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.

We used to do a ginger bread house ,sometimes a show : pantomime ; Disney on ice .
The best year was Peter Pan goes wrong.

Now they are older I think Dh and I will pop out to a cosy pub somewhere.

DH is Norwegian, so we're in Norway for the festive period. The tradition here is to celebrate on Christmas Eve, but we split it between both days.

Christmas Eve MIL will come to our home, we'll all decorate the tree which we'll get tomorrow. Everyone will chip in with cooking, really easy things that don't require loads of effort. Friends and family will come around and we'll have a buffet, the DC will open presents from them. Family (aside from MiL) will leave quite late on, then it'll be baths and Christmas pyjamas for the DC, off to bed. MiL will have an early night as she does a lot in preparation for us coming back to Norway in advance, the absolute star.

DH and I wrap presents from Father Christmas, listen to music, chat until quite late on. Make the place look ready for the morning which we do as a typical Christmas Day, and it's typically much quieter than Christmas Eve - another buffet but fewer visitors, etc. It all sounds busy but we love it!

We've been doing it for years so we've got it down to an art. It'll be easier next year as we're moving here permanently so way less faff as there'll be no travel!

Get up early, quick clean around, cleaner has been this morning thankfully. Food shop being delivered, so put that away, may have to nip out for any last bits or if I can, send the ds'. Wrap the stocking fillers for dp and ds' and last couple of presents. Put a Christmas film on. Then picky bits for tea and if the ds are home a murder mystery game. Then mince pie and carrot goes out (I still do this even though ds are adults 🤣) kick everyone to bed and put the presents out. Then bed.

Go out for lunch with my parents and DS, meet family for a drink in the pub after.
Drop mum and dad home, light fire, set the table for Christmas day, roast a ham and make the mash for the next day.

watch a movie with a glass of red and cheese.

Christmas eve is my favourite! It will begin (hopefully) with a nice chilled morning with DS5 and DD3, the elves leave them their Christmas eve boxes which always have fun Christmassy games! An inflatable Reindeer headband which you toss rings at to land on the antlers, a Christmas tree buzz wire game! These reappear every year and really get the giggles going 😊. Also Christmas colouring books and stickers. The elves also leave Cookie and gingerbread dough with sprinkles and icing pens so they are baked ready for Father Christmas. Late morning I will take the children to the local Co-Op to choose the Father Christmas any additional snacks they feel he might fancy and a vegetable for rudolph! This is mainly a ruse so DP can get the presents downs for the loft and stashed in the shed! No chance of doing that at night as the hatch / loft ladder makes the loudest noise known to mankind!

From 2pm we go to my dads where they host an open house and its a really lovely festive vibe, friends / neighbours / relatives come and go and my dad makes sure everyone's drinks are topped up and passes copious trays of homemade sloe brandies and gins! Always has a new obscure drink every year for everyone to try too! Accompanied by a buffet tea. Try to get home 7.30 latest for the children to do the santa plate, read the night before Christmas and then tucked into bed. Me and DP might make a start on the Christmas cheese if the buffet hasn't quite filled the hole! We have also started a Christmas puzzle so hopefully we will complete a few more pieces. Definitely the best day for me.

I’ll have a nice early sea swim while DH and the DC have a lie in. I’m going to deliver a couple of presents to friends who live locally. We’ll all take the dog for a long walk early afternoon then we’ve booked to go out for tea at 4.30pm. Back home afterwards to have baths/showers, PJ’s on and watch Christmas TV together.

I’m nightshift . Planning on a lazy day with kids maybe watch a few Xmas films

I’ll spend most of the day cooking and cleaning, then I’ll have a nice, relaxing walk, then I’ll get drunk with my mother in law and eat an unreasonable amount of mini cheddars.

I am a care leaver (30 years ago, now, as I turned 48, two weeks ago) with a rotten past, but happy home life, with a lovely Husband, two amazing children, and a first-class BA degree in politics and criminology (although with bad health, but we can't have it all!). And I just wanted to say that the majority of young people in care often appreciate and notice every small act of kindness, even if (for whatever reason) they are unable to show it at the time. Your job must have been incredibly hard at the best of times, but rewarding, too. Thank you so much for the positive differences in others' lives that you have been part of, and your colleagues, too. I hope you all have the most amazing Christmas x

We have a long breakfast in the morning, usually pancakes with magic radio on. We then relax around the house a bit with some Christmas television, the kids have generally then napped. Crib service at church in town at 5pm. After we go home and we actually have family over for an informal dinner on 24th, as we go to theirs on 25th. Kids obviously go to bed earlier after leaving treats out for Santa.

Its my birthday on xmas eve and we were meant to go out for lunch with in laws babysitting but they bailed as they have xmas wrapping to do. Would have been the first time doing something without the dc on xmas eve.

We usually do something child focused like softplay at a garden centre or cinema to get the dc out and baking for santa and then food prep if we're hosting. One of my dc has a birthday close to mine so we would have had family round and had cake already by then.
This year we're planning on going to the ice cream parlour and a walk

So sorry to hear about them bailing but what a lovely birthday (Christmas Eve and your new plans). Make sure you get a nice bottle of bubbles and a takeaway for after the kids go to bed too 👑

I have some cleaning to do in the morning, then we go out with the dc to mini golf. Home for the elf hamper to "magically" appear. Then we have a veg peeling party while watching The Snowman (the one thing at Christmas that's "for me" is the dc watching The Snowman with me, which they are very good about making time for). The dc decorate gingerbread cottages (which they made today).

Then baths (with Christmas smellies from the hamper) and new pjs (from the hamper as well) and we try to get them to go to bed before I die of tiredness. They are old enough that I usually leave them to it when I go to sleep, but I have to do the stockings.

im unfortunately working in the morning until 12, then home to prep and cook gammon and yorkies, Dc’s have thier Christmas Eve baths, change in to Christmas pjs. Chinese takeaway for dinner and then tv and games in the evening. When they were younger we used to drive around looking at lights, they don’t like that nowadays. Teens for ya…

Lots of Xmas Day prep (prepare the bird and veg, make the bread and cranberry sauces, etc) the cook a nice meal for Xmas Eve tea. Later, flake out with a Bond film!

Working till 3. Dh will hopefully try and exhaust the kids. Dinner, mass then bath the kids and a movie before the ultimate fight for sleep

Prep the veg, watch tv, wrap the last presents, have a drink, chat

We open our presents on Christmas eve 😁
and have a lie in on Christmas day. We won't have any breakfast, wack everything (already prepared) in the oven and have our Christmas meal (without dessert) around 2pm. We will then have our dessert at around 6pm with any leftovers (if still hungry).

Did the walk/lunch/home for movie day today. Tmw is about jobs....

Prep food. Make soup.
All take part in charity music performance in local small shopping mall.
Make a Yule log (wish I had never started this tradition but the kids look forward to it each Christmas eve)
Go to Mass
Get kids to bed and organise presents

I have no idea what we will have for dinner!!

kids are teens so we all do our own thing in the morning for me it’s the gym

food prep in the afternoon - me and DH

DH and kids go to church early evening

then we all go to xmas eve party at relatives house

What a useless excuse! Happy birthday! 🥳

Our teenagers have a friend who always comes round at about 11 to make cookies for Santa. They do that while I walk the dog/finish any housework. Then I make mince pies and cook the ham for our evening meal of Abendbrot (German cold meat and freshly baked bread etc etc). We all sit down to watch Muppets Christmas Carol before the kids have showers and get into Christmas pjs. Then it's julabokaflod so everyone gets a new book and we read by the fire together.

It's their last Christmas as children together (15 and 17) so I'm feeling a bit pressured to get everything 'right' for them. Christmas means the world to them.

Oh and DH disappears to a local bakery v early and had a nice time to himself....

Santa and snowman pancakes for breakfast - already done.
Setting off for a crib service at church soon.
This afternoon I’ll stick The Snowman and Snowman and Snowdog on while we bake FC’s cookies and some mince pies.
DH is driving DC around to see some local lights while I bring the Xmas Eve boxes down and do some final wrapping.
DC get new Xmas pjs so get changed into those.
We have a big buffet tea.
Have hot choc with marshmallows and watch a Christmas film
Read The Night Before Christmas and send DC to bed

I’ll be collecting my son from the ferry about an hour and a half away. He’s working today (retail). He has the turkey! My DD is making dinner and we’ll watch a movie. So nothing special but I’m excited to see him.