Creating a Christmas Eve Box for the Kids

If you know me, you’ll know that I just love Christmas. It is such a special time filled with awesome memories of when I was growing up but also because its a time when I get to make memories for my kids.

Last year I wrote about creating Christmas Traditions for your Family. One of those traditions was creating a Christmas Box for the Kids or the family. This year I want to expand on it and I’m even going to do this for my own kids.

I am pretty excited about getting it together and also starting this tradition.

This post is all about what a Christmas Eve Box is, what to put in it and any other information you may need if you want to start this tradition too.

What is a Christmas Eve Box?

A Christmas Eve Box is a box filled with things for the kids to do or wear in anticipation of Christmas or for Christmas Day. In my mind a Christmas Box is about setting the scene for Christmas.

If putting a box together isn’t your style then by all means why not a Christmas Bag and just have a little Hessian Bag.

I’m going to do a box, a really fancy one… I’m going to cover a shoe box with wrapping paper.

It’s up to you whether you create a Family Christmas Eve Box that you all open together or whether you make mini boxes for each of the kids (and adults).

Why create a Christmas Eve Box

I think that it’s a lovely tradition to start and makes Christmas last longer. If you are really clued up you can even take an annual picture with the box to see how things change from year to year.

Bringing the family together to focus on one thing and then spend time together. Watching the movie you include in the box or listening to the CD makes for more special moments and memories.

Also, from a costs perspective you land up buying your kids and your family so many things to make the day or Christmas Eve special that you may as well add them to the box and make it a more purposeful gift. This should make my kids realise that they are getting something as opposed to things just happening around them. I’m not sure that makes sense but it’s part of my new “gratitude plan”. Let me break it down like this:

Putting on new pjs when out of the bath = NOT A PRESENT = No spontaneous gratitude.

Unwrapping a box that has pjs in it = PRESENT / GIFT = “thank you”

Or at least I hope it will work like this.

What to put in your Christmas Eve Box?

For my kids’ Christmas Eve Box I am going to put in the following, now bear in mind that they are 2 and 5.

A new set of PJs for each of the kids. I am really hoping to find matching kitsch Christmas PJs for the whole family but its hard to find Christmas summer PJS.
A Christmas CD for us to listen to on Christmas Eve.
A colouring in sheet for each of the kids to colour while they wait for us to wake up on Christmas morning.
A new Christmas ornament for each of the kids.
Snacks for the Kids to leave Father Christmas.
A Christmas outfit for them to wear on Christmas Day.

I am still undecided as to whether I should put in letters to each of the kids from Father Christmas.

If I was to make up one for my husband or an older child (aren’t they one and the same). I would consider putting the following items in:

A movie for us to watch on Christmas Eve.
Some popcorn and chocolate to enjoy while we watch our movie.
A nice bottle of wine for him to have on Christmas Day.
Of course you could get family PJS which I think is a amusing idea.

When to open your Christmas Eve Box?

On Christmas Eve of course. I’m just kidding. That is the answer but I think there has to be a bit more to it. Either you open it in the morning of Christmas Eve or you open it in the evening after dinner. I think the the time you open your Christmas Eve Box will be dependant on

a) what you put in the box and

b) how old your kids are.

If you’re going to put in activities for the kids to do, or toys or sweets its best to open it in the morning otherwise your kids are going to be tired and cranky and it’ll keep them up later if they open it in the evening.

Based on my kids’ age if we were to open the Christmas Eve Box in the morning by kids would forget about it come the evening and would be beginning to open another Christmas present.