Our Kids Christmas Eve Box Tradition with a Twist

Looking for a fun new tradition to share with your kids this Christmas Eve? You’ve probably already heard of the Christmas Eve box — a massively growing present-giving trend in which on December 24th you give someone a box full of small but meaningful little Christmas gifts or holiday treats. We’ve had a Christmas Eve Box tradition in our family for a few years now. There’s a specific reason why we got this tradition started and today I’ll share that with you. Also I’ll tell you how to put together your own Christmas Box, what to put inside, and how to get this tradition started — but with a twist since this year I decided to switch things up!

In our family we celebrate nochebuena on Christmas Eve. Like many Latino families, we gather to celebrate, enjoy family time, eat good food, and open gifts at the stroke of midnight. This means that Santa visits us the night before Christmas Eve and my kids spend the entire day stalking their presents under the tree on the day before Christmas. They wine and practically beg for permission to open a gift (or two) before midnight. Waiting till midnight is hard! So a couple of years ago my sister came up with the brilliant idea to start a Christmas Eve box tradition with our kids.

That first year we purchased a decorative box for each kid and stuffed it with goodies they could enjoy on Christmas Eve. This became a fun present that our kids could open on the morning of Christmas Eve! Then it quickly became a family tradition and every year since we’ve been stuffing small boxes with goodies that will keep them busy and make waiting till the stroke of midnight a bit easier — and less annoying for us mamas!

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Our Kids Christmas Box Traditions with a Twist

Every year we get a bit more creative with our Christmas Eve boxes. They’ve become so popular with our kids! They get so excited and look forward to seeing what little treats await them on Christmas Eve morning. This year I decided to switch things up a bit by turning our boxes into bags and totes that I know my kids will absolutely love.

Thank you to our friends at Thirty-One for providing us with complimentary products to facilitate this blog post.

If you’re a long time reader of this blog you already know that I am absolutely obsessed with Thirty-One products because you’ve heard me talk about it here, here and here. Everything they make is just so pretty! And this year I discovered their adorable line of fun and festive seasonal essentials — totes, pouches, and caddies that make great holiday gift bags.

I also thought these would make amazing Christmas Eve boxes bags and add a bit more delight to our Christmas Eve tradition. Plus they’re sturdy, reusable and much easier to store than a box so I can use them year after year. Don’t you agree that these adorable holiday themed totes, pouches and caddies make this Christmas tradition even more magical and fun for the little ones?

Now as promised, let me help you get this Christmas tradition started…

What is a Christmas Eve Box? It Could Also be a Tote, Caddy or Pouch!

A Christmas Eve Box is a small box, bag, tote, caddy or pouch gifted to kids the day (or night) before Christmas. It can be filled with any small gifts, goodies or treats you like. This often becomes a yearly family tradition (as it did for my family) and makes the night (or day) before Christmas something extra special and fun for our kids to look forward to.

How to Make a Christmas Eve Box, Bag, Tote or Pouch and Start Your Own Tradition

Gather some essentials before you begin putting your Christmas Eve box together. You’ll need to choose a fun and festive box, bag, tote, caddy or pouch to put all your chosen goodies in. I love these from Thirty-One but whatever you choose, you’ll fill it with all the special little presents for your kids to find on the morning of Christmas Eve. You can say it’s an early little gift from Santa. You might even want to include a little note from the big buy himself to make it an extra magical moment and get the kids even more excited about St. Nick’s arrival.

What to Put in a Christmas Eve Box

The options are endless! Think Christmas stocking but more fun! I actually split up the goodies for my kids between their Christmas Eve box bag and their stockings. The small treats you choose to include don’t have to be extravagant. You can fill your Christmas box, bag, tote, caddy or pouches with inexpensive little trinkets and small toys you pick up at a nearby 99 cent store or find on Amazon.

Here are some basics that I suggest you include.

Pajamas – I like to get matchy PJs for the family so I always get a new set of PJs for them to wear on Christmas Eve. I placed a set of PJs for each of the kids in these Timeless Memory Pouches from Thirty One. Place them under the tree for the kids to find on the night before Christmas. These adorable pouches also fit in bigger Christmas Eve Boxes or totes!

• Festive Holiday Socks – Who doesn’t love some festive Christmas socks? Fun holiday themed socks make any holiday a bit more festive.This year I included a fun little design your own socks kit and these will keep the kids entertained on the day before Christmas.
• A Christmas Movie – Another way to keep my kids busy while I cook up la cena de nochebuena is to play a fun Christmas movie for them to watch. It’s also a great way to introduce my kids to some of my favorite Christmas classics and gives the entire family a great excuse to cuddle up on the couch on Christmas Eve.
• Popcorn – A bag or two of microwavable popcorn goes perfect with a holiday movie!
• Hot Chocolate – Nothing says cozy winter day like a yummy cup of hot chocolate and don’t forget the mini marshmallows.
• Candy & Cookies – Throw in some of your kids favorite sweets! These can include candy canes, holiday themed chocolates, gingerbread cookies. Even a bag of Reindeer Farts Cotton Candy. You get the idea!
• Christmas Books – I find any excuse to buy books for my kids! Christmas coloring books are also a great choice to include. They give kids something fun and creative to entertain themselves with while they wait till it’s time to open gifts.
• Blind Bags – Tell me what kid isn’t obsessed with opening these little surprise toy bags. Choose the ones your kids love most and include a couple of them. They’ll be so excited!

One last thing that I would highly suggest including is a cookie decorating kit. Since Santa arrives at our house on the night before Christmas Eve, I don’t include the cookie kit in our own Christmas Eve box bag. Instead our elves deliver it the night before.

Decorating cookies on Christmas Eve can turn into another fun Christmas tradition to add to your family’s Christmas festivities. Can you tell I’m all about Christmas traditions? No matter if your family celebrates nochebuena or opens gifts on Christmas morning, these creative baked creations make super special cookies to leave out for Santa to enjoy during his visit.

Also check out this other fun Christmas tradition we follow. Santa’s elves keep this mama busy but I love it!

Start a fun new Christmas tradition today and have fun putting together a special Christmas Eve box, bag, tote, caddy or pouch for your kiddos. They’ll love it! And also remember, your new kids Christmas Eve box bag tradition will keep them away from all those gifts already sitting under the Christmas tree on noche buena.

Feliz navidad and Merry Christmas to all of you!