Christmas Eve box ?

[CJ98]

Opinion on Christmas Eve boxes…
I haven’t really had a need to do a Christmas Eve box but I have my own daughter now and I’ve always seen people do them. Are they worth it ? Are they worth it for a 6 month old baby ? What do you put in them ? It will be her first Christmas so I’m trying to make it as special as I can..

It depends why you're doing it, really. At 6 months, I'm guessing you're doing it for the photos/memories, so only you know whether it's worth it, your child won't have a clue!

I have done it in the past and kept it simple: a treat to eat after dinner and a Christmas puzzle or game. Basically something to occupy a very excited child on Christmas eve! I tend to do a 1st December box now (and book something fo Christmas eve to keep busy) with a new party-season outfit, advent calendar, Christmas jigsaw puzzle or lego kit to do throughout December.

I wouldn't bother for a baby (my daughter will be 7 months at Christmas and isn't getting one). We got a personalised box for our son last year when he'd just turned three as it was the first Christmas where he understood what was going on. I'm excited to fill it for him again this year :)

I'm doing one for my soon to be 1 year old but that's for her older sister really. This will be the first Christmas she can share it with a sibling all be it that sibling has no idea what's going on. I didn't do one last year at all for either of them as baby was only a few weeks old and I was a wreck 😂. I've had my Christmas Eve boxes for years just put pjs for photos for Christmas Day morning, hot chocolate and a craft thing/colouring book/something to entertain themselves with in the evening so I can prep bits for Christmas Day.

I do a box for my son but he doesn't get a stocking on top of it. It's either one or the other.

In it we put:
Smellies
New pjs
A couple of small arts and crafts sets
Lego
A book
A few sweets
Something to bake in the kitchen

I wouldn't do one for a baby. They're too young and won't care or remember. Get them a nice rattle or something. I started doing my son's X-Mas eve box when he was around 3 (he's 10 now).

I don't never have, and 1000% glad it's something I never started, especially when Christmas Eve Baby appeared to make Christmas Eve busy and complicated forevermore!

When I first heard about them on forums 13 years ago it was pjs, hot chocolate, books and DVDs were the things to put in them.

DVDs are no longer a thing
There's limited Christmas books beyond picture books.
And once you start something like that how do you stop because kids will look for it into their late teens ?

They're part of the Magic Of Christmas nonsense that is designed to make people part with their money.

Do it if you want to make a rod for your own back.

If the baby is six months old, she'll enjoy chewing on the box itself, I suppose.

Bah humbug.

Might be bah humbug to you but @mathanxiety makes very good points.

Consumerism at Christmas has gone mental advent calendars at £20-30 each, Christmas Eve boxes, Santa Experiences all things that just put extra pressure on parents.
And that's before you actually get to Christmas Day and Santa lists!

Op think carefully about what you start because ending traditions is much harder than starting them. Same with Elf on the Shelf a fair number of parents would like to kill the Elf of

Are they worth it for a 6 month old baby ?

Love, is that a genuine question? Obviously not.

I don't think they're worth it for much older children either. Don't do Elf on a Shelf or any other new Christmas crap either. Concentrate on the basics. Decorate in a way that you love, eat nice food, spend proper time with each other, sit and watch something Christmassy (whether that's Die Hard or It's a Wonderful Life), have some nice gifts on the day.

Let all the Insta-plonkers do the stuff that looks good on SM but is meaningless to children.

Christmas: the twenty-first century festival of landfill.

About ten years ago before they were a "thing" a friend described this to me and it was a wrapped cardboard box with Xmas pjs, hot chocolate and a dvd. I thought that was sweet and did it for my kids for a couple of years (they were 3 and 5) but it wasnt a commercial thing that you bought. I absolutely wouldn't bother for babies. When mine were tiny we worked hard to rein in the grandparents so they weren't overwhelmed with mounds of stuff. They're teens now and it's just the three of us usually. We have one tradition of visiting a country house that gets all done up but otherwise I agree try not to be railroaded into all the "must do" stuff.

We don't. It's another commercialised bit of tut designed to make you spend money. It's perfectly possible to have a lovely Christmas Eve without them. DS and I have hot chocolate and marshmallows and curl up under a blanket and watch a Christmas film. Always works for us.

I really love Christmas and buying presents, but I'd advise not to get into this. It's more money, more Americanisation and another thing to organise, and like the vast majority of Xmas stuff it's mums who end up doing it every year. As @MrsTerryPratchett said, decorating and things like Christmas films and music and baking build up the atmosphere and create memories just fine.

Speaking of which, your post brings back happy memories, OP. My DS was 6 months old for his first Christmas. It was a beautiful day and he spent a lot of it trying to eat the wrapping paper!

We don't. We do an advent box that arrives on the 1st December with their advent calendars, Xmas books, sheets, new PJs, chocolate and hot chocolate bits in. Means we get better use out of the Xmas stuff rather than just one night where it gets absorbed in the other Xmas eve fun. Also quite a nice way to get out the xmassy bits like the decs for their rooms etc.

I used to put in a Christmas film (we already had) popcorn some treats and hot chocolate no money spent

To get the best use year after year do a 1st dec advent box, calendar, bed linen (same each year) & new tree Dec.

In Xmas eve do pjs, snowman soup( hot chocolate) popcorn, Santa plate, Xmas mug, both same each year, reindeer food, oats with food safe glitter, magic key if no chimney & good letter. 'Movie ticket/ movie voucher' then stream a Xmas movie.

Then Xmas morning stocking with Book, small Lego, chocolate/ sweets. Craft set. And the joy of finding crumbs on plate. Only stocking is from Santa at ours.

Only start doing the elf if you are insane....

We haven't bothered previously but am considering this year doing a box of stuff to help them get to sleep...

Christmas bath bomb, new yoto card, that sort of thing

Only buy new food stuff etc rest is same each year. Letter is same template but newly printed at home, obs written for that year and references school report/achievements etc

Well we’ve moved on to ‘boo baskets’ this year ...

8 & 11

It’s basically a basket with Xmas Eve box stuff in wrapped up with a bow. The girls have asked for one each and I don’t mind. I actually prefer Xmas Eve to Xmas day.

I’d say at 6 months a cute pair of Xmas Eve pajamas and a teddie is enough for some nice 1st Christmas Eve pics 😁🎄( I’d be totally dressing them up as an elf 😁😁)

For us, it's a way of setting up a routine and expectations for a calm bedtime on Christmas Eve, so only do it at 6 months old if it would be fun for you, and maybe take some time to think about how you like future Christmas bedtimes/morning to work.

Are you likely to be staying at a different house in Christmas Eve? If so, what will be different from your child's home routine? What do you want to happen if they wake up in the night? How are you planning for them waking up early with excitement? Then plan your routine around that, so that your children actively look forward to going to bed, have a routine to help them feel calm and secure on a day when lots of things are out of the ordinary and very stimulating, and make sure that they know what to do if/when they wake up.

Then put things that are part of that routine in a box or bag or basket or pillow case or whatever and you've made bedtime something to look forward to rather than complain about.

We do a new set of pj,s and a magazine , in the past I have bought things like a CBeebies Christmas magazine .

I do new Christmas pyjamas (yes, they are worn all year round!) one of those hot chocolate spoons, a bath bomb and a Christmas book or magazine. It's all designed to create a nice evening with a relaxing bath, new jammies and a hot chocolate for when we watch Polar Express (Christmas Eve tradition)

We do it for my daughter - I don't think I started until she was almost 3. In ours, it replaces the advent calendar gift for 24th. Usually contains - the magic key for santa to get in, our sleigh bell, our plate for the cookies, some hot choc, a book to read before bed, a christmas bath bomb and maybe a small craft/toy.

I know people hate them but my daughter loves it. It is mostly reusable stuff or things we would buy anyway. Somehow putting this in a box makes people furious!

Never had them what's the point.

My daughter will be 7 months old on Christmas Day. She has no concept of Christmas and is getting a few baby books and maybe a Jellycat on the day itself. Not a chance I'm going down that Christmas Eve Box route! It's tat no one wanted until social media came along!