How have these new fads come about ?

From people who are only interested in making money and I've never heard of the objects you note.

Mince pie and a carrot by the fireplace when I was little.
My son joins in every fad going so the children don't get "left out" at school.
I'd prefer they went to church on Christmas eve.

For a very few years my children were both choristers singing Midnight Mass and still FC believers. So we had the lovely but exhausting time of early Christmas Eve trying to be calm, then driving 10 miles in the dark well after normal bedtime, processing carrying a candle whilst singing, a full sung Eucharist, smoked salmon goodies in the vestry then driving home again. Often it was 1.30 before they were in bed. Then Father Christmas had to wait until they were asleep before starting work. But it was a magical time.

I have decided to buy myself Christmas PJ's this year ?????

In answer to the original question, I suspect that the 'tailored' adverts that appear at the top of Gransnet are part of the 'how'. For various reasons I sometimes shop or do internet searches for other people. Than I see adverts for their stuff!

And clearly you have no need to except tales of modest generosity from your sweeping statements.
At least your last post is marginally less sweeping in that it points out that these appalling practices are routine in only "many" households and are not universal!
Don't let the truth get in the way of a good rant, eh?

I like making sweeping statements. and have no intention of reining anything in.
My comment was made in the light of reading many posts, the contents of which confirm that new pjs worn on Christmas Eve were/are routine in many households.

We were staying with our family last year when they did this Christmas Eve thing - a bag was found outside (from Santa's elves) with new PJs and a DVD to watch. (We had been told to bring our best PJs too) We all snuggled up and enjoyed the DVD (it was Boss Baby) and it was a brilliant Christmas Eve! I hope it becomes one of their traditions.

I have always loved Christmas eve, more so than Christmas day. My eldest is almost 40 and my youngest 28. I always allowed them to open a present from under the tree on the morning of Christmas Eve, this meant I could have the day to prepare food, clean house etc in peace. After attending crib service they would have new pj's, put treats out for Santa and the reindeers then go off to bed early full of anticipation. Lovely times. I think Christmas eve boxes are just an extension of this. No harm in it and it isn't compulsory. In fact i'm doing one for my new husband this year

Never heard of Christmas Eve boxes but Elf on a Shelf is a bit if fun. My 3 youngest GC bring their's with them when they stay with us & we enjoy finding new & more challenging places to hide them once the children are asleep.
Plus it keeps them occupied while I cook breakfast.
Last year the youngest took over an hour to find his- it's feet were sticking out of letterbox in front door too so quite easy to spot. His brother & sister saw it straight away but kept quiet - he happily searched the whole house before he spotted it.

When our two daughters were small we made a snowman out of an old coffee tin covered in cotton wool. He came out on Christmas Eve every year and had a small gift for each of them inside. Then it was hang up the stockings, mince pies for Santa,a carrot for Rudolph then bed. My eldest daughter did the same thing for her children,she made a new snowman as the original had got very tatty over the years.
Happy memories and no great expense involved.

The elf on the shelf had a very short shelf life indeed. Like so much these days it has become redundant (remember Betamax?)
These days Alexa reports back to Santa and she is way more scary than a little elf!

And then there are the jumpers, the dresses, the curtains, the hall runners, the doormats, the snow projector, the outside ornaments, the outside lights.............

Christmas Eve was always a big deal when I was growing up. Adults opened their presents and the kids got one to open. Lots of entertaining. My kids always had one present, usually new PJ's and the usual rituals of drink/snack for Father Christmas (never Santa) and 'The night before Christmas'. We used to leave sherry for FC when I was a child and Bailys or Whisky when my own DC were younger. I vividly remember my daughter, aged about 9, when I suggested we put the Baily's out for FC - giving me a pointed look and saying 'I think FC has had quite enough to drink!' (We had had family round! Lol). Elf on the Shelf is a brilliant took for getting the little 'darlings' to behave!

"Who buys new pyjamas for Christmas?"
Well, as I said earlier, my gran did 60+ years ago. She was a widow with little spare cash so the new pyjamas were what she could afford to buy as the only present from her.
Wearing them on Christmas Eve was her idea and we were happy that this became our special tradition and are just as happy to keep it going.
No rampant commercialism, no excess, no irresponsible landfill, no scorned US imported fad!
How about reining in the unpleasant sweeping statements?

Mabel, that sounds nice. Maybe I'll get into the Yule thing.

Our mum used to let us open one present on Christmas Eve. She chose it and it was usually pjs and a Christmas book. I assume now that was her version of a Christmas Eve box before they were even invented! This was over 40 years ago, lol.

Feel like a terrible mother, we didn't do Christmas Eve boxes. My children have missed out! They're 46 and 50 now and show no signs of neglect. As long as nobody tells them we should be fine.!

After an unusually fraught weekend with twin grandchildren bickering and winding each other up, I can’t wait for the Elf on the Shelf to arrive. He is quite well-behaved himself, never appears on social media, but seems to be able to appear magically at both my DD’s house and ours. He is very useful as the pre-Christmas excitement mounts.

Reading this, even the 'bah humbugs' (nothing wrong with that ) had their own Christmas traditions and I suppose this is just another. A bit of a shame that your DGC heard about the Christmas Eve box from other children though grannytotwins but I'm sure they have their own traditions that they love too. In our family we had traditions for Boxing Day as we always went to stay with relatives for Christmas Day. It was an extension to Christmas and we loved it.

While out shopping on Saturday with my sister, i asked her 'what is this 'thing' with Unicorns, they are everywhere, she shrugged her shoulders and said who knows!!!

We don't celebrate Christmas, but we do celebrate Yule, we burn the Yule log which is cut from the remains of the previous years tree. We exchange a gift and have a family meal. My dd then celebrates Christmas with her own small family. They do have an elf, made by mummy, who gives a small gift each day. Usually a sweet or decoration for the tree. I don't like the commercial elf or Xmas eve boxes. As a child we got chocolate coins in our slippers Xmas eve morning, a throw back to when my family lived in Germany before I was born.

The Elf on a Shelf thing becomes a bit of a competition on social media, which is full of photos of what the elf did last night. The elves antics become more and more bizzare as the years go by. I know a family who painted all the kids nails bright green when they were asleep and blamed the elf. I don't think I would have wanted to go to sleep anymore if that had happened to me when I was small! Preparations for Christmas should be card making, calendar making, tree/ house decorating and baking! Nice traditional activities which of course involve copious amounts of glitter which still twinkles in the carpet come Easter!

Just more ways to spend money unnecessarily- like baby showers, hen and stag parties, and I understand now that there are divorce parties too!

I love the Christmas Eve Box idea. My side of the family all gather at my DD's for the evening - we have a barbecue meal and lots of fun with the 4 grandchildren.

We have the boxes ready when bedtime comes around - the kids love putting on their new pyjamas , getting hot chocolates with marshmallows , and all lying down to watch a festive movie before bed. The boxes are reused every year .
This isn't a " new fad" in my family, it's a longstanding tradition and just as much fun as the Christmas morning gift exchange.