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

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Since DD1 was about 2, we have always booked a theatre visit for Christmas Eve, something festive & fun to get the kids in the mood. They don't find out about it/feat we are seeing until just before the day. We also see the family for a quick cuppa (& secret present exchange). Before bed the children get new pjs (a tradition from our own childhoods) a special bath bomb or bubbles & hot choc. Just before bed I read 'the night before Christmas' from a book my grandparents gave to me as a child.
I think we may have to pop in for some carrots this year if we get chance

I always have to work on xmas eve in but I get home around 7pm and we have a relaxing evening with some nibbles and tv.

We go for a winter walk then go home to nice food and watching a film with the kids.
We’ll do some prep for Xmas with the radio on after the kids have gone to bed.

Last minute food shopping and prep for Christmas day.
Watch Christmas film with DH and ds.
Go for a walk and maybe Carol service at church.
Read 'the night before Christmas ' with ds when putting him to bed.
Glass of wine or two with DH before bed.

Pick up the meat from the butchers, a walk if the weather is nice. Then in the afternoon bake the ham and cosy up with a Christmas movie.

It's Ds1s birthday on Christmas Eve. So we try to make the day as special as possible. He will be 14 this year. Everyone comments that he has a rubbish birthday but he loves it. I think being autistic he doesn't care what day it's on.

So in the morning I do a Christmas breakfast. Which is just Christmas tablecloth, Christmas paper plates, bowls and cups. Orange juice (water the rest of the year ) , mini boxes of cereal, tree shaped crumpets or bacon sandwiches. Ds1 then opens his birthday cards and presents. We then do a quick pop to the shops for any last minute food items and if ds1 has money for his birthday he might buy something.

Then at lunch time we have a meal out somewhere of the birthday boys choice. After lunch it's a stroll around the canal.

When we get home the Christmas Eve box is there. With new pjs for all, bath bombs, hot chocolate, marshmallows, activity books and chocolate. Everyone has a bath and puts on their new pjs. I then make hot chocolate for us all and we watch The Snowman and Father Christmas. Before bed the children sprinkle reindeer feed out the front of the house and we leave a mince pie and baileys by the fireplace for Santa. The younger two Ds then go to bed with their stockings and I read them the night before Christmas.

Once the children are in bed, DH and I have a few drinks and get a takeaway. I absolutely love Christmas Eve, it's my favourite day of the year.

There's usually some travel, either us going somewhere or people coming to us. Nice meal in the evening (but something light) and then midnight service at the Cathedral.

I may have to work from home if it's a work day but finish around lunch time. We watch Christmas films and at 4 go to children's service at church. Afterwards we have hot chocolate, all wear family themed pj (computer games this year) and leave something out for father Christmas. Last year it was toast and a can of coke. The reindeer always get carrots. We then read the nativity story and the night before Christmas and dc go to bed. Then dh and I finish wrapping, get all presents by the tree and fill the stockings before going to bed, hopefully before midnight!

It's a slobbing about day here. I do a normal shop, but for enough to last us until Boxing Day teatime. We leave out a bottle of beer and a mince pie for Father Christmas and a carrot for Rudolph. DD and I wrap presents and do stockings once DS2's in bed.

I normally have to go into the office for a couple of hours and DD came with me, we met DH on the main shopping street nearby afterwards for coffee and sandwich lunch and to buy DD birthday cake in M&S before going home (Boing Day baby).

Nowadays, DH also has to work Christmas Eve (near home), and there is a Christmas Eve swim near home, so I take annual leave, and DD and I swim while DH holds towels, in between popping into the office for a few minutes. (The swim is followed by hot drinks - hot choc and mulled wine - before we leave the sailing club).

We usually have a few small bits, which we could do without, to pick up on our way home.

Once we get home, we prep the veg for 25th and leave them to soak in cold water, while DH makes his annual phonecall to DMIL to ask how to cook the sausage meat for the stuffing. DD still makes cookies for Santa - but I always have a spare half a batch in the freezer from an earlier session just in case we don't have the time or energy on 24th to start from flour and butter....just slice and bake instead.

We lay out a smorgasbord type buffet for dinner of cured meats, fish and shellfish, dips and vegetable sticks, olives, cheese, nice flatbreads and crackers etc - lots of nice nibbly bits that we enjoy and everyone can pick what they want.

After dinner, the youngest in the house lights the Christmas Candle (to show that there is "room in our Inn" - an Irish tradition) and we remember the highs and lows of the year just finishing, and say a prayer for those who are no longer with us.

DD then drags out the Christmas Eve Hamper - a cardboard box that normally holds decorations, that now has new PJs for everyone in the house, festive bath bombs, hot chocolate mix, DD's stocking, her old plastic Santa plate and glass, her Snowman covered hot water bottle, and the family edition of Twas the Night Before Christmas.

DD lays out her stocking, glass of milk, cookies and a carrot before she heads off for her glittery bath and into new PJs. She comes back down for her own hot chocolate, and then snuggles up in bed where we read the book together.

DH and I hopefully have no other jobs to get done, and just relax for an hour or 2 beside the fire, before also getting an early night to let the Man in Red arrive.

there is a whole diferent atmosphere isn't there.i hate to say it but it is slightly magical.its know this is a different eve for some reason.and I love it! all is calmer.all is lighter.(sometimes) and there will be a Christmas album usually played at some point.
mince pies made.and demolished.
if wrapping and I say if because its actually pretty definite needs to be done then its done.and someone always gets told off for using too much.there will be the lost selotape when we had five reels!
films.
tv.
chilling.
depending on whos turn it is to be with then the other parent will come out for chrimstas eve chippy tea.

Have a nice meal with the family then read "the night before Christmas" to my little girl before her bed, then watch the father ted Christmas special!

I love Christmas Eve! We have Christmas nibbles all day and party food in the evening. My children are only very small but we draw Christmas pictures, visit family and put out reindeer food in the evening, before snuggling down and watching Christmas special versions of peppa pig, paw patrol etc. Then it’s chocolate milk, a look out the window for Santa and then a special bed time story before the big day. Can’t wait!

This might just be lazy me but this sounds absolutely exhausting! I somehow can't believe this can fit in one day....

Today 13:07ShowOfHands

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.

Pub and takeaway.

Nuff said.

I what's try and organise something for Xmas Eve. So we've done ice skating or a panto or just a pub lunch and a quick park trip all wrapped up warmly. I love the excitement of Xmas Eve. I've always weird all the gifts on Xmas Eve night but I'm realising that it isn't much fun anymore and I need to get that done in advance so I can relax!

We spend the morning doing some craft making cards for Santa whilst eating then during the afternoon we all prepare Xmas tea. We head to church for the cristingle service then come home and have Xmas dinner on Xmas eve so we can all just have fun Xmas day and not worry about a full dinner 💞

We have a day out.

Visitor attractions are deserted so you get the place to yourself!!
Other favourites are walks in Snowdonia/Lake district and trips to the beach if the weather is up to it!
We always pack a festive picnic and often drop by McDonalds on the journey back (not just saying that....we really do!) to warm up!
Then its home to clean up and get ready for midnight Mass.

Really nice tea then kids' short movies-Wallace & Gromit, Mr Bean's Christmas, Spongebob Christmas movie. Same few favourites for about 10 years. Mince pie and sherry for Father Christmas.

I always watch or listen to the Carols from King's like my mother used to. I usually collect the turkey, visit my parents with presents, do the preparation for Christmas meals and finally finish wrapping the presents when the final child has gone to bed.

Christmas Eve can be tricky because Dh works until a normal time. When he gets in we will have a buffet with the dc whilst watching carols from kings. Then we will all get in to pjs and watch maybe the snowman or similar. Then we will put stockings out and read the night before Christmas before bed.

Carols at Kings in the afternoon whilst making mincepies. Tea is party food. Baileys once kids in bed.
Brings happy memories of years gone by flooding back.

I love Christmas Eve and enjoy the excitement and anticipation of what is coming tomorrow.
I always have to do wrapping, no matter how hard I've tried to be organised. A long walk in the forest and back for Christmas films by the fire is my idea of enjoyment but I sometimes have to work which spoils my plans somewhat.

We usually just have a nice walk together and a chill day since the children have only just broken up from school and it would be my first day off work for the holidays.

I usually work (retail - not a food shop thank goodness, everyone is always very relaxed & it’s quite fun). Then at home we have a nice meal like a fondue or raclette followed by a film and/or board games and midnight Church service.