Christmas Eve box for a three-year-old

Following on from previous blog posts about what you can put in a Christmas Eve box for a baby and ideas for a Christmas Eve box for a one or two-year-old, unsurprisingly perhaps I now bring you… what can you put in a Christmas Eve box for a three-year-old?

Here’s what is in our Christmas Eve box this year. We have a lovely wooden box with our family name on the top but you can use anything – a decorated crate or shoe box, or you can buy cardboard Christmas Eve boxes very cheaply, and add names with letter stickers if you like.

This year I moved away from the ‘something to watch/ something to wear’ idea, as we don’t watch DVDs any more as everything is downloaded or streamed. And I had got my daughter some pyjamas (regular winter ones, not Christmas themed) but without thinking I had wrapped them and wasn’t sure I could identify which package it was!

Instead, here’s what we have:

A Christmas craft – a set to make robin decorations, from Baker Ross

Hot chocolate bombs – these are spheres of chocolate, often containing mini marshmallows, which you put in a cup then pour hot water or hot milk on top and watch them melt. I thought my daughter would particularly like these Percy Pig chocolate bombs from Marks & Spencer and for my husband I got a regular chocolate one from Lidl.

Funny Christmas glasses

Reindeer food – a mixture of porridge oats and glitter. This package came from an event in 2019 and we had never used it! Be aware you shouldn’t sprinkle anything containing glitter outdoors as it’s harmful to wildlife; I think we will put this in a small bowl and leave next to Rudolph’s carrot on a plate.

Santa stop here sign – which comes out every year

A Christmas story book – this year the book is Five Little Reindeer, and it’s about Christmas Eve which seemed particularly appropriate (link is to Amazon but I got it cheaper at TK Maxx)

A personalised Christmas tree decoration, which has become a tradition in our Christmas Eve box – this is a gingerbread man as Sophie loves the Gingerbread Man story at the moment

Some Christmas chocolates to eat

Santa’s Magic Key – for the first time, this year my daughter pointed out we don’t have a chimney for Santa to come down. Luckily I was prepared as I already had this key (only 99p from Card Factory) which we are going to leave outside for Santa to let himself in! I can’t find a link so this is a similar one from Party Delights.

Next year I think I will include a game as well – my daughter is still a bit young for most games, though Orchard Toys – which is brilliant for younger children – does do some Christmas-themed games like Santa’s Sleigh. I didn’t put one in the Christmas Eve box as she is already getting a couple of games like this for Christmas which I’d wrapped as gifts; really I should have kept one for the Christmas eve box!

Do you do a Christmas Eve box for your family, and what do you put in it?