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 will have a lazy start to the day, then go out for a walk mid morning to work up a lunch appetite. Then probably DH will nip out to do some last minute jobs buying his presents and we will watch a christmas film snuggled up on the sofa with hot chocolate and maybe a few chocs from the tree/heroes box.

Then some family are coming round and we are having a party in the later afternoon for the children, lots of music, games, dancing and party food. This will wind down at around 7/8ish, then into new christmas pjs, leave out a mince pie and a carrot, then kids into bed. Then DH and I will tidy up, eat some more party food, and finish sorting out anything left over. Then 'make sure Father Christmas visits' and into bed ourselves, in preparation for the 5am Christmas morning onslaught!

Wrapping last minute pressies and decorating/assembling the christmas cake that I've made for the last few years - chocolate cottage with flakes on the side and choc fingers on the roof. Then, with everything ready we relax, watching xmas telly and maybe a nice bottle of wine.

I do some present wrapping, watch a christmas film, have party food with Mum, Dad, sisters and their families.

This year is our first year celebrating Christmas as a family of four- alongside extra celebrations as my youngest was very poorly in hospital for the first month of his life (and my final month of maternity leave!) normally I work over Christmas so this year will be quite lovely to be at home & being able to join in the excitement. We plan to get up- look at our final kindness elf - delivering Christmas cards to the neighbours & then come home for hot chocolate, Christmas music & have a messy morning making a gingerbread house (might be messy with a three & 9 month old!) I plan to have a “big tidy” after lunch ready for Santa and then watch a couple of mini Christmas movies stick man, the snow man & the gruffalos child before getting dressed and attending carols round the crib / 6pm mass. On our way home the baby will probably fall asleep in the pram, get home into our pjs read a few of our favourite Christmas books whilst daddy gets pizza when daddy’s home we run out & pop sparklers into the garden as a “run way” for Santa, leaving out cookies & milk , then snuggle up on the sofa watching polar express before carrying a very asleep toddler to bed. Finally hubby and I set the room up- paper snow flakes, Santa’s foot prints & the pressies under the tree. And we finally go to bed ourselves usually just after midnight! Very excited 😄

We often have a film marathons as a famliy and eat some hearty food. It gives us an opportunity to catch up with one another and have fun at the same time.

Last bits of food shopping - not too much so it doesn't get stressful! Go to the family Christmas service at church which always makes it feel like Christmas. Wrap up last presents in front of TV after children in bed. Enjoy a tipple.

We don’t tend to do anything special on Christmas Eve, it’s usually too hectic with three young children. Last minute deliveries of cards, last minute tidy up and buy anything we’ve forgotten!

Actually- in the evening we always leave out a special chocolate and milk for Father Christmas and a carrot for Rudolph, before getting the children to bed and waiting for them to go to sleep!

Christmas Eve is my favourite. Usually pop into town to heat some carol singing and have a hot drink. Quick pub visit before home for snacky tea, new pyjamas and books. Sprinkle out some reindeer food and have Christmas story. Leave our goodies for Father Christmas and reindeer and then get to bed. DP and I then spend ages sorting the presents, reattaching gift tags which have fallen off and I try and remember what I’ve bought!

We generally just relax, watch some Christmas movies and I get ready wrapping last minute presents etc. We try and get an early night so we're not too tired on Christmas day.

Cook ham, last minute shopping, dh entertains kids whilst I do ask jobs: wrap most presents, take card to neighbour who has birthday on xmas eve, pack to go away, pack all Santa stocking gifts into big suitcase separate from other gifts. Drive to parents. Kids make/ decorate labels for their Santa stocking (ie. Pillowcase). Nice evening meal with parents (salmon or beef usually)and possibly last minute wrapping whilst everyone else watches a film or something on tv (my parents still buy a tv guide for us all to look through!). Stop Baileys. Get kids to bed and then fill stockings and out on hearth.

Start prepping food for Christmas Dinner & wrapping presents! I also take my daughter out for a walk or we do crafts if its rubbish weather and read christmas books !

Christmas Eve is a very busy day in our family life and particularly for myself. We have breakfast and then I would dash to the shops for the last minute of food shopping or get a few gifts. Around lunchtime, we might take children out for a meal or a walk to the local park . I enjoy all Xmas excitement and rush.I am driven to make our Christmas each year better and better. My children are actively involved in festive preparations by making decorations, helping with baking or chopping vegetables. Around evening all family would relax and watch Christmas movies or play games. Soon after that my children are asleep I would wrap last prezzies. After quick check that everything is in order,comes my time to have a rest. Christmas Eve, it's maybe a busy day but next is so rewarding to see that everyone is happy and enjoys good food.

We go ice skating. It started when the girls were very young and found it torture waiting for bedtime on Christmas Eve, we decided to do a fun family activity to try and pass the time and also to wear them out a little. As they got older we started having hot chocolate and making more of an evening out of it and we still do it every Christmas. It's now become a family tradition that we look forward to every year.

We always spend christmas eve with my bf's family and his aunts etc. It's a big family do

Christmas eve morning will be spent finishing off wrapping presents for and with the children, and any preperations for Christmas days dinner. I may make mince pies with the kids if we have time, but the aftenoon is reserved for 9 Lessons and Carols at Christchurch Cathedral at 3pm. A nice gentle activity with the sounds of the choir and the stained glass windows. A quiet pause which we all appreciate before we go home to have a dinner with my sister and get ready for bed with great excitement for the following day.

In recent years, as little as possible. We'd just moved house and then lost MIzl in short succession, last year and the boys have asd and find too much Christmas a bit if an ordeal, anyhow. If the weather's good, we'll probably go for a walk and I'll cook a ham that will probably have been demolished by boxing day.

We get cosy and watch films, drink hit chocolate and wine! Then, once the kids have gone to sleep I run around like a mad woman finishing the wrapping, stuffing the stockings, peeling the spuds ..... I also try and squeeze in one of the carol services on tv.

Last minute food bits and then family time, games/movie before leaving treats for santa.

Church for a crib service for the children to understand the meaning of Christmas and to sing a few carols, even though we are not regular church goers. A visit to family and friends, early dinner before Christmas Eve boxes which include pyjamas, a dvd, reindeer food and a book. Then we snuggle and watch the DVD in new pyjamas before leaving out snacks for Santa and the reindeer and in bed for 7pm, before Mummy opens the Xmas wine.

we have christmas eve breakfast with my husband's extended family at a department store, about 40 of us, we exchange pressies for under the tree then all go to get the fresh veggies for xmas. Walk in the afternoon as we want a good nights sleep from the small ones, Christingle service and then christmas stories before bed, of course including the night before christmas. New pjs on too. I love it!

Our younger son's wife is Swedish and she always puts on a lovely traditional Swedish supper for us on Christmas Eve. I look forward to it.