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

Christmas eve is almost more special than Christmas day because of the anticipation and more relaxed atmosphere. We generally go out for a walk/play in the park followed by a pint in our local (which has a lovely play area). Children get new pjamas and a little gift (a teddy) before bed, and adults have a cheeky glass of fizz. Bliss!

We have something low effort for tea and curl up together in front of a Christmas film. Then bing Crosby on the gramophone and we hang our stockings on the fireplace before the kids go to bed. Then we run around like mad things wrapping last minute presents and peeling potatos etc, before going to bed far too late, only to be woken up at the crack of dawn. Worth it though

Put the overexcited kids to bed, order a chinese takeaway and open a bottle of fizz. Then end up in a last minute panic wrapping presents before collapsing into bed!

Christmas Eve for many years was a gathering at my grandparents’ house - my grandma is German so it was a meal of schnitzel and potato salad before sharing gifts. My great uncle would telephone from Germany, as would my aunt so the phone would get passed around. As kids we always received new PJs which we would travel home it at around midnight.

It’s reverse psychology for me too! Works wonders with my super stubborn 5 year old.

We are usually travelling to my family’s or to my in-laws, both live 150 miles away but in opposite directions!

Since I was little my mum has always hosted a Christmas Eve get together for us and her next door neighbours, who's children are similar age to me. We would play daft games and the elves would leave us a little gift and have party tea. Apparently it was so the neighbours could get organised while my mum had their kids and then in the evening the neighbour took me santa spotting while my parents got organised. Us 'kids' all have families of our own now but we still insist on my mum having a party. Real happy memories and a tradition I love.

We go out somewhere, it used to be soft play but the last couple of years has been ice skating. We come home to find a hamper has been left by the elves, with pjs, bath bombs, hot choc and some sweets. Dp decorates a gingerbread house with the dc while I prep food for the next day (with The Snowman on), then the kids go in the bath and I to pjs. Then we watch the christmas film. Then bed for the kids.

Then dp and I do panic wrapping and general sorting.

Ah, we love Christmas in our house!! DS is only 17mo, so we're in the process of finding our feet and starting to make new routines and habits - we generally have a quiet morning, and then head to my parents for a family Christmas afternoon bash. Whereas pre-baby we would have stayed there until late, now we head off around dinner time to put DS down to sleep. We have succumbed to the MN-hated Christmas Eve box, which has a copy of the Night Before Christmas (a lift the flap version as DS is still small), a Christmas journal which we catch up on every year (www.<a class="break-all" href="https://amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Present-Past-Fireplace-Design/dp/1907048111,?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-sponsored-discussions-3430010-What-you-do-on-Christmas-Eve-Share-with-McDonald-s-300-voucher-to-be-won" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Present-Past-Fireplace-Design/dp/1907048111, in case anyone is interested) - as DS gets bigger, then we'll probably use it as part of the holiday tradition, so the whisky for Santa/carrot/biscuit will be left in it on the fireplace. Once DS is down, DH and have a chance to just unwind - movie (or a Christmas TV special - Vicar of Dibley or similar!) and snacks (and a glass of mulled wine for me). Can't wait for DS to get bigger so he can start to get in on the Christmas movie action...!!

My mum aways took us to the cinema on Christmas Eve and I'm now continuing the tradition with my own DC. Some years we've had the cinema almost to ourselves and it's a good way to enjoyably spend time together without the DC pestering to know how many hours before father Christmas is here!

Takeaway and world of Warcraft for me and DH. We don't get a minutes peace on Christmas Day itself between the cooking and family

We like to walk around the block looking at all the Christmas lights, then go home and watch Christmas films with a Chinese takeaway.

My husband works so we have a Christmas music day (and go to the park if the weather is okay) and then usually a chinese / indian buffet as we're going to be eating turkey for the next week so like something different. After dinner we usually watch a Christmas movie.

Watching tv with the family and enjoying some Xmas foodie treats!

Christmas Eve is my DH’s birthday, but Christmas activities overrule it! We usually see Santa first thing at our local garden centre, then we meet both our families and a big group of us see the Panto, always booking early enough to ensure front row! (Seeing DH get picked on by the dame is one of our favourite traditions!))

Then we all eat together and DH gets presents 🎁

After this we say goodbye and head home where the elves have left a hamper for us all.. the girls read a Christmas book / do colouring or an activity from the basket while we get ready to go round the corner to our friends house with a few school parents and have a mini Christmas party 🎈

Then home, we read The Night Before Christmas and set up Santa’s plate... then get the children in bed (wriggling with excitement) and DH and I get all the presents out and put them under and around the tree (the best bit!!) and relax with a glass of wine feeling full of Christmas joy... and panicking the kids will come down and discover! We let DDog eat the mince pie and I dutifully take a bite of the carrot..

Christmas Eve is The Best

I visit my Mum because it's her birthday. We go out for a family meal.

Ohhhh its a cosy night in for us , cuddled up in our fresh new pjs ....watching movies like Home alone, Miracle on 34th Street, Grinch, Polar Express...and lots of snacks, popcorn and candles..... My kiddies love it...whole family together...BLISS

We get out early for the final bits of shopping - cream, milk, all the perishables and things we've forgotten! And some last minute stocking fillers.

Then in the afternoon we listen to the Festival Of The Nine Lessons And Carols on the radio while we make mince pies, make the stuffing, and do all the prep we can. And we sing along to the carols we know.

Once the shops have closed we all chime in with "if we haven't got it now it's too late!"

If we're at my sister's we go out to the carol concert in the town which is lovely.

It's normally fish on Christmas Eve for supper - something relatively light before the Christmas Day feast.

There's usually some last minute wrapping to be done.

Then we have the ritual of the stockings. Everyone gets a stocking - adults and children. Every adult contributes to every stocking so we lay them all out in a room and then take turns to go into the room and put the things in.

There's a lot of giggling and shushing and "no, don't come in"!

And then it's Midnight Mass so once that's done we wish each other happy Christmas and go to bed!

It's a great day!

We usually have lunch with family we won't see on xmas day then head home for a chilled afternoon with a good film, then build up the excitement for the kids with putting out reindeer food and getting ready for santa!

We all go to my Nan and grandads house. Eat loads of food and drink 🍷
Kids leave Santa a few treats
Get the kids to bed
Leave the pressies out
All ready for the kids in the morning
I can’t wait to see my daughters face and have loads of family time. ❤️
I think I’m more excited, I love chritmas ❤️
🎅🏼🤶🏼🦌☃️❄️🎁🎄

We spend the morning tidying the house ready for Santa. Then we collect any last food orders from the butchers etc. Then after that we prep everything ready for Christmas dinner and set the table ready. Then after that once everything is nice and sparkling we go to McDonald's for tea, we always eat in store. When we arrive back our elf has usually left a Christmas eve box for the children so they open that. We then have baths and settle and watch a movie. After that we sprinkle reindeer food and leave a carrot out for Rudolph and a mince pie for Santa, the drinks vairy, last year he got a coke. Then we track Santa until were sleepy then straight to bed to try and sleep but are usually too excited so end up falling asleep late.