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..

like the vast majority of Xmas stuff it's mums who end up doing it every year

And then some chubby stalker man wearing red gets all the credit.

Mine never had any of this and Christmas is special and wonderful. I do also think that if you don't follow the herd, you create your own (sometimes weird) traditions. DD has to make a certain type of Thai soup on Boxing Day because we did it once. We try to get a pineapple because we did once. No one else is doing those things but they are Christmassy to us.

We have Christmas Eve boxes but I wish I’d done 1st December boxes instead. Think that’s much more useful.

I don't do a box or hamper as we can't afford extra things like this but I do make a point of buying a special Christmas hot chocolate kit for both of mine and we watch a Christmas dvd/film. Most high street shops have fun hot chocs depending on your budget. I got mine from B&M this year and it comes with a Squishmallows Christmas cookie.

I think this baby-aged is probably a bit young to start, but I do like our xmas eve box tradition.

Our routine is that we go out on xmas eve (for a walk, or to the cinema), and when we get home it's just starting to get dark, and we find a box on the stairs. It's an old hamper box I have had for years, and in it is normally PJs, a bath bomb, a snack or nice drink, and an activity of some kind to fill the gap until dinner - like a card game, lego polybag, DVD, etc.

I love it. I can't imagine my kids ever reaching an age where sitting down with some popcorn/hot chocolate and a new card game isn't the thing I most want to do on xmas eve.

This.

I used to do them when my daughter was younger (2 onwards with Christmas pjs, an activity book, things to leave out for Santa, a teddy and a bath bomb, etc), now I do a December box with Christmas bedding, candle, treats for the month.

A six month old baby has no idea whether it's Christmas Eve or the summer solstice. If you want to do something completely unnecessary like that, wait until they're old enough to understand it.

Mine are all grown up now so thankfully we missed out on the Christmas Eve Box/Elf on a Shelf and all that entailed. Our Christmas Eve has always been a lovely snacky meal, Muppets Christmas Carol and then I would read them The Night Before Christmas before packing them all off to bed. They do not seem to have suffered extreme symptoms of deprivation - although now I do let them open one present on Christmas Eve before bed, that they can choose themselves from their presents under the tree (although I do steer them towards opening something that's a nice smelly or something to read) when they stay over.

I would think very hard about starting a new tradition that involves additional time and cost every year. Especially given there are lots of gifts on Christmas Day. You can have a lovely tradition on Christmas Eve (admittedly when your baby is older than 6 months) that isn’t focused on gifts. We do a Christmas film, hot chocolate and games, for example.

My grand daughter will be 7 months old by Christmas and my daughter really does not want a fuss making this year. She is fortunate to have been given bags of almost new clothes so has already sorted out her winter clothes for this year and as their house is rather small, she is trying to limit toys and rotates things. She is also keen to buy as much as possible second hand so it’s been hard to find presents to buy the baby!

So I’m getting spring style clothes in age 12 to 18 months and one toy which my daughter and I have chosen. I might also buy a couple of toys to keep at my house. I’ve told all our extended family what size clothes to buy and also asked them for books rather than toys.

I know my daughter will not be starting the Christmas Eve box tradition and probably not the Elf thing either as although Christmas is a big thing in their house, we have enough family traditions from her childhood that she wants to continue.

It is going to be lovely to celebrate Christmas with a baby for the first time, lots of cuddles and kisses!

My son will have just turned one at Christmas and I've done this for him! We've got; Christmas pjs and slippers, new beaker, Dear Santa book, baby bath bombs, Christmas plushie, couple of teething toys and a Christmas bauble, oh and a few baby snacks. The box itself was cheap from Asda and a really good size!

I don’t do a Christmas Eve box. It’s not that I don’t like the idea of the contents, more the timing. It would make more sense to me to give it at the beginning of the month, maybe with an advent calendar in it as well. That way they can enjoy the contents in the build up to the big day.

When did all these boxes begin? All mine had was an Advent Calendar.

Goodness only knows but people have been talking about them on forums for at least 14 years.
Lots of people seemed to get new pjs for Christmas Eve long before Christmas Pjs were a thing. So their photos 📸 looked good in the morning.

Like many other things started small then became very commercialised.

At 6 months surely the only thing you'd put in it would be a sleepsuit, as she's a bit young for a bath bomb, hot chocolate or Home Alone! If you're going to buy a Christmas sleepsuit get it in time for her to wear throughout advent because obviously she won't fit it next year, and it'd be daft to buy it just for a few nights of wear.

I have never bothered, all the old Xmas books come out at the beginning of December and we read them at bedtime. Stream films throughout December. I do buy new pjs at the beginning of Dec for them to wear.

On Xmas eve I do a special breakfast which I think are now callled North Pole breakfasts or something. My parents did similar. I dress the table & they have porridge, hot choc, Xmas tree shaped crumpets etc. No point for a baby though.

It’s still pjs, hot chocolate stirrer sticks and a book in my house even for the 14yo. Not necessarily a Christmas book just something by a favourite author. My favourite part of Christmas is Boxing Day, loads of leftover food Prople can just open fridge and nibble and I can put in a solid reading day

Last year I done it for my two age 9&7
I bought the boxes and filled them myself

Its consumerism. Don't do it.

We just read Christmas books throughout the year 😬

I don’t really understand why they need treats throughout the month? There’s advent calendar & Xmas is quite social for us so they have plenty of treats already.

@fanaticalfairy one of my youngest went through a stage of wanting the same Xmas book read every day for months so my new tradition was pack Xmas books away in the new year 😆

Ah, no, you could put a few things in;

Christmas decoration
A small toy like a rattle
a book,
her stocking
Sleep suit

🤣