What you do on Christmas Eve? Share with McDonald’s - £300 voucher to be won

[EllieMumsnet]

Whether Christmas Eve in your household is the calm before the storm or the storm before the calm, it can be a great day to just spend some quality time with family and/or friends. Christmas Eve is celebrated in a whole host of different ways, with traditions varying from going for a long walk, to having chinese takeaway for dinner, to even guessing what the presents around the tree are. With that being said McDonalds would love to hear what you and your household gets up to on Christmas Eve.

Here’s what McDonald's has to say: "“We know it’s a hectic time of year for families, so if it’s a quick coffee when you’re out shopping or popping in on Christmas Eve for some free Reindeer Treat carrots, we are here to help you get #ReindeerReady on your way to Christmas 2018!”

Is Christmas Eve a time where you stay in your Xmas pj’s all day and watch films? Perhaps you like to go to you the pub with friends and family? What about going for a winter walk around your local park? Are you still prepping the presents and dinner for Christmas day? Do you and your family host an annual Christmas Eve party? Or maybe you have a traditional Christmas Eve breakfast, lunch and dinner that you look forward to all year round?

Whatever you and your family gets up to on Christmas Eve share it on the thread below and everyone who does will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

We have a buffet, watch christmas dvds in our pajamas and drink hot chocolate, then when the kids are in bed we crack out the wine and nibbled and finish off the wrapping and sort out the stocking presents which we sneak up and swap at bedtime. We used to do carrots for reindeer but dd is on the cusp of not believing now so I dont think we'll do it this year.

Xmas eve is DH birthday. Before we had DD we used to go out for a meal but don't find it fair that everywhere then whacks a 10-20% tip on the bill 'because it's christmas', then being restricted to an overpriced set Christmas menu. No it's my husbands birthday.

Now we have DD we haven't done anything special/something that has become tradition. If it's mon-fri DH is usually at work as their office is still open. We have once gone bowling. Otherwise we just have a small picky tea in the evening for any family that want to wish DH happy birthday/drop stuff off for DD for Xmas day.

It depends. Open to offers! Otherwise it is lovely food, nice drinks, maybe watching Miracle on 42nd St, again.....guess what our present are (oh yes, I am often doing last minute shopping and a lot of wrapping, after the DC are in bed).

It used to always be a curry out or takeaway curry in the evening with 2 of our best friends.
Since having children though we haven't managed that.

My twins are only 21 months so no traditions yet, but I'm looking forward to starting some.

It depends what day it falls on as to whether I'm working or not. Our local church do a nice family evening service which the DC enjoy. Then we may watch a movie.

Generally it's a fairly quiet day, we try not to have a heavy dinner so there's plenty of room for more goodies on Christmas Day. At night we go to the cinema to see something Christmassy. This year it will be a bit different as we've got a 6 month old.

We have a chilled day, maybe do some Christmas baking or something crafty, whatever the DC decide. In the evening, the DC each get one present to open, then we watch a Christmas movie, and have lots of snacks and hot chocolate.

Long walk in the woods with the children and dog, family nativity service, something quick and easy for dinner, popcorn in front of Snowman/Snowman and the Snowdog, children in bed after bath and stories, crack open some drinks with DH and food prep for the following day while watching a Christmas movie and then setting up Santa presents for the morning [santa]

Go to the panto, have a hot choc, and then go to the christingle service.

We take turns with our neighbours to host a get together, buffet food, the kids exchange gifts and randomly play hide and seek and other games which involve lots of running around and giggling and the adults all relax! It's great because the kids are exhausted by bedtime and we all get a lie in for Christmas Day!

Always lasagne, chippy chips, Arthur Christmas and wine.

We always go to a friends party. It’s the highlight of the year: we all put a fiver into the pot, get a takeaway and play a game where we all bring a silly gift wrapped in newspaper and swap them around so everyone gets something random. It’s such a fun evening and sets the festivities off nicely.

Tidying round in the morning and cooking ham joint, setting the table ready for christmas dinner. Then we go to my parents for lunch and deliver presents to the rest of my family (this is my fave part of christmas is when all the family; cousins/aunties/nieces etc all get together to share the excitement), then to family carol nativity service at the local church
then home for little buffet tea, baths, pj's on, christmas film/tv, santa treats, kids in bed....wine/chocs/nibbles with dh, then bed :)
Christmas eve is my favourite day of the year!

We try to have a family day doing something fun and avoiding shops at all cost! We often go to see whatever that year's Xmas movie is at the cinema and then have a buffet style dinner at home, which the DC call 'a feast'. We have 5 DC and they are still relatively young so it always feels quite special.

We always have a Christmas movie and then a cheese fondue. It's a lovely way to spend the evening

I love Christmas Eve with a passion.

We put dinner in the slow cooker and a glazed ham joint in to slow cook, plus steam the pudding and cook a few batches of mince pies and sausages from the freezer (made earlier in the month). Aim is to make the house smell lovely. Then we go out for the day, leaving dinner cooking.

We always visit family and friends who we won't be seeing on the day itself, including my Grandma who is in a home and leave them with homemade goodies and gifts. Then we go to the woods or coast for a very long walk. Home via a carol service and then stew/casserole and warm bread by the fire.

Children help me bake and make truffles and then they have a bath and read/watch Christmas films while I do veg prep, assemble pigs in blankets, make bread sauce etc. We hang stockings, leave out a carrot and some milk/cookies and then read several books, always The Night Before Christmas last.

Once the children are asleep, we do all the requisite snowy footprints, stocking stuffing type magic and then watch a film or read.

Just get all presents out and organised and prep Xmas lunch

Christmas Eve is my son's birthday- a challenging day due to it being the day the relatives arrive and the all prep for the big day having to be done. He is adopted so we also have to be mindful of the mixed emotions he feels on this special day. To make it extra special we combine our Christmas Eve traditions (cinema, Mother Christmas box etc) with his birthday cake and friends coming over birthday / Christmas Eve tea.

As little as possible! We're terrific nerds, and everything is usually wrapped, decorated, chopped, prepped, frozen, whatever by Xmas Eve. Except for the fresh veg. We buy and prep those on Xmas Eve.

No rituals, really. Burst of activity and bursts of laziness.

Usually I have Xmas Eve off work so we will pop to the highstreet for hot chocolate and casually wonder about enjoying the hectic atmosphere. In the evening we get a take away, open our xmas eve boxes, get into Pjs and watch a film

‘Where’s the SELLOTAPE?!’
‘Keep the cat out of that room’
‘Where are the scissors?!’
‘Keep the door shut’
‘Where is the ribbon?!’
‘Don’t let the cat into that room, she’ll try to play with the tree decs’
‘Mum, where are the tag thingies?!’
‘In the box with the sellotape and ribbon’
‘Oh’
‘Where’s the cat?’

I'm a single parent and the kids are starting to get older now (8 and 11) so when they are with me for Christmas eve we make the most of it. It is my favourite day of the period.

We normally have a day out doing something christmassy - this year its Longleat for the festival of light (not seeing santa - the real one is busy that day so we know its not him ).
On the way home the youngest will be spotting for Santa in the sky, depending on time we may stop for a maccies for dinner or get home to something lovely and slow cooked - beef casserole etc.

Then the kids get PJ's on, do the usual santa stuff, quick check on NORAD to see where the big guy is and into bed!

I then pour myself a large baileys and get sorting everything - often falling into bed well after midnight, ready to be woken super early!

We usually do the Christmas food shopping which is a crazy time to do it, but I love all the rush and excitement of it. We usually take two trollies and fill in everything we need. Last year our Tesco is next to a McDonald's drive through so we got a hot chocolate from there before we started!, coming home we put on Christmas films and music, I do Christmas Eve boxes with the kids. We all put our pjs on and have a drink and a light buffet, I always wrap the last few presents up and make sure it's all ready for Christmas Day. And just before bed I lay everyone's stocking out! Can you tell I'm excited?

Prep for xmas day lunch, then a walk with dog and kids to try and tire them all out a bit.

Mass at 5.30 followed by dinner with my parents.

Try and convince children to go to bed, then last minute wrapping / present arranging.

I LOVE Christmas eve!

It’s got to be snuggling up in PJ’s and watching a Christmas classic before having an early night and waiting for Father Christmas to visit!