Ideas for Making a Christmas Eve Box
By Maria Healey, MariaHealey.com
The Christmas season is almost upon us. Once the house is decorated and the presents are purchased and wrapped, it’s time to start thinking about creating a Christmas Eve box for the family. This is a fun activity that the whole family can enjoy on the night before Christmas.
What Is a Christmas Eve Box?
A Christmas Eve box is a gift for the family to open together the day (or night) before Christmas, when kids are already restless and eager to open Christmas presents. It is traditionally opened at night, before bed, but it could also be opened earlier in the day so that there is still time to enjoy all the surprises inside. For houses that don’t have a chimney for Santa to enter through, the Christmas Eve box is also a good place to present the key to set aside for Santa every year.
There are a variety of Christmas Eve boxes available online that can be customized with your family name or a phrase. You can also get crafty and make your own DIY Christmas Eve box starting with a wooden crate or cardboard box, and adding some paint, maybe glitter and stickers. This is also a family-friendly activity that kids can help with in creating a family heirloom for the holidays.
Christmas Eve Box Ideas
Fill a Christmas Eve box with items the whole family can enjoy. Does your family like playing card games, board games or outdoor activities? Do you like to bake Christmas cookies together? Is movie night something everyone enjoys? Think about the family activities you do around Christmas-time and incorporate them into this family tradition. Here are some Christmas Eve gift ideas:
Pajamas
Matching pajamas for the Christmas holiday is always a cute idea and the best way to share the new PJ set with the family is in the Christmas Eve box. You can even include mini PJs for your pets.
Socks
Much like pajamas, socks are also a great gift to include in the Christmas Eve box as something soft and warm to wear for a cold Christmas morning.
Hot Cocoa
Add hot cocoa to the Christmas Eve box for a warm treat on a cold night that everyone can enjoy. Hot cocoa comes in many flavors, so consider trying a new flavor each year. Don’t forget the marshmallows!
Movies
Movie night is always a great family tradition and with so many holiday movies available, choose one each year to add to the Christmas Eve box. Consider swapping movies with other friends and family who also celebrate with Christmas Eve boxes, rather than building up a Christmas movie collection of your own. Since many people don’t keep physical copies any longer, you can fill a box with items that remind you of your favorite movies, like a box of spaghetti and a jug of maple syrup from Elf.
Popcorn
Movie night means popcorn is a must, so add some microwave popcorn to your DIY Christmas Eve box to make a movie night in seem more like a night out at the theater. You can even purchase various flavors to add to your popcorn, like cheddar or Dorito.
Chocolate Orange
The fun thing about this round chocolate treat is whacking it to break the ball up into individual slices that the family can enjoy. This is a traditional holiday favorite that you don’t want to leave out of your Christmas Eve box.
Cookie Sprinkles
If baking Christmas cookies is a family tradition during the holidays, add some cookie sprinkles and decors to the family Christmas Eve box, as a surprise for the kids. They’ll love seeing a new jar of sprinkles to decorate holiday cookies nestled in the Christmas box.
Card Game
There are many small card games that can easily fit in a Christmas Eve box that your family will enjoy playing on the night before Christmas. Uno, Phase 10, or Skip-Bo are a few of our favorite family-friendly card games that take up very little space.
Christmas Eve Box Ideas for Adults
While adults are sure to love everything in the family box, some special items to include just for the parents are grown-up items such as:
Christmas Eve box ideas for men:
- Mini bottles of a favorite holiday spirit
- Specialty chocolate cordials
Christmas Eve box ideas for women:
Christmas Eve Box Ideas for Teenagers
Teenagers can be hard to buy for and might feel like some of the items in the box are “too little” for them. Some items that will thrill teenagers in the Christmas Eve box include:
Teenage boys Christmas Eve box ideas:
- Body spray
- Puzzle books
Teenage girls Christmas Eve box ideas:
- Cozy slippers
- Bath bombs
Don’t Forget Santa!
With a busy night ahead, full of delivering toys to all the good little boys and girls across the world, why not treat Santa to something special in the Christmas Eve box, too? Leave a special key for Santa to get in the house if your home doesn’t have a fireplace. Place a baggy of oatmeal in the box and label it “Reindeer Food”. Leave the special plate for cookies and mug for Santa’s milk in the box to leave out for his visit overnight. The Christmas Eve box is a great place to store these items that are only used once a year.
Plan on putting together a Christmas Eve box for your family this year. Get the kids involved to help with decorating a DIY Christmas Eve box using paint, stickers and markers while listening to holiday carols. They’ll love getting to be a part of this fun new family tradition.
