.Christmas eve boxes? Really ?

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We also have little gifts on the tree from the 'Tree Fairy' We open them after dinner on Christmas day.

Taken over by Cra**y Mondelez- a tragedy.

I had never heard of chocolate on a stick, I must say. Could be great fun to actually make them with the grand-children to have over festivities- will bring a silicone mould, sticks and French or Swiss dark chocolate to make with them. Great idea.

Suchard chocolate has long gone, I'm afraid!

Thankfully, it wasn't a thing when my kids were growing up.
In fact, we even moved the whole gift thing to 26 Dec on the basis that it was Boxing Day and that was the day we have each other 'boxes' containing gifts.
Also, if you buy into the religious (rubbish - imo) side of things, the alleged wise men wouldn't have arrived ​on the day of the birth, hence the following day being the day they (allegedly) arrived and gave gifts.
No-one needs gifts/stuff for 3 consecutive days!
Whilst I'm on this, I saw something yesterday about a chocolate company not putting a chocolate in day 8 of their advent calendar and how some kids were 'totally distraught and inconsolable' when they opened the door on the calendar because there was no chocolate. Back in the 70s there was no such thing as chocolate in our calendars, in fact I had the same calendar every year for my whole childhood. It had little pictures behind the doors and on the 25th I had to take it off the kitchen door, close all the little doors and it was stored away for the following year.
We weren't so entitled as to think we'd actually be getting something every day, it was the joy of finding the right numbered door and guessing the picture behind it!

Pictures don't come out on the 'Quotes'

GrannyGravy13

Mamma7

Ps - at the risk of causing further upset ? we also do Elf on Shelf with our GC - he cost £3 and his antics cause a LOT of laughter in our house. We also put little choccy Christmas treats (Aldi £1) in wooden advent calendar (30years old) it’s a bit of effort but worth it to see so much happiness. Each to their own!

Youngest GC have got elf on the shelf along with the GC who are currently staying with us.

So cute & funny, yes my DD does this for GC, it's lovely

Paperbackwriter

Is it Iceland (I think it is) where on Christmas Eve they give each other books then spend the evening relaxing with nice food and some reading. I like that idea. (Well, I suppose I would, wouldn't I?)

My DD actually puts a book in their Eve box, not video.

Lovely doggie Marmight

How lovely Laurensnan

Parsley3

I will continue to pamper and spoil my grandchildren with climate destroying pyjamas and hot chocolate, thank you very much. That is if I can see them at Christmas. My family is not now going to travel from England due to the COVID situation and I am upset. So be as miserable as you like with your Christmas celebrations, I am off to have a good cry.

Sorry to hear this Hope you see them soon after and get your Xmas with your AC & GC PJ at the ready, hot chocolate in their mugs

My DD has just reminded me that on the 5th Dec, as well as the carrot in the clog, we would put a chocolate letter, each child with their initial. When we came back to live in UK, for one year only, Lidl had them, I was so please to get them, but none since

MayBeMaw

^Well perhaps pyjamas might be worn- but this is the case with the vast majority of Christmas jumpers - so probably a significant of Christmas PJs- as many won't want them. And ll the packaging, etc^
What sort of hot chocolate would be given as a present though?

FFS What a little ray of sunshine!
Children (most) love novelty pj’s Harry Potter, Reindeer, Spiderman , Lego or whatever.
As for “what sort of hot chocolate would be given as a present?”
Coming from someone who lives a stone’s throw from the home of Suchard chocolate ….really?
Might I suggest the following?

Oh lovely!

polyester57

Many cultures have the Christmas Eve tradition, including mine. The children are not cranky nor do they refuse to eat Dickens. We sit down to dinner at around 6 pm or even earlier, the tradition is to fast or at least not eat v. much during the day, so when evening comes, everyone is hungry. Dinner consists of soup, then deep fried fish and a potato salad. After dinner, someone takes the children outside to look out for Baby Jesus bringing the presents, but alas, they always just miss him, because suddenly a bell rings, so they rush back in and a pile of presents seems to have materialized under the tree. It´s every bit as magical as finding your presents in the morning.

My children were bought up in Holland. Their big day is the 5th of Dec. when Sinterklaas [St. Nicholaas] comes on the steam boat and then gets on his white horse to ride through the town, they do enact all this! The children leave carrots for the horse in their clogs the night before. Santa goes into the schools early morning and his Zwarte Pietjes [his helpers] knock all the desks over, but also throw lots of sweets around, It's really lovely!

Christmas Eve they do still open little presents, but nothing on Christmas morning, just church. We split our children's presents between Xmas day & St. Nicholaas day because they went to Dutch school and all their friends were Dutch.

Yes my DD does this. just new Xmas PJ & an Xmas video to watch on Xmas eve. I think it's lovely!

so agree Kali2. I am not religious at all, but surely the point of Christmas, particularly in view of recent events, is, (if we can) be with those we love with time to talk and eat and drink lovely things. Why oh why have we adopted this bizarre equation of huge expenditure with love and enjoyment?

freedom I love how your mind works

Yellowmellow

Both my daughter in laws are saying they wished they'd never started Chrisrmas Eve boxes......or the Elves!

Oh the elves.

I am going to try really hard to not use foul language here.

I will be packing those (blanks) up and saving them for my future grandkids and I will be sure to text or call my grandchildren EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. to ask them what the elves were up to that day.

Since I actually have so many of them, because my husband would "put them away" after Christmas and then not be able to find them next year I would have to go out and buy a new one, I will be sure to ask my Grandchildren about all 7 of them every day.

I may take all my consumerism and buy a new elf each year so that my children are drowning in them by the time my grandkids are teens.

I nearly always got a migraine if I was looking forward to something, which then meant that I didn't get to do or have whatever caused the excitement.
I'd be in bed for 3 days with lights flashing in my vision, a terrible, terrible headache, and throwing up.

When I was eight, I was getting a huge dolly- life sized 3 year old,- for Christmas. She cost £8/1/3d. I was so excited that I became ill and had to have time off school. My uncle gathered a bunch of items from his shop- bric-a-brac really- wrapped it and put it into a box for me. I got it a couple of days before Christmas and it sorted me out. My Mum and Dad were surprised but grateful as, before his kind act, I couldn’t eat or sleep and had run a high temperature. I wonder if this is what prompted these boxes ? Surely I wasn’t the only one who ‘suffered’ with with pre Christmas hysteria.

As children my brother's and I always had new PJ's which we unwrapped on Christmas Eve along with a small bag of sweets. We played board games as a family and had cocoa or Horlicks before putting out milk, mince pie and carrots for Father Christmas and the reindeers, I did exactly the same for my children, my daughters now do same with their families, although they tend to watch a Christmas film together rather than play board games. I think some people probably do go ott but that is their choice.

Valdali - skip the characters on the pjs maybe, but you could say that whatever time of year you bought them.
My ex had a Christmas tradition that we kept up, that of a little present after Christmas tea from the Christmas tree, it was never anything big, either a jokey present, or for the adults something you'd use anyway or a Christmas decoration for the tree. Usually, I'd just pick something out of the presents I'd got, having being on the lookout for little fun things through the year, maybe even from charity shops
I'd never instigate a box if I ever have gcs, or an elf. An advent calendar is enough.

We have been doing it for a few years, but we don’t push the boat out. Cardboard Christmas boxes that come out every year, Christmas pyjamas, a few sweets, and a small gift, which will be one of the presents that was destined as a stocking filler. I buy things in the sales after Christmas and put them away for the following Christmas. Very little money is spent, but it is a bit of fun, and if the children have had to stay indoors due to bad weather or the current Covid situation, it all adds to the excitement, along with watching Norad tracks Santa from around lunchtime on the 24th!

Each to their own I always think, no point in getting too opinionated as we are all so different, thankfully!

It does sound quite harmless, I had never heard of this. I feel a bit troubled that it sort of starts a precedent & I wouldn't want to feel obliged to buy a christmas eve present for children, & certainly not for adults, when they have lots of pressies next day anyway. New pjs and a small treat sounds sweet though. As long as it stays optional. Presents can be wasteful, even pjs if you buy ones with a character they've decided isnt cool any longer & they get a pair they like better...doesnt it take the edge off the magic of Santa & the next day though?

Wooden box with GC name on it - inside pjs, book or game and a couple of chocolate coins.

I guess that’s fine if you can afford it or only have one or two GC. This year, my GC are having the above-named items as their main presents from us! That’s expensive enough, but if those things were for Xmas Eve and I had to provide yet another present on Xmas day as well, the costs would be even higher.

MissAdventure can you instigate a Boxing Day present tradition, too? And maybe one for New Year, because I find Hogmanay depressing and I deserve another present then. Or even two or three presents.

My girl was allowed to choose one tiny present to open on Christmas eve, on condition that she stuffed the turkey first.