Are You Doing Nything Specail For Your Kids On Xmas Eve?

[kelly ann]

I cant decide what to do for my daughter as theres no point in dressing up as Santa as shes scared of him! What are you doing for your kids to make the evening specail.?

[VeryWelshXmasLover]

Our Christmas Eve ( when I get home from work at 2pm lol) will be full of Christmas Movies (Home Alone, Muppets Xmas Carrol, etc) and a nice buffet. I also have a tree present or 2 (one is a tree ornament that is in the shape of a bell and has a clockwork father christmas with some jelly beans in it, one is a mini doodle pad and there will be crackers to pull), and there will be some new pyjamas for her too. She can have the Christmas Eve gifts in the evening at about 6 :)

There will be cookies and milk left for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.

For me and my husband, we will watch Love Actually when anna goes to bed. I love that Christmas Movie!

There may be other things that I just havn't thought of yet lol

[kelly ann]

Ive never given gifts to my daughter on xmas eve. Is that something you have always done?

[lmm8606]

On Christmas Eve, we will bake and decorate cookies to leave out for Santa. Then we'll go to the 4pm Christmas Eve service at my mom's church and then head over to the In-Laws for a big Christmas dinner and then when we get home, the girls will open a present (which is always new pajamas!), leave out the cookies, and read The Night Before Christmas then go to bed!! :)

[melindasue]

My parents would let us open one present, it was so exciting because it was like a little tiny taste of xmas. Also it would be a big deal leaving a note and cookies and milk out for santa, and carrots for the reindeer. It was so fun, i love it, and miss that we don't do it anymore :(

[winterwonderland88]

Something I always enjoyed as a child was the Christmas story. When we were very young, she'd read us a story before bed on Christmas Eve, as we got older she'd start a book a week before Christmas and read a chapter every night. The books were always Christmas themed. My personal favourite has to be The Christmas Day Kitten by James Herriot (avaliable from amazon for...1p!! Especially good for little girls who love animals), which I still vividly remember even now.

Other than that, the things I always used to love were the simple, family moments. I always used to help mum cook on Christmas Eve. Nothing complicated, but always the fun things, like spooning the mincemeat into the mince pies or cutting out the pastry circles. Going to carol services as a family. Watching the Christmas Festival from the Royal Opera House with mum whilst she sat down with a cup of tea (I don't think they televise it anymore, but a Christmas film is just as good!).

My sister always used to be afraid of Santa too, and so anything to do with Santa was her job (think mum took a stance of desensitisation :P). So after Father Christmas had eaten the lovely mince pies and sherry left out for him by my sister, he left her a note explaining how he wasn't scary at all, that he'd left her some lovely presents under the tree, and that the only reason he breaks into our house on Christmas Eve (as seen by my sister...too much Home Alone??) was to make her Christmas even more special cheesy

[NLxmasmom]

I guess for us it depends on if we decide to stay home or go out. Last year was the first time that we went out on Christmas Eve. We went for a drive to look at the Christmas lights. Normally we stay home and watch Christmas shows/movies. We track Santa online. The kids leave out milk and cookies (or whatever they choose that year) for Santa. Then they go outside to put out carrots and Magic Reindeer Food, then they hang their Magic Santa Key. My kids still go to bed quite early on Christmas Eve. This year for the first time, they will be opening a gift of Christmas Eve. If we go out, I will just find a reason to pop back inside and put the gifts under the tree. If we don't I'll have to be quick and come up with something. A gift will be left for each of us marked from Mrs. Claus. I plan to sprinkle sparkly tinsel all around the gifts. We will open them Christmas Eve so that we all have new pajamas to wear for Christmas morning pictures. This will be a surprise to everyone, but me. ;)

[VeryWelshXmasLover]

Kelly, nope, not done it before, but I heard that idea and thought that it might be nice. Me and my hubby had a chat about it, and have decided thats what we are going to do this year :)

[Annette1990]

Daughter and I will sprinkle some reindeer food outside along the walkway. We will also leave out cookies, milk and a carrot for Santa and Rudolph. She will also get to open 1 Christmas gift. We usually get together with all of my siblings and kids for a nice dinner and gift exchange but we have decided to stay home this year.

[Santa's Helper]

Well, I don't have kids but, when I was very little my parents used to have my brother and me put icicles on the tree on Christmas Eve. They said that Santa would come if we did that. Then when we woke up the next morning there would be candy canes on the tree from Santa as well as all of the gifts. We used to do the gift on Christmas eve as well but, I didn't like to do that after a while because that was 1 less that I got to open on Christmas morning. I preferred my gifts in the morning! We also left milk, cookies and an apple for Santa and Rudolph. I don't have kids but, I leave candy cane rawhides on the tree for my dog on Christmas eve and then when she gets up I tell her Santa left them for her! hee,hee!!!!

[jack_skellington_fan]

Well this is my Xmas eve plans that have been the same for the last 4 years.

Our evening starts at about 7pm, my little boy has had dinner about 5.30ish and goes in the bath, at which point a magic elf/animal depending on whos visiting that year sneaks in and puts a present under the tree - which is new PJS.
Out of the bath, see's his present and opens it, and dressed in his PJS
We then sit down and have a hot chocolate and some biscuits ( which he helps bake the day before)
We check to see where father Christmas is on the Norad site
We get Santas milk and biscuits ready on his special plate with a carrot for rudolph
Ben sprinkles magic reindeer food outside.
Then puts his stocking on his bed
then off to bed, tuck him in and read him the night before Christmas before he goes to sleep at about 8pm - 8.15.

Then I have a Christmas eve tradition that I always wrap my boyfriends and little boys presents that night. I get everything i need at about 9pm - like paper, scissors, ribbon, etc and make myself a nice mug of hot chocolate and a box of maltesers and get to wrapping. Usually there's a Christmas or festive film on the Tv - although the last few years its either been Love Actually (love it!) or Bridget Jones' Diary although the nightmare before Xmas may make an appearance this year.

Then once Santa has eaten his biscuits and drunk his milk I go outside to check the reindeer's have eaten all there food. (its just oats and edible glitter so it swept down the end of the path) then go and fill his stocking up

Then last thing before bed is some flour sprinkled on the floor around the presents and use one of boyfriends boots to make foot prints in it. Then bed for me usually around midnight.

Then Ben wakes us up with his stocking, we check to see if the reindeer's have been and the food is gone, then we sneak through to the living room and peek through the door to see if the milk is gone, and then he goes in and sees all the snow and footprints and presents.

magical!

[BrittanyMarie]

For the past couple of years on Christmas eve we have gone to this place called Glendale Glitters. It has a bunch of Christmas lights, different little booths set up to buy goodies and lots of different food. There is music and tons of activities for kids. The one thing we like to do is go at night and go on the horse and carriage ride. It is so much fun. Can't wait to do it this year.

[Christmas24/7]

First off, congrats Jack Skellington Fan on finding out you are having another baby. That's awesome!


As far as our Christmas Eve....

Christmas Eve is just a fun day at our house. We watch Christmas movies, make cookies for Santa (if they aren't already made), play games, hang out, etc. Our evening festivities start with a big dinner. We have our big Christmas *feast* on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day because we prefer not to spend so much time in the kitchen on Christmas. Other than a traditional breakfast, we eat leftovers for Christmas Day. Anyway, we have a big dinner on Christmas Eve of ham, sour cream potatoes, homemade rolls, frozen strawberry salad, green bean casserole, sparkling cider, etc. Sometimes we eat it by candlelight (which our kids LOVE), but that hasn't really become a set tradition. After dinner, our kids open one present and it's always Christmas PJs. Sometimes their yearly ornament goes in the same package. They head to the shower/tub and then put on their new PJs and we start the rest of our traditions.

We always have chocolate fondu on Christmas Eve for our dessert. We dip pretzels, bananas, oranges, marshmallows, strawberries, etc. After we have our fondu and get it all cleaned up, we gather around the table to read the Christmas Story from the bible. We sit around the table and we each have a candle (unlit) and then we turn off the lights. We light the candle of our oldest daugher and she chooses a Christmas Carol (about the Savior's birth) that we all sing together. After we sing the carol she picked, she uses her candle to light my candle. I then choose another Christmas carol and we all sing that and then I light my next daughter's candle. We go around the table doing the same thing until we reach my husband's candle. When his is lit, he reads the Christmas story from the bible by candle light and then we close with singing Silent Night and then family prayer. After that, the kids are off to bed. I always have all the gifts wrapped and stocking stuffers separated by person so all we have to do is put things out. Then DH and I relax together, anxiously waiting for morning. (:

The other tradition we have is that Santa brings each child 3 gifts (to represent the gifts the wise men brought to baby Jesus) and each child's gifts are wrapped in a specific paper unique to that child (always has Santas on it). No name tags are used, but a matching piece of paper is put in the appropriate stocking. Stockings are always opened first on Christmas morning. When the kids find their piece of wrapping paper, they can match it up to the gifts under the tree to see what gifts belong to which child.

Traditions are important and my kids would be so sad if things didn't happen the same way every year.cheesy

[novelist]

:tree:We don't have small children, but every christmas eve, my husband and i open one small gift. It's something always did while I was growing up, so I wanted to continue the tradition now that I'm married.

[deffenm]

Well Christmas Eve is alwasy an exciting time around our house because that is our daugthers birthday (she will be 6 this year). So we do not do any holiday type things until after we have her birthday day party (which is usually around lunch time). Then she has all afternoon to play with her birthday presents. We go to 4:00 church service and then come home and eat pizza (daugthers favorite food) and birthday cake. We sing happy birthday to our daughter and baby jesus.

After dinner we put deer food on the front lawn, and set out cookies for Santa. The kids then get to open a gift which is new pj's.. Surprise! They know what it is every year but they look forward to seeing what kind of PJ's they are.

We then watch a christmas show (usually Christmas Story because it plays non stop for 24 hours) and then the kids and husband go off to bed. My husband likes to be surprised so he goes to bed so I can put out all of the gifts and fill stockings. Yes I have to fill husbands stocking to. He is worse then the kids. It is an exhuasting day but I love it.

[Chillywilly]

Christmas Eve Breakfast,
Last minute wrapping of gifts- Deliver gifts to all extended family- Prepare Christmas Eve dinner: Garlic Cracked Crab and Garlic Noodles with salad- Christmas eve special punch- Drive thru the neigborhoods to view the Christmas lights- Prepare in the evening special coffees and pastries for dessert- Watch Christmas movies and listen to Christmas Music- Put the grand children to bed before assembling all gifts that need it- Open one gift from our stocking - Finish the evening by starting to preparing for Christmas dinner.:tree:

[Sunshine73]

Christmas Eve was always family time when I was little. Mom would pop us in the car and we'd drive around looking at Christmas lights and listening to Christmas music. Then, we'd go home and watch various Christmas specials on tv, fix Santa's plate w/ cookies and milk and a carrot for Rudolph. Then, the local weather guy would talk about spotting Santa on radar and we knew it was time to get ourselves to bed!

[Smiley21]

Well I don't have any kids, but I have many cousins. This year I plan on rallying them up & baking cookies with them & let them sleepover & watch movies a few days prior to Christmas day so that their parents can do some last minute shopping ;) the kids can't get enough of me & likewise for me.