I don’t do Christmas Eve boxes - I do this instead

I’ve never really understood the idea of giving kids a box of stuff the night before Christmas, so I’ve always done a December box instead.

I’ve rounded up everything that goes into my kids box (for reference they are 5 and 6) to create the ultimate guide for what to put in yours!

1. A cheap advent calendar - I always start with a £1 advent calendar. I’m really not bothered with a fancy one (and neither are the kids!). This year’s was about £1 from B&M.

2. Festive t-shirt - I grab the kids a Christmas t-shirt each from Primark. They have tops starting from £1.80! I got my kids long sleeve t-shirts for £2.30 each, and then I pair it with leggings or pyjama bottoms they already own. I’ve seen matching family Christmas pyjamas that are so expensive in stores, so I think this is a really good alternative as my kids will be matching for the total price of £4.60.

3. Craft items - I popped into the Works and picked up some cheap crafty bits which include: these £2 activity packs, this letter to Santa pack, some mini Christmas craft sets - I got the reindeer mini craft kit and a pom pom one! But there are loads of choice here for such reasonable prices! I think these are so perfect for cosy afternoons in December!

4. Get up in the loft! - I get up into the loft and find a few bits that we can reuse from last year. I found some Santa cups from B&M but you can get very similar ones here.

5. Nostalgic decorations - Like paper chains from B&M! A total staple and loads of fun - Christmas doesn’t need to be aesthetic!

6. Your favourite Christmas books - ours always come back out. We love The Night Before Christmas and There’s An Elf In Your Book. The Works is also currently doing 10 Christmas books for £10 which gets you 87% off!

7. Sweet treats - I’ve used these brick chocolate moulds I got from Amazon, to make some DIY chocolate treats. I grabbed some little bags for 10p each from The Works to make little gifts for their friends, too!

8. Baking kits - I’ll be doing some baking with the kids so I picked up some baking and decorating biscuit kits from B&M that are roughly £1! 

9. DIY Xmas cards - We will definitely make some homemade Christmas cards too. I’m thinking potato print cards this year so I picked up card, paints and paintbrushes all for £1 each from The Works for this!

10. Hot choc bags - And finally, I’ve made some little hot chocolate bags for cosy nights in. I used the same 10p gift bags that I mentioned above, filled it with a few teaspoons of hot chocolate powder, some mini marshmallows and chocolate chips! Just add warm milk to a mug and enjoy!

I just feel like this gets them so much more use than a Christmas Eve box. I’ll give it to them on December 1st so we’ve got all of the things that we can do together throughout the month.

If you want more ways to save money at Christmas without losing the magic, then make sure that you’re checking the blogs weekly for more ideas!