Christmas Eve is my favourite day out of the whole festive period and although I have a post planned to tell you all about our day and what we do a little bit closer to the day itself, I’m going to tell you about one part of the day now. I’m going to tell you about our Christmas Eve box which we’ve been doing ever since the kids were born – in fact, I think we’ve been doing it since before Christmas Eve Boxes were even a thing.
We started doing a Christmas Eve box because I used to have something similar when I was little and it was a tradition that we decided to continue with our two although we do keep it quite simple compared to some of the Christmas Eve boxes that I see shared on social media.
I don’t think you need to go over the top and spend a fortune on your Christmas Eve box and you certainly don’t need to go out and buy one of those (often, not always) over-priced personalised Christmas Eve Boxes (unless you really want to ;-)) because as lovely as they are, they’re just totally unnecessary. I always quickly wrap a box in some leftover wrapping paper for ours and I can honestly say that my two have never been anything other than excited and pleased with that. Also, I can just recycle the box after Christmas so it’s one less thing to have to store away with the piles of Christmas stuff we already have stuffed in our loft!
Before you decide what to put in your Christmas Eve Box, you need to decide why you’re making one. Ours is to mark the official start of Christmas in our house and to make Christmas Eve a part of our Christmas celebrations rather than a day where the kids are just waiting for the day to end so they get to the big day quicker. For that reason, the things we put in there help us do just that!
I’ll start by telling you what I used to put in for the kids when they were younger and then tell you what I put in them now that the kids are a bit older….
What to put in a Christmas Eve box for under 10’s
A Christmas DVD for us to watch as a family.
Some Christmas sweets to eat while watching the film.
A packet cake mix (because Mr Frugal has always baked cakes with the kids on Christmas Eve to leave out for Santa while I have a bubble bath in peace – the packet mix means no drama, no questions and guaranteed success)
A Christmas colouring book and crayons to keep them occupied.
One of their Christmas gifts each that is a make or do type present.
Snowman soup.
A new family board game to play after we’ve watched the film.
A note from Santa telling them he can’t wait to see how tidy their rooms are when he visits (What? It works so don’t knock it ha ha).
That little lot should get your under 10’s (and you) through the day with minimal stress and maximum Christmas spirit.
I realised after I started writing this that I didn’t have a picture of our Christmas Eve boxes but the lovely Sarah from Boo Roo and Tigger too very kindly let me use her photo. You can read about her Christmas Eve box over on her blog.
And here’s another picture of a Christmas Eve box that was made by another lovely blogger. This one belongs to Anna from The Imagination Tree and if you pop over, you can see exactly what’s in her box.
What to put in a Christmas Eve box for teens and tweens
A Christmas DVD for us to watch as a family.
Some Christmas sweets or popcorn to eat while watching the film.
A handwritten recipe for a slightly more complicated recipe than they used to make now that the kids are old enough to guide Mr Frugal in the right direction.
Snowman soup.
A new family board game to play after we’ve watched the film.
A very tongue in cheek note from Santa to my non-believers telling them as always that he can’t wait to see how tidy their rooms are when he visits and how he hopes they’ve been good this year as it would be a shame if they got no presents!
*Controversial?* A present that I know they’ll want to spend hours on when they get it – like an xbox game for Master Frugal. If I give him it on Christmas Eve he can have it installed and out of his system a bit before the big day so he won’t be wanting to sneak off and play it. For Miss Frugal it’s usually some sort of pampering gift and a bath bomb from Lush so she can relax while her brother plays.
We don’t include pyjamas in our Christmas Eve box as the pyjama fairy brings those while we’re out at the Christingle service in the early evening. She never brings Christmas themed ones (she knows that the kids would only wear them as long as it was Christmas) but she always brings some lovely warm ones for them to wear on Christmas Eve night.
Do you have a Christmas Eve box?
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