Christmas Eve is my favourite day of the whole year. I love the anticipation and excitement and even prefer it to the main day itself. We have been enjoying the festive tradition of a family Christmas Eve box since our boys were tiny. They’re now 10 and 8 and have a four year old sister enjoying the fun! As we say goodbye to the elf as he returns to help Santa (thank goodness!), he leaves a Christmas Eve box for us to enjoy as a family.
I’ve seen many people have individual Christmas Eve boxes for each child but we prefer a family one. However all of the ideas below can be used in either an individual or family box.
What To Put In The Christmas Eve Box
So, what should you put in it? We tend to mix it up each year but here’s a list of ideas to help make your Christmas Eve magical.
- A Christmas film
- A festive story book to read as a family
- Hot chocolate
- Christmas mug
- Reindeer food
- Pyjamas
- Christmas day outfit
- Candy canes
- Slippers / slipper socks
- Gingerbread
- Christmas jigsaw
- Christmas colouring book
- Crayons
- Soft toy
- New toothbrush
- Christmas crafts
What To Use As A Christmas Eve Box
We have a large box we bought from Bents Garden Centre which is the perfect size for for the larger items. To go alongside it we have this gorgeous personalised Christmas box from I Just Love It. You could have one per child if you choose but we find it’s perfect size for adding smaller items and treats for the whole family. We’re using it to store the reindeer food, hot chocolate and other smaller items, while the kids pyjamas take up space in our larger one. I also love that it doesn’t have a date on. We’ve had one before that says 2018 on it but it means it can’t be used annually like this one can. It’s fantastic quality from the metal clasp to the lovely Christmas decoration. It can be fully personalised including the name and the colour of the box, but we love the gorgeous festive red colour.
Do you have Christmas Eve boxes? What do you put in yours? Let me know in the comments!
Disclaimer : We were offered a complimentary Christmas Eve box but as always opinions are my own.
Oh my gosh, I am SO happy I came across your post because I completely forgot about making our Christmas Eve box this year. I’m usually on top of it, but I’ve been non-stop busy since December started. A movie, a snack, hot cocoa, and matching PJs typically go in ours… thank you for the reminder, you saved my Christmas lol!!
I love the idea of putting reindeer food in an xmas eve box! Using that idea for sure – thank you! We have a little bag for each of our children, and last year I gave new PJs, a book and a little teddy. This year I’m going to see if I can find some small bits from a charity shop and spend less than £10 each 🙂
Great tips, this is the first year I have decided to do a Christmas Eve book for the kids and was struggling to think of what to fill it with!
What a lovely looking Christmas Eve box – I love your ideas of things to put in one as well. Offering things to do to help with the excitement.
When I was a kid we used to have something similar to a Xmas eve box without the box. We used to get new PJ’s to sleep in and a movie with snacks. I’m trying to start a similar tradition for my boyfriend this year x
I love the look of these. I have not done them for my kids before but I would love to maybe do one with some comfy PJs and a hot chocolate kit inside. Such a lovely idea.
I love creating a Christmas Eve box for the children, new PJ’s are a must!
We’ve never done Christmas Eve boxes before. They do sound fun. I’ve been collecting items so we can do it too this year. Loving all the suggestions.
I love the simple and fun ideas. Honestly most children appreciate the simple joys way more than super expensive gifts and a colourful box is a great way to get the excitement going.
We don’t do Christmas Eve boxes. I’m from Germany, so we just open our presents on Christmas Eve – no need for any extras!
We don’t do Christmas eve boxes just our presents and stockings on Christmas day! But the box looks like lots of fun to fill. We may consider doing one in the future with our kids. Thanks for sharing!
http://www.spokenreveries.co.uk
Such a lovely idea. We aren’t at home Xmas Eve as we always go to my in laws but I may try a New Year’s Eve box this year to keep us entertained!
We have never done a Christmas Eve box but it is something we have considered – what a lovely selection of items you have suggested to put in!
That’s a lovely idea. My son is all grown up now but he still lives at home so I may start that with him lol