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Out of all the many Christmas Eve traditions, Christmas Eve boxes have always been a favourite in my home and many others. Here, I will share the best Christmas Eve gift box ideas for kids!
Over the years, I have seen and heard of various different Christmas Eve gift ideas, and by far the most popular is the Christmas Eve gift box.
If you aren’t familiar with what a Christmas Eve gift box is, it’s a special gift given to kids of all ages on Christmas Eve. Some people quite literally put the gifts in a cardboard box, while others opt for a gift bag, or whatever best suits their style. Some people refer to these gift boxes as Christmas Eve crates, while to others it’s simply called a Christmas Box. There are lots of options when it comes to what you call, and how you present, this early Christmas gift. However, that’s not nearly as important or exciting as what is included inside!
How To Package This And Make It Special
As I said, there are many ways in which you can package and present this gift to your children. What we do is – we use an average sized clothing box, fill it with their goodies, wrap it up in Christmas wrapping paper, and set each gift at their place at the kitchen table. My kids always sit in the same seat every meal time so they know exactly which one is theirs! When they get up Christmas Eve morning, they immediately run to the table to open their package!
We don’t put the child’s name on the gift, simply because they know which one is theirs based on where we put them at the table. However, you could opt to add pretty name tags and put them under the tree, or at the foot of their bed for when they wake up in the morning!
Some other ideas on how to present your Christmas Eve gift box:
- Put everything in a regular box, wrap it, and place it at the foot of their bed for when they wake up in the morning
- Use their Christmas stocking and put the items inside of that to get them extra excited for Christmas morning (not that they’ll need any help with that!)
- Place the items (wrapped or unwrapped) inside a sparkly Christmas box
- Wrap each item individually and place them inside a pretty basket with a bow tied onto it for an extra effect
- Set each little item up in a display of sorts and have each child’s display in it’s own designated spot in your home
- If you want to get REALLY creative, do up a small scavenger hunt that will lead them to their Christmas Eve gift box!
Be creative and do whatever will ignite the most excitement for your children! (Can I just say how much FUN it is being a parent at Christmas and seeing the magic in your children’s eyes?! It’s the best!)
Christmas Eve Gift Box Ideas
Whether you find yourself looking for some new family Christmas traditions, or you’re just needing some inspiration for this year’s Christmas Eve gift box, you’re in the right place! Grab a cup of hot chocolate, put on your elf hat and let’s dive right in!
Christmas Movie
Including a Christmas movie in the Christmas Eve gift box is always a hit! There’s ENDLESS options out there, and this is a great way to get the whole family to cuddle up together and create a new tradition of watching a Christmas movie together on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day! Some of our favourite family Christmas movies are:
- Miracle On 34th Street (This 1994 edition is our absolute favourite!)
- Elf
- Arthur Christmas (If you haven’t seen this one, it’s a must! I promise you, your kids will love it!)
- Polar Express
- The Preacher’s Wife (A beautiful movie)
- A Charlie Brown Christmas
- The Muppet Christmas Carol
- Home Alone
- Christmas With The Kranks (Hilarious and heartwarming)
Candy Canes
I feel like I almost don’t even need to mention this one, as it should just go without saying! Ha! But there are so many fun flavours of candy canes now, it can be a really fun thing to include inside the Christmas Eve box. My children have never liked the mint candy canes, but they love the fruit flavours, especially sweet cherry! Picking out some fun and different flavours your kids haven’t tried before is a fun way to add a few yummy treats into the box! Here are a few flavour suggestions – (and yes, these are actually candy cane flavours!):
Christmas Pajamas
Of all the different Christmas Eve gift box ideas, this one is a classic. You have to include it! People get really creative now with matching family pj’s. There are even some for pets or your child’s favourite doll!
However you choose to do it, Christmas pajamas are such a great gift. My children get so excited to see which new Christmas pjs I’ve selected for them each year, and they put them on as soon as we get home from church on Christmas Eve and wear them until we eat Christmas dinner on Christmas day! This is a great idea for older kids too, because who doesn’t like new pajamas?
Christmas Socks
Another really fun idea that you can be so creative with! I’ve even heard of some families creating a fun tradition of getting the entire family matching Christmas socks that they wear all day Christmas day! As you can see, Christmas Eve gifts don’t need to be anything elaborate. Socks actually aren’t a disappointment when it comes to these Christmas Eve gift boxes!
Christmas Book
Again, another favourite of ours! We actually have a completely separate Christmas season tradition, where I fill up a box with 24 books (one for each day leading up to Christmas), and each night before bed the kids get to unwrap one and we read it together. But even WITH that tradition, I still love including a Christmas book in their Christmas eve gifts. You can never go wrong with a great book full of beautiful pictures. Children love them! Some of our favourites are:
- The Legend Of The Candy Cane (Beautiful story)
- The Night Before Christmas (Little Golden Book Edition)
- One Snowy Night
- Franklin’s Christmas Gift
- Moosletoe
Board Games
Depending on the age of your children, this is a really fun activity to include in your Christmas Eve box tradition. There are so many fun family games available, and playing a board game while drinking some hot chocolate is a perfect addition to your family traditions! Obviously, if you only have really young kids, this may not work out as well. But if you have older kids, this is a great way to pause the busyness and get everyone together for an hour or so. Here are a few ideas for you:
If you’d like some more family activity ideas, check out this post all about fun and affordable family activities you can do right at home!
Hot Cocoa Mix
Much like the candy canes, hot cocoa mix has become quite the experience! Gone are the days of there being one kind of hot cocoa. There are so many different flavours available now, from chocolate bar flavours, to rich and creamy gourmet hot chocolate! Also, you are able to purchase individual little packets of flavours (rather than a whole box), so you can easily create a fun and festive variety box of all different kinds of hot cocoa mixes!
Growing up, my mother always put a few of these inside my Christmas stocking every year and I can still remember the feeling of excitement I would have when receiving them. It means I knew that a warm and tasty treat was in my near future! For the last few years, I have opted to include some hot cocoa mix in our Christmas Eve gift box tradition, and my kids react to those yummy little packets exactly the way I did when I was young!
Most grocery stores will carry the boxed variety packs, but often times you will find more unique selections either in gift stores or online. Here are a few of our most loved flavours:
- White Salted Caramel
- Candy Cane (my personal favourite!)
- French Vanilla
- Gingerbread
- Double Truffle
Small Toy
For younger kids, this is a must! As much as they love new pajamas and tasty treats, you know that what excites them the most is something they can play with. And that’s completely understandable! I always make a point of adding a small toy into our Christmas Eve boxes, and in my mind, it’s like icing on the cake! My kids know there’s going to be a small toy in there, but it’s always a surprise as to what the toy is!
And when I say small, I do mean small – in size and in price. I don’t believe Christmas Eve boxes need to be overproduced, and you want to keep it more about the tradition rather than the items themselves. So when I choose a toy, I purposely choose something small enough in size that it can fit nicely inside the box, and something that’s not very expensive. Some toys I’ve included in the past are:
- Pop Its
- Dinkie cars
- Barbie dolls
- Brain teaser puzzle games
- Surprise toy ( such as L.O.L, Mini Brands, Dino Eggs, etc)
- Small Christmas stuffed animal
Coloring Book
Sometimes, it’s the simple things that bring children the most joy – and a good coloring book is one of them! I LOVED coloring when I was a kid, and my children also really enjoy it. Adding a cute Christmas themed coloring book into your child’s Christmas Eve gift box checks off multiple boxes – small in size, affordable, and fun! Here are a few really nice ones for different age groups:
- Christmas coloring book for toddlers
- Christmas coloring book for kids
- Christmas coloring book for teens/adults
Reindeer Food
Okay, this one is super fun! I actually have not done this yet with my children, but I think this will be the year I start! I’ve heard a lot of buzz about reindeer food in the last few years, and I can see why. Not only does this make a fun addition to your child’s Christmas Eve gift box, it’s also one of the Christmas activities your children are sure to remember!
Basically what this is, is a little bag of homemade “reindeer food” that your children will leave out for Santa’s reindeer when they come on Christmas Eve night. A fun way to tie this into your own Christmas Eve box tradition, is to include all the different ingredients in little labelled baggies, and tuck them inside the gift box. Once your children open their box, they can use the ingredients you gave them to make their own reindeer food to leave out that night!
All of the ingredients are commonly found pantry staples, and because it’s for Santa’s reindeer….you can essentially just use whatever you have and want to use! Some common ingredients are:
- rolled oats
- shredded coconut
- christmas coloured sprinkles
- raisins
- food colouring
- sunflower seeds (or other type of seed)
Be creative with this, and enjoy the pure joy and excitement on your children’s faces as they prepare a special snack for Santa’s reindeer! If you want a step-by-step guide on how to do this, check out this post all about making fun reindeer food!
Christmas Mugs
Another super easy and affordable addition to your Christmas Eve gift box! If you have really young children, you can opt for a plastic mug, or even a Christmas themed sippy cup. While older kids can have the real deal! However you do it, I like the mug idea because if you DO put some yummy hot cocoa mix in their boxes, they can drink it in their new Christmas mugs!
Another way to make Christmas mugs extra special is by having a local business design the mug with your child’s name and year on it. When they grow up, this would make for a really great keepsake for them! Over the years, I’m sure that each mug would gather lots of great memories associated with it!
The Real Meaning
As fun as a Christmas Eve gift box is, and all the incredible traditions that Christmas brings – make sure to teach your children what the true meaning of Christmas is. That Jesus was born as a baby in Bethlehem, grew up and died for the sins of the world so that we would have hope and salvation through Him.
Without THAT, none of this means anything! So go ahead and enjoy all the fun extra elements that the Christmas season brings, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that! But don’t forget WHY we celebrate Christmas in the first place.
God loves you so much that He gave His one and only son – Jesus – the TRUE reason for the season.
Blessings!
~Maryann
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