Creating a perfect Christmas Eve box for your children is a great way to start the festive celebrations early. We all know how excited children become in the lead up to Christmas, and a Christmas Eve box is a great way to satisfy some of that excitement early. So, what exactly is a Christmas Eve box I hear you ask? Well, it is simply a box full of treats and goodies that is opened a few hours before bedtime on Christmas Eve.
You can give each child their own box, or you can prepare one for the entire family. The box itself can range from the very simple, to something quite fancy. It can be an old carboard box covered in wrapping paper, or it can be a personalized wooden box with your children’s names carved into it. Having a special box that you use every year is ideal, although, in contrast to the big day itself, we have found that children tend to be more excited about what’s inside it rather than the box itself!
When deciding what to put inside your box, we recommend that you try and include at least one item from the following categories:
- Something to do
- Something to wear
- Something to eat and drink
- Something to watch or read
We also recommend that you try and follow the sequence above when consuming items from your box. Start with something to do, an exciting activity of some sort to help tire them out. Then, start to bring the excitement down a level. Maybe they have a bath and then get to wear some new pajamas, followed by some food and drink while watching a festive movie or reading a book together. Hopefully, by the end, they will be ready to sleep!
Something to do
Firstly, you want to include something to occupy them. This can be a board game, a pack of cards, or some resources for a festive activity. How about making some reindeer food to leave out for Santa? It can also include some suggestions for some festive games to play as a family. The game we love the most is Santa Limbo. The rules are just like a regular limbo competition, only you have to do it with a large cushion stuffed up the front of your jumper, so you look like Santa Claus! It is great fun and, depending on the amount of sherry the adults have drunk, it is something the whole family can enjoy.
Something to wear
The usual choice for most families is to add a new pair of festive pajamas, slippers, or socks. Pajamas tend to be the most popular, and some parents will buy their children a new pair every year. If you can spare the expense, then matching pajamas for the whole family certainly helps to get everyone in the Christmas mood.
When combined with the overall expense of Christmas itself, buying the whole family, or even just the children, a new set of pajamas each year is not an option for most people. We actually prefer to add something that we can reuse every year. We have a special cozy festive blanket that is only used on Christmas Eve. Not only does this save us some money at this expensive time of the year, but it also means we are not buying something that we will have to throw away in a few months (kids grow fast!). The whole family gets to snuggle underneath it as we watch a movie before bedtime. It is now a part of our family Christmas traditions, and it brings back lots of good memories every year. Our children love it because, when they see it, they know that Christmas has finally arrived.
Something to eat and drink
The natural choice here is to add some treats such as sweets and chocolates. We suggest that you try not to go overboard with anything likely to give them too much energy, though. You really want to start calming them down to get them to a point where they are ready to sleep! Here at Yuletide Wishes, we like to include some treats for when we all watch a movie together later. Try and include things like popcorn, mince pies, and some hot chocolate.
How about including a new festive mug specifically for drinking hot chocolate? This is also an excellent opportunity to add something that does not have to be replaced each year. We have some have unique festive mugs that we only use on Christmas Eve. Again, this helps keep costs down, and it also adds to the special feeling you get knowing it is only used on this very special evening.
Of course, it is not just your family that needs food and drink on Christmas Eve. Santa and his reindeer are working incredibly hard to get all those gifts delivered, and, as good citizens, it is up to us to help ensure that they are all well fed and watered. We therefore always include some treats for Santa and his reindeer in our Christmas Eve box.
Something to watch or read
Depending on how old your children are, you can include a letter to them from Santa. This works best if you base it around what they wrote in the letter that they sent to him. Try and make it fun. Maybe use colorful ink or write it in an amusing font. Also, how about including a farewell letter from your mischievous Christmas Elf?
One of the highlights of Christmas Eve is getting to watch a festive movie together as a family. You may have a favorite that you watch every year, or you might prefer to include a film chosen especially for this year. The most obvious way to do this is by adding a DVD, but if, like most of us, you watch everything online these days, you can include a small card with the name of the movie and a short description. If you are trying to decide which film to watch, then check out our article on the Top 10 Family Christmas Movies.
Finally, we believe that Christmas Eve should always finish with a bedtime story. We tend to be quite traditional and always read The Night Before Christmas. Children love it, and, as most of us had it read to us by our own parents, it really does help bring back lots of beautiful festive memories. Another option is to purchase a personalized storybook. These are generic stories, but your child’s name is used as one of the main characters.
Christmas Eve Box for Adults
While most of your effort will be spent on preparing a box that your children will remember forever, don’t forget that adults also like pleasant surprises! Why not surprise that special someone with a box full of treats to help make their night just as enjoyable as it was for your children?
Consider including a bottle of wine, scented candles, a box of chocolates, some toiletries, or some ingredients for making mulled wine. As a special gift, why not include a personalized calendar with your best family photographs from the past year? Finally, why not add some ‘why we love you’ letters written by your children to remind them of how special they are.
We hope you found these suggestions useful and that they will help you plan how to create a little bit of extra magic for your children this Christmas. As with all of the advice that we post on Yuletide Wishes, you can spend as much or as little money as you feel appropriate. Remember, Christmas is not a race to see who can spend the most money, it is about spending quality time together as a family. Merry Christmas, everyone!