie Lego minifigure

I have to admit all the children I know don't show much enthusiasm about anything other than the first few days of an advent calender and actual Christmas presents

If they get too much they get overwhelmed

Yeah, we do Christmas pjs/jumper, a new Christmas book and DVD, some bath stuff and advent calendars. And a craft kit (make your own Christmas cards or similar) if I can find a decent one. Gets more use out of everything (and my kids are young so it kicks off Christmassy stuff nicely for them.)

We do a Christmas box. It arrives the evening we put the tree up so end November, beginning December. It has in it treats for December like crisps, Pringles, Christmas chocolates. Sometimes it’ll have new pjs and fluffy socks. And tub of hot chocolate and some marshmallow. Sometimes a new book each. It’s just something to enjoy in the run up to Xmas. Always have after eights in there too and a Terry’s chocolate orange for dh.

We do this instead of an advent calendar and it has numbers on the front that count down. In our house, the elves (magical, invisible) do it.
Every morning there is a chocolate coin for each child. Lots of mornings that's it, but weekend mornings have a Christmas movie DVD. A couple of little crafts over the month. A new bauble one day. The characters from our nativity scene also appear throughout the month in there.
Christmas Eve has a book and new pyjamas. That's pretty much it, so no toys or actual 'gifts' just the feeling of getting ready for Christmas.
I don't think I'd want to change it much as they get older, I don't want to make Christmas any more expensive or harder to organise than it already is!

This is my plan. We have a selection of Christmas books we will bring out each year, I have got a playmobile nativity set from Vinted so will add that in (again will bring out each year), I think some of her Christmas clothes from last year will still fit so will add this in (but won’t go out my way to buy Christmas specific clothes in future), will maybe put in an advent calendar this year.

As she gets older I plan to add in Christmas themed chocolate, maybe a Christmas craft and someone suggested a ginger bread house kit.

My DC are late teens now and we have always done an advent box for when they got home from school on Dec 1st. We still do but we never did a Christmas eve box or elf on the shelf. It includes a new Christmas mug each, a few different Christmas hot chocolate flavours plus toppings to last til Christmas, an old favourite Christmas CD and DVD (although now we use spotify and netflix!), and a special little advent diary I make every year with an activity for each day. Dec 1st activity is usually "Get the decorations down from the loft".

These are lovely ideas but I think my kids would find it too much. We have hot chocolate about once a week anyway and they have more than enough pjs. We bring out Xmas books from previous years. as a kid we didn’t have much (never saw Santa etc) but everything just felt magical and exciting waiting for the big day. Ours get exited waiting for the first mince pie of the season :)

We do this. North pole breakfast and a box with the elf. Usually a Christmas cup from home bargains, pjs, some sort of festive sweets.
Then I dress the children in Christmas clothes every day of December. Because I'm ridiculous.

It's just all so much stuff.