There are so many Christmas traditions to share with your family that you may not even realise are traditions- leaving a mince pie and carrot out for Santa and Rudolph, placing the Christmas stockings in a particular spot (mine and my sister’s were always at the ends of our beds), chocolate coins for breakfast on Christmas Day…. then there are some newer traditions that seem more like cynical marketing or sales ploys and yet have become part of the common lexicon (Elf on a shelf, I’m looking at you).
I used to be a little dubious about the new tradition of Christmas Eve boxes…. until I had a child of my own. The idea of starting our own Christmas tradition with some sort of cosy family night at home on Christmas Eve is really appealing, and once I started thinking about it I kept thinking of things I wanted to put in it!
The mini moo will only be nine months old at Christmas and as I am also doing her a Christmas stocking, it isn’t all that easy to think of things to put in it that a baby will appreciate – but don’t forget this can be a box for the whole family too!
Where to get a Christmas Eve box
You can get nice cardboard shoe boxes pre-decorated as Christmas Eve boxes for as little as £2 from supermarkets, or you can make your own from a shoe box or wooden crate. I did see some boxes I liked in Asda but had already ordered one online – I decided to get a personalised one with our family name that we can use year after year.
I ordered one from the Laser Boutique which had a wide variety of designs, some quite colourful and modern and others more traditional. I went for a more traditional one which I really like. The box isn’t huge – people often put pyjamas for their children in there and with a full size pair there wouldn’t be a lot of room left – but all the wooden ones I could find were a similar size. And it will make sure we don’t go overboard filling it with too many things!
What to put in a Christmas Eve box
The most common tradition seems to be hot chocolate, a Christmas movie to watch with the family, a new pair of pyjamas for the children (and maybe adults as well) and a plate to leave out with treats for Santa and Rudolph.
However with a nine month old baby there doesn’t seem to be a lot of point in the Santa plate so instead this is what I’ve come up with for our Christmas Eve box – some things for the baby, and some for us and my parents who will be staying, to enjoy.
- A ‘my first Christmas’ sleepsuit – this one is from George at Asda
- A book – Baby’s first touchy-feely Christmas book, £4.99 from Amazon, so we can read the mini moo a story before bed
- My 1st Christmas personalised tree decoration – I like the idea of giving the mini moo a different Christmas decoration every year to hang on the tree
- Some posh hot chocolate – if I was still at work I’d have gone to somewhere like Hotel Chocolat or Montezuma’s, both of which are near my office, but I ended up just getting one with my grocery shopping so got Twinings Swiss chocolate drink
- A pack of mini marshmallows to go in the hot chocolate (the cream is in the fridge)
- A bottle of Monin caramel syrup to go in the hot chocolate (also great in coffee), also from the supermarket
- Baby S’s letter from Santa
- A small game – a Christmas film quotes quiz I got from Amazon
- A ‘Santa stop here’ personalised sign my parents bought baby S from our local garden centre
- A plastic Christmas plate with the mini moo’s name on it – not sure what I will use that for this year as at the moment any plate she uses needs to be stuck to the high chair tray by suction or she will pick up the whole plate and tip the food off! But I liked this and thought it was cute.
Are you doing a Christmas Eve box, and what’s in yours this year?
Mini Moo Life 