Christmas Eve Boxes

I’m with Missfoodlov. I don’t like any of these commercial gimmicks to make parents spend money.

Never heard of them. Won’t be doing them. Thanks for the warning!

I guess this is one of the times when I'm glad we follow my DHs German traditions and open presents on Christmas Eve. DS spends Christmas Day reading his presents, and all is well.

No, no, no to Christmas Eve boxes. Christmas is commercialised enough.
Personally I abhore the vulgar excesses at Christmas time.
When my children were small they didn't open presents until we came back from the morning church service. When they were old enough for Midnight Mass attendance and Father Christmas had been exposed as a children's hoax, we opened presents on our return, before going to bed. Christmas decorations go up on Christmas Eve and down on 5th January. Presents are modest, food is traditional Christmas celebration food but not in excessive amounts. Christmas done.

Christmas Eve Carol Service at our village church followed by mulled wine and mince pies for all in the village hall ..at home smoked salmon and soup and more mulled wine and kids to bed in xmassy pjs..

Christmas Eve boxes all over the shops now. It's an Americanism just as baby showers are not something that I will be getting into. I like the run up to Christmas my children still do with their children.

Me too ..and that was already a lovely treat

I made my granddaughters Christmas Eve boxes a few years ago. We put in them new jimjams, Christmas bedding, drinking chocolate mix, Santa’s magic key is kept there too to be left outside because not everyone has a chimney and a book I made for them to be read On Christmas Eve

My children always had new pj's on Christmas eve, (good for pics on the day!) I would hide them and they would go to running, excitedly through the house at bedtime looking for them. The carrots for the reindeer and mince pie and drink to put out Father Christmas made for an exciting Christmas eve. Don't think my 4yo gs has as much excitement even with his box!

Oh please, no! It's enough of a struggle for my tiny brain to come up with ideas for Christmas Day.

Just more stuff for children who already have more than enough. I know of children who have been bored opening their gifts Christmas morning.

I know people who buy matching xmas pj's for the whole family to wear so that they can take pics on xmas morning with them all wearing them!!

I saw a website that was promoting Christmas Eve boxes for children! Don't get this, except as a way for companies to make even more money out of Christmas.
Christmas Eve boxes, in my opinion, are not necessary.

Gosh. Luckily I've never heard of this so in my little world it doesn't exist.

As far as I’ve heard, most of it isn’t usually presents as such - more things that come out every year, pyjamas that they need anyway, or a Christmas DVD that comes out every year - kept until Christmas Eve to make it special.
Or the wherewithal for making hot chocolate.

Which reminds me, our milkman’s got some hot chocolate ‘bombes’ which I must order.

Glorybee

The fact that it was Christmas Eve alone was enough of a thrill for us as kids ?.

Absolutely, a magical feeling enveloped us and the anticipation of day with some good food and presents.
Christmas Eve boxes and the elf on a shelf thing are making life hard for parents and spoiling the wait for Christmas Day for children.Our own children were excited enough on Christmas Eve (am sure most children are) without piling it on with presents.

Thankyou for the recommendation Witzend. I noticed that Richard Curtis has another book called That Christmas about a Christmas that's a bit different! It's quite new but wondered if anyone had seen it? My grandsons are nearly 6 and nearly 2 and love sending them books and wondered if these recommended?

I’m with Missfoodlove, against all the ott commercialism.
When our boys were young, we’d put the tree up on Christmas Eve and all decorate it together, watch a film, read ‘The Night Before Christmas’ and they’d go off to bed full of excitement.
Now I bite my tongue as they all spend a fortune on every commercial racket going.

The trend for massive commercialism is really at odds with all my happy memories of Christmas. When my children were tiny. we had a couple of ridiculously early starts to Christmas morning and so evolved the tradition of Not Being Allowed To Go To Bed Early On Christmas Eve. Instead, after dark, we all wrapped up warm and went for a LONG walk around the village. Very few folk about, Christmas lights everywhere, it was quite magical.
Its a definite NO to Christmas Eve boxes from me.

Witzend I’ve just ordered that book for my 5yr oldGd. It sounds lovely. Thanks

It all gets too much doesn’t it? I asked my daughter, yesterday, if she was doing Christmas Eve boxes for her 4 children. She said a definite NO. They have Christmas pj’s and duvets and always watch Polar Express, but enough is enough!

I hadn’t heard of them at all until a few years ago, but will confess to buying them for little Gdcs when they were coming here for Christmas a couple of years ago - very cheap flat pack cardboard jobs from The Works, and I just put in them some Christmas plates and mugs (to come out again every year) and a couple of books to read on Christmas Eve - The Night Before Christmas, and a simple Nativity one, again to come out again every year.

There were a few other (non plastic) bits, IIRC some new pyjamas I knew they could do with, but not particularly Christmassy ones.

I’ve recently bought them a really lovely Christmas book - The Empty Stocking* - is anyone else familiar? but it’s too good to save until Christmas Eve - they’ll have it as soon after 1st Dec (or Advent Sunday) as I can get it to them.
*perfect for their ages IMO - 4 and 5.
No. 3 is still too young for such things, but I’m sure she’ll enjoy it later.

We have always done it. New pyjamas, hot chocolate and biscuits and everyone watches a christmas movie snuggled under blankets.

Its a lovely tradition and Christmas morning pictures look better in new jammies.

Everyone can choose their own traditions and we love it.

Yes new pyjamas for christmas eve has been going on for ever. I dont mind how people choose to spend their money.

We never had Christmas Eve boxes as children. However we did have new pyjamas and a game on Christmas Eve and I carried this on with my children.
Now my DDs do it for their children along with a Christmas story book.
No different I suppose, just not in a box.