Christmas Eve (daytime traditions)

[631upper]

Just wondering what people do as their "tradition" with kids on Christmas Eve.

My usual plan isn't happening this year (only found out today) and I'd like to do something special!

Kids are 7 and 3. We've seen Santa, done the festive lights etc etc.

bonus points if it's inexpensive!!

I'll fall back on the cinema if need be, but that doesn't seem special. I also have crafts / baking if they fancy that.

Thanks!

Make the gingerbread house (although it's a train this year) then to the Christingle.

Panto

We'll do my practical jobs in the morning and then go to family for a simple lunch (bread and cheese). We go to the afternoon family service in Church at 17 00 and then stop by the pub on the way home. We usually go with our neighbours and their family as well as our extended family so it can be quite a crowd. We then go back to our house for cocktails and a big chilli. Kids are 19, 17, ,15 and 12 and we've done this for years now.

Christmas Eve is my favourite day of the year.

I do a special breakfast for the dc, then we do something active eg swim or walk. Either watch a movie at home or an oldie at the cinema & Christmas Eve mass with buffet party food for dinner. Plus last minute trips to the shops!

Dd only 4.5, but for the past few years it’s been making mince pies first thing, a long walk/ scoot, Christingle service at 4 and then we have a little get together with the neighbours in the evening and the kids all tear around the close together for an hour before we do reindeer food etc.

Fit in loads of food prep in there somewhere.

Either baking in the morning then soft play in the afternoon to run off their energy, or the other way around, depending on which works better for you. Norad Santa tracker, board games and film later.

DH and I get up early and head to M&S for opening at 5am to pick up food - it’s lovely that we do that together now - when the DC were small it was always me on my own as they couldn’t be left home alone.

We’re generally home by 6am, unpack the shopping and I head back to bed. DH does not, so when the DC were little he was available to entertain them - now they are all teens, they all sleep in and DH gets a few hours of peace and quiet to himself.

After a lazy morning we have a family dinner together for lunch - usually chilli.

Then in the afternoon we all watch Santa Claus the Movie and I prep anything that needs prep. (Although that’s very little - we’re very lowkey on Christmas dinner)

Then the evening is for church - when the DC were small we had a light snack tea and went to a family friendly service at around 6/6.30pm and then home and DC to bed. Now they are all teens, they go to the family friendly service as they know a lot of the kids in the community, and then they hang out with their friends all evening, getting takeaway and watching movies at the church, while DH and I have an evening of peace at home catching up on Carols at Kings and a movie. We then join them at the late service and finally all walk home together at midnight and get to bed.

I love Christmas Eve - it’s a very chilled out family day for us. It always was and our DV have always loved it even though there was never any big activities.

Baking, nice walk, crafts, preparing and rehearsing a play/music to perform to family on Christmas Day? As a kid it was either circus or cinema with cousins and it did feel very special, and still is as we don't often go to the cinema anyway

We used to do a beach walk and get McDonald's but stopped a few years ago after a rather brutally windy walk as the kids just plain refused to do it anymore 🤣. We do games after lunch, a takeaway for tea then a walk round the neighbourhood to look at Xmas lights

We used to go bowling until our local bowling alley closed. We loved it.

We go to the zoo every Xmas Eve. We come home early afternoon and make biscuits for Santa and then play a Christmas game. DH will collect the take away while I give the kids an early ish bath then it's dinner Elf and then reindeer food, shake the believe bell and leave the Santa plate out. I love Xmas Eve.

Mine are young too so just starting traditions. I do a special Christmas Eve breakfast (think pink milk, reindeer crumpets, cookie cutter shaped pancakes, fruit shaped Xmas tree etc.)
Go for a big scoot at the park and wander along the river.
Home to watch a film (Polar Express or Arthur Christmas this year maybe).
Buffet for dinner which kids eat by the Christmas tree on a picnic blanket which they love 😅 whilst I eat and pop open the champagne. Plus the Yule log they helped make.
When they’re both older, a new board game each Xmas eve.
The usual reindeer food, leaving stuff out for Santa etc!

We go to a local farm 10am until 4pm to visit santa and bake cookies with elves ect, then home for a disco bath ( glow sticks in bath, bubble machine on ect) new pjs and a Christmas book and then we have some crumpets with jam or cheese and a movie. At some point a biscuit and milk and carrots will be left out for santa.

My aim on Christmas Eve is to get my DD as knackered as possible so this involves lots of fresh air & ‘jobs’ so I make her really important in the process & she loves this & gets fully on board, she writes a shopping list of what we need for our buffet dinner. We then walk home via town & look at all the lights/decs.

We then have bath & pamper & she helps make our buffet dinner, then it’s film, new pj’s & early(ish) night full of lots of excitement.

I then have a glass of fizz to celebrate the elf fucking off back to the North Pole🤣

As well as a walk we baked gingerbread and cookies and decorated them last year.

This year we are just going to decorate pre-made biscuits. This type of thing

Mine are adults now so very different Christmas in our house . If DH and DD have their way the TV is usually hogged by a binge watch series with Tom Hardy or Cillian Murphy
Christmas Eve Ghost Story
Lunch at 1-2pm then an evening buffet for anyone hungry

When we had guinea-pigs we took their photos wearing hats in exchange for some Christmas veg.

When they were little :
breakfast pancakes , syrups, bananas
Lunch ( fish fingers/vegetable grills, chips , ice cream sundae ) about 1pm
Walk to feed the reindeer , when they were putting their wellies on I would "just go and check the back door is locked" and put the Christmas Eve Hampers by the fireplace
When they got home , they;d open the CEH , then bath and into new pyjamas .
Wind down with TV and put the tray out ( DD had a tea set from IKEA )

I bring my kids to work on Xmas eve, the job put on a free breakfast. Then we go home pick up DH and head to the phoenix park to see if we can find the reindeer, feed them some carrots and then we go to the church and light some.candles and grab a takeaway on the way home, into pjs Xmas movie and into bed.

Cook the ham
Cook the stuffing
Make the cheesecake
Make the soup
Prep the spuds
Prep the veg
Change the beds

Might look at the kids at some point. In all seriousness we'll try get out for some air in the morning and then a grandparent will be arriving at some point. Plenty of TV. Then a quick spin to "show Nana the lights" while DH makes sure all the Santa stuff is accessible and then into Christmas pjs and into bed.

We go to the crib service at our local church. The nativity story is told punctuated with carols. Children are encouraged to dress as a nativity character/animal then go to the front or parade around the church at the appropriate point in the story. Its very easy going, sometimes adults join in if we are missing a wiseman or another character. Some years we have multiple Mary's but last year none turned up so a 10 year old boy played her. We often get a dinosaur or maybe a superhero because someone wanted to wear their favourite dress up outfit. Its very low key and a fun hour Christmas Eve afternoon.

I love Christmas Eve! We open our Christmas Eve box containing; Christmas pyjamas, hot chocolate stirrers, treats for watching a film, reindeer food, key for Santa, etc.

DC and I usually bake. This year we will be decorating gingerbread house (already made the biscuit dough) and the Yule log. We usually make Christmas Day dessert but I have already made and in the freezer.

I prep the veg while DH and DC collect a Chinese takeaway. Then we watch Polar Express in our pyjamas and eat our treats.

Once DC is in bed we play Santa 🎅🏻🎄🌟🎁

What’s reindeer food? I put out a carrot

I love Christmas Eve. Here's what we have planned;

• elves bring Christmas Eve box, under the tree in the morning, which will have a film in, some treats, craft/ colouring book, hot chocolate supplies and gingerbread house kit.

• Christmas Eve breakfast, with Xmas crackers, we usually have Nutella wreath, fruit, marshmallow, squirty cream.

• usually pop out for a walk, to the park.

• back home, hot chocolate, pjs on, movie and some treats.

• make gingerbread house.

• colouring / craft.

• BILs family usually arrives and we exchange gifts early evening.

• party food tea.

My children are 4 & 1

When you have small children in December they regularly come home with pouches of porridge oats with various sprinkles etc (some more eco than others) for the reindeer. I think we have five this year - one each from a trip to see Santa, one from eldest's school, and two from primary schools dropping merch into youngest's preschool.

The hoover had some the other day and started to fly.

I'm very jealous of everyone's plans. I'm going to work. It will be manic as well. It's always at this time when we can't take annual leave over Christmas that I regret wanting to be a nurse.

This is cute. I like the reindeer food. Minus the year we had a mouse and the bstard found it,.dragged the bag across the living room floor leaving a trail of cotton wool (Santa's beard) oats and fking glitter across the carpet. Cue my husband on Christmas Eve-Eve yelling up the stairs 'ive spilt something don't come down whilst I clean up!' and a very hodge podge attempt of mimicking the mix with random items from around the house 😂 luckily at the time mine were 4 and 2 so were less observant. Zero chance id get away with it this year.

And to answer the actual Q. We go to the cemetery in the morning to hang a Dec for a relative that has passed. Stop for coffee at a cafe on the way home for cake, all whilst DH moves presents from under our bed to the boot of his car to make setting up easier in the evening. Return for movie, crafts, then a walk to look at the village lights. Pjs hot chocolate (I have colour changing harry potter this year!) and a long bath and bed. Then its set up time for pressies and a glass of bubbles for me when done.

Merry Christmas everyone