Ideas for a Christmas Eve Box

Thought I would ask my three older children (10, 7 and 5) what goodies they would like in a Christmas Eve Box and here’s what they suggested.

First find a box, add a few sweets and maybe some hot chocolate and you will keep the whole family entertained. Start the Christmas festivities off the night before. This one is ideal and not too pricey either.

1 Refill pack

Save yourself time and get the Christmas Eve Box Refill containing craft, colouring, decorations and games. Just add your own sweets and hot chocolate.

2 Snow

Even if it’s a beautiful sunny day outside, you can still have snow inside with this safe, non toxic instant snow – just add water. For a couple of quid you can’t go wrong with this in a Christmas Eve box.

3 Doodling

With 6 sheets in this Christmas Holiday Fun pack there are oodles of doodles to keep the whole family scribbling if necessary.

4 Colour in Ideas

This huge paper tablecloth will keep everyone busy at Christmas. Either use it just as something to do or for maximum value put it on the table for Christmas dinner with a few pens, crayons or coloured pencils and watch all ages get stuck in. Also makes a great poster.

Alternatively try the colour in Christmas Tree from Flamingo Paperie, or their colour in nativity bunting.

5 Christmas Cracker

It’s Christmas after all, there probably need to be some sweets and what better way to add to a Christmas Eve box than in a cracker. Cadbury have lots of Christmas confectionary ideas as you would imagine. If you don’t do chocolate, e.g. if you’re dairy free then Hampergifts have some fabulous retro sweet hampers and packs.

6 Craft Ideas

If your children love craft activities then check out Flamingo Paperie’s DIY gift tags. They have other craft packs too.

7 Books

If you need some ideas of books for Christmas Eve then we traditionally read Twas the Night Before Christmas before they go to bed on Christmas Eve but they also love Illustrated Stories for Christmas. A Christmas Carol is also a great read for older children. Christmas Day will be so busy that bedtime stories probably won’t happen. I believe no Christmas Eve Box is complete without a story. Settle them down for bed and take the chance to stop for a minute and remember what Christmas is all about amidst the preparations. If you are true bookworms then plan ahead with some Christmas advent books.

8 Jigsaws

All my family, from ages 1 to 80+ love jigsaws. So I always get a couple of Christmas jigsaws in for the holiday. It’s just perfect for those ‘I’m bored’ moments when the weather is too bad to send them outside. When I get a chance to sit down for 5 minutes it’s great relaxation for me too.

9 DVD

Of course there is always the option of a DVD. Why not schedule in an hour or two to put your feet up, get out the popcorn and watch a DVD together. Our Christmas favourites are Muppet Christmas Carol, It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street and Elf. What’s your favourite? Share with us in the comments below, it might give someone else who’s stuck an idea for their Christmas Eve box.

10 Chatterboxes

Remember these? We called them fortune tellers I think. This pack from Flamingo Paperie has 6 sheets, with jokes, forfeits, fortunes and more. Great fun for Christmas Eve and could be used for Christmas Dinner entertainments too. For just a couple of quid it provides lasting fun for all.

I haven’t tried myself but I did think if you are making your own Christmas crackers that you could include one of these in each cracker if you do some of the initial folding.

You can see a video I did of a Christmas Eve Box full of activities  here.