What do you do on Christmas Eve?

[Keepingitsimple101]

I know some people will be working but does anyone do anything special?

We usually go for a walk then have a takeaway.

We are all ready for Christmas Day with presents wrapped and food shop done.

It’s my birthday on Christmas Eve, so cup of tea in bed opening presents comes first!

Go to a playground/for a walk, fairly normal day, then picky bits and a Christmas film. We’ll set the front room up ready for Christmas morning, bed!

North Pole breakfast for the dc.

Usually have forgotten something so pop to the high street.

We are going to the local cinema for an afternoon xmas film screening.

Christmas Eve mass
Go to the pub for a quick drink, it’s always rammed.

Leave out mince pie etc.

Veg prep and cook the ham, make mince pies for Santa, watch muppets Christmas carol

Morning is Christmas prep. Afternoon is getting ready for the big Christingle service (chairs, fire exits , lighting candles). There is also a midnight service to prepare for with choir practice beforehand, so our Christmas Eve tradition is to eat a largely pigs in blankets based dinner and rest between those two services. Once the kids were old enough for midnight mass and we didn't have to do Santa stuff any more, we started a tradition of putting the presents out before setting off for the midnight service. We would then seal off the sitting room off with spare wrapping paper.

Christmas Eve is when we celebrate but the day before that I'll be wrapping all the presents as I haven't even started yet, and in the evening we always go to sauna, then eat pizza and watch a Christmas film.

• wake up
•posh coffee
•hoover, mop, put bedding on to wash.
•go for a walking and nip into shops for last minute bits
•tidy kids rooms
•get kids arts and crafts out to the table
•order Chinese
•prep veggies while waiting for take away
•have dinner.
•throw kids in the bath, put Christmas pyjamas and slipper on
•put on Christmas movie, make kids hot chocolate
•hoover and mop, again.
•kids put out their sacks, cookie, milk, carrot for Santa and Rudolph. Then put to the garden to sprinkle reindeer food on the lawn
•put the kids to bed
•finish wrapping, fill sacks, sprinkle glitter on everything.. go to bed.

Pub 😁

We go out for a Wetherspoons breakfast. Go home and put a Xmas movie on in background then start prepping veg for gammon meal in evening. Adult DS coming over for gammon meal. DH also preps all vegetables for Xmas day and I prep turkey crown with streaky bacon and butter under skin and make the sausagemeat stuffing balls. Before bed we prep table for Christmas lunch and wrap the rest of the Xmas gifts.

Everyone receives a wrapped up book first thing - (something they really want to read)and the day revolves around reading, a board game, hot chocolate and home made pizza.

We stole the book idea from the Icelandic tradition when the children were tiny and it’s stuck. They really enjoy Christmas Eve.

We don’t do midnight mass as they are still young but we have done several services this month. So Christmas Eve is a chilled day.

We make mince pies and jam pies and make decorations for the tops from the left over pastry. It is something my brother's and I did as children so I've carried it on.

We'll have a roast dinner, since we don't do one on Christmas day. Then maybe finish putting lights up and baubles on the tree. I'll try to persuade the teens to watch something with me.

We’re having a chilled out morning. Probably a small breakfast, game/puzzle, bit of tv. Then over to ILs for lunch and will stay for a few hours as SILs and their families will also be there.
Home around 4 via a drive to look at lights.
DM is going to visit for a hour.
Bath for LO, film (the snowman and Snowdog probably), put out shortbread, whisky for Santa then LO to bed with Night before Christmas.

Bring presents out of hiding, eat the shortbread (DH), drink the whisky (me), eat something for tea then celebrate being done with Home Alone and a few drinks

Load the car with tons & tons of presents and travel to see Family for 2 or 3 days
Love it

Ham day . Bake a ham and eat it.

Same Op. We walk later on to see all the Christmas lights in our area and spend the afternoon playing games.

This year Wetherspoons breakfast too @caringcarer, then home to peel the potatoes, carrots and parsnips. Make the yorkshires. Make a delicious Yule log (Mary Berry’s recipe). Dog walk and then home for pizza and a Christmas movie. Scoff some Yule log. Leave some out for Santa (me). Then little ones tucked into bed and Die Hard (yes, it is a Christmas movie) for the grown ups.

Merry Christmas everyone!

DS and I will make mince pies in the morning and we will have a nice walk. DH will collect BIL in the afternoon. 6pm is the church carol service which is my favourite part of Christmas. Christmas film in the evening after dinner of gammon, dauphinoise, veg and cheescakes.

When I worked in retail, Christmas Eve was my favourite time to work. Everyone (staff and customers) was in a good mood and we'd all go for Christmas drinks afterwards. Now I'm older with my own family, I appreciate not having to work though.

Usually I'm working, followed by food prep. This year we have family coming, so im off work. We are going out for a pub lunch with them, then will just go with the flow, play a game maybe. Ill have a beef cooking in the slow cooker while we are out and then food prep and chill in the evening.

I usually spend the morning doing some last minute food prep and get my eldest involved. I’ll also make the mince pies for the big man. The afternoon we’ll watch a couple of Christmas films with some festive snacks and then have a Chinese takeaway for dinner.

Then around 6pm Santa’s elves leave Christmas PJs and a Christmas bath bomb from lush on each of the kids beds so they have a nice festive bath, get into their new jammies, and lay their stocking at the foot of their bed. We usually then watch something like Stickman (something short) and put out the mince pies, carrot and milk for FC.

I love Christmas Eve as much as the day itself!

My older two children moved out of home this year, and we also moved house, so it’ll be a different Christmas this year! I think the older kids will come around for dinner, and they are also coming around for Christmas Day (can’t convince them to stay the night!). Christmas ham on toast for dinner and we’ll just hang out together. The presents under the tree will look different as well…all of the kids want money as they are all saving for different stuff.

My village sports club has a kids disco in the afternoon so i take my daughter there, they get given a selection box, play games to win lollipops and generally have a great time with friends. We all get to sit in the bar area and enjoy some drinks with friends.

We typically go to the cinema in the morning, then home to find the xmas eve box/pile. It will have a small game and craft activity in it (plus PJs). So the DC will play with that, and I'll spend a few hours preparing food for the next day. The DC might want to do some baking.

Then we will get a takeaway pizza, and hopefully get the DC to bed reasonably early.

Breakfast with Santa at the pub in the morning, panto at lunchtime and then home to make cookies for Santa and write a thank you card in anticipation for his delivery (she is on the nice list so far) , buffet/picky dinner with a christmas film and bath n bed for the little before I can get a glass of wine and await Santa delivering the gifts (i.e. take them out their hiding places)...early night in anticipation for an early start on Christmas morning.

It'll only be too of us. DH wants to walk up our local hill, so we'll do that and have a coffee - steep climb and we walk over the top, so will take a good chunk of morning. A focused last minute shop for anything I haven't got and quick hover, wipe around toilets/sinks. Play games, watch any Xmas programmes and a couple of luxury meals.