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

Hi all. What is a Christmas Eve box? My kid is 15, is this a new thing?

I take DD to Christingle whilst DP cooks a nice dinner. After dinner we open some wine and watch christmas TV or a DVD. We have bath bomb bath's and change into PJ's and watch some more christmas TV before bed.

Kids have a Christmas Eve box when they get up, with new pjs, dvd, book, Christmas coloring/crafts and bits and pieces to keep them entertained.
I always cook the gammon and turkey in the morning. OH usually gets an early finish so we pop round to see local family/friends to drop off and pick up presents.
Then back home to buffet style dinner, new pjs and the movie before bed.
Kids are still young so we do the whole treats for Santa and put stockings out. Then me and OH crack open the wine and wait until they fall asleep to put presents out.
Love Christmas Eve and all the excitement from the kids.
We try and get a reasonably early night as no doubt will be woken up by kids bouncing on our bed yelling "he's been, he's been!!" Magic!

I'm in work this year, but after work I'm going to take the kids to see the Christmas lights around the local neighbourhood. Then we can come home and get into new pjs and maybe watch a film. They are so excited.

We meet for breakfast with our friends and their kids, then go to the pantomime, come home and watch a Christmas film whilst preparing for lunch for Christmas day!

Firstly, we avoid shopping like the plague! We usually watch some Christmas films, finish off the wrapping and start prepping good for the big day. This year we'll also be visiting my mum as it's her first Christmas since going into care, so we're all visiting on different days over the whole festive period to make sure she's involved as much as possible.

It’s my birthday Christmas Eve, so growing up we always had all of the aunts uncles cousins and grans over for a bit of party food and to exchange Christmas presents with each other.
Me and my cousins and 2 older brothers were normally outside on the lawn with the security lights on playing football in the dark or sat in front of the fire watching a film whilst the grown ups were laughing in the room next door, now in my 30’s my husband and I have an open house where friends come over to exchange gifts or come for a Christmas drink and just have some quality time together before the mad panic of cooking the dinner perfectly for Christmas Day.
Love Christmas, so many very happy memories!

We go into the Christmas markets in town then come home and watch home alone 1 & 2 💗 now we have a 9 month baby so it will be even more special this year xx

When the kids are up, we try to take it easy, and not get them over excited.
So go out for a walk, play some board games, and then watch a Xmas film together.
Once their in bed, its all about wrapping presents and getting everything prepared for the next day.

Christmas eve is as exciting as the day itself!

We all get up and open our christmas eve boxes! We always buy bath fizzes/bombs for each other and try and find the most magical ones we can and try and outdo each other to compete for the best buy! We have our relaxing baths and then get into our new snuggley pjs and bring all the duvets down and have a full on movie day with munchies and takeaway for tea.

During the day we usually play some board games too. My mini people absolutely love board games.

This year will be a bit different too as we have done a family secret santa. Myself, partner and children all had £10 to buy something for each other. My youngest loved buying (for her big sister) and just bought unicorn things and things she liked herself just so that her big sister would share with her too hahaha and we have decided that we are opening them at 8pm on christmas eve before all the minis go to bed :D

I love Christmas Eve, in the day time all of our family get together. We eat afternoon tea, wear our Christmas jumpers and play games or watch films. Later that evening those of us who are religious go to church and others, who aren't staying for Christmas Day, go home or to where they are eating Christmas lunch.
In the evening we put in our Christmas pjs and set out the food and drink for Father Christmas and his reindeer, and we prepare the vegetables for Christmas Day.
Once the children are in bed I lay out the presents and hang the stockings. I love Christmas Eve as all of our family are together and it's magical even as an adult.

It will be the first engaging/memorable Christmas for my little girl (she’ll be 19.5m) so we want to start our Xmas family traditions.

We’ll be in Scotland, so maybe a walk in the snow 🤞🏻 followed by some hot chocolate by the fire and a Christmas film/cartoon (probably swapping over at times as we prep the veg for the following day).

We’ll then go to the Christmas Eve carol service and then when B is in bed and asleep, we’ll put out her pressies and relax with a drink ahead of the excitement of Christmas morning!

This year I'll be working. My husband and children will have a quiet day, getting the house ready and maybe going swimming.

We have a cooked breakfast when we get up then get dressed in our christmas jumpers and santa hats and head to a local country park to look for santas reindeers and have a walk. We head home looking at the pretty lights for takeaway pizza dinner and a christmas movie in our new christmas pyjamas. Before bed the children put a mince pie, carrot and a glass of milk on the hearth for santa and hang their stocking on their bedroom door handle. We then wait until they are fast asleep before bring down the parcels and putting them under the tree. Christmas eve is my favourite day of the year :)

When the kids were younger we used to make a fun thing of going to the shops to find bargains last minute. Then Christmas day food prep. Now they are teens they still love to make a ginger bread house together whilst listening to Christmas music.

Usually an easy dinner of buffet party foods, and DS leaves out a mince pie and glass of sherry for Father Christmas!
If we watch The Snowman I have the annual embarrassment of trying not to cry at the end....(please say it's not just me!?)

Then once DS is asleep we bring the presents down and lay them out ready for morning.
And it's all as relaxed and stress-free as possible!

A family day with board games, then an easy dinner and a trip to the cinema!

Its our family special time, Christmas day is for friends and extended family but Christmas eve we open our Christmas eve boxes, play games and watch films, great fun

We have a roast on Christmas eve (instead of Christmas day) and the kids get to open one present early. Then when the children have gone to bed, my husband and I exchange our gifts so that Christmas day we can focus on the children. Seems a weird tradition but it works for us!

Love Xmas eve. No hard and fast trads. But last year was one of the best - went to help friends who prep the veg for a communal Xmas dinner for 100+ lonely old folk in the area. These friends are saints and also cook and deliver the stuff the next day.
Anyway it was great fun getting together to do this - Xmas music and silly hats and lots
Of sprouts!!! Hopefully doing the same this year.

The day time is spent watching TV and last minute preparations. When it gets dark we (myself, dh and dds)go out for a walk with friends to look at the christmas lights on our estate and then come home for a warm buffet and a few drinks. After this we watch TV, eat chocolate and enjoy each others company.