In many homes across the UK and Australia, Christmas Eve has its own small tradition: a Christmas Eve box. After tea, once the day has started to slow down, the children are given one box to open. Inside there are usually new pyjamas, a book for bedtime, something warm to drink and one small gift.
It is not really about the things in the box. It is about the evening. A Christmas Eve box turns the most restless night of the year into a gentle one, and gives your child something to hold on to while the waiting feels endless.
What is a Christmas Eve box?
A Christmas Eve box is a small box a child opens on the evening of 24 December, usually holding pyjamas, a bedtime book, a treat and one small gift. It is opened once, on one night, as a calm start to Christmas. It isn't a second round of presents. Many families keep the same box and fill it again each year, so the box itself becomes part of the tradition.
What goes inside a Christmas Eve box?
Most Christmas Eve boxes hold four things: something cosy to wear, something to read, something to eat and one gift. That is enough to fill the evening without taking anything away from Christmas morning.
- Something cosy: new pyjamas or warm socks, put on straight away.
- Something to read: a Christmas picture book for the last story before bed.
- Something to eat: hot chocolate, a gingerbread biscuit, or a mince pie left out for Father Christmas.
- One gift: something they can open, hold and play with that same evening.
The gift is the part children remember. The best ones can be enjoyed quietly, on the floor in pyjamas, in the hour before bed.
The best gift for a Christmas Eve box, by age
The right gift is one your child can use on their own or with you that evening, without batteries, noise or a long list of instructions. Here is what we would put in the box at each age.
| Gift | Age | Develops | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personalised Wooden Puzzle | 1–3 years | Fine motor, letter recognition | A first Christmas Eve box they'll keep |
| Toddlers Tablet | 2–5 years | Pencil grip, early drawing | Drawing a picture for Father Christmas |
| Toddlers Memory Game | 3+ years | Memory, turn-taking | A first game to play together that night |
| Shut the Box | 3+ years, best from 4 | Counting, adding up, patience | A family game for the whole evening |
1–3 years: a puzzle with their own name
For a young child, their own name is often the first word they truly recognise. Finding it in the Christmas Eve box, cut in wood and made just for them, is a quiet kind of magic. Little hands lift the letters out and fit them back again and again, which is exactly the calm, absorbing work a wound-up evening needs.
It also outlasts the night. Most families keep the puzzle on a shelf for years, long after the pyjamas are outgrown. Each puzzle is made to order, so it is worth ordering well before December. See the Personalised Wooden Puzzle →
2–5 years: a drawing tablet for a letter to Father Christmas
Many children want to leave something for Father Christmas along with the mince pie. A drawing tablet gives them a way to do it: a picture of the tree, a wobbly name, a reindeer with too many legs. It draws and wipes clean with no screen and no light, so it settles a child rather than winding them up before bed. See the Toddlers Tablet →
3+ years: a memory game to play together
By three, many children are ready for their first real game with rules. A memory game is a lovely one to open on Christmas Eve because it is played together, at the kitchen table or on the rug, and a small child can genuinely win it with no help and no reading. A few rounds with a parent, then bed. See the Toddlers Memory Game →
4+ years: Shut the Box for the whole family
Shut the Box is an old pub game made for small hands: roll two dice, add them up, turn down the matching numbers. Children who are starting to count love it, and grandparents who are staying over for Christmas usually remember it from their own childhood. It is a game the whole family can play that evening, and it tends to come out again every Christmas after. See Shut the Box →
A tradition to add: one handprint every Christmas Eve
Some families add one more thing to the evening: a handprint, taken every Christmas Eve and kept side by side. A few years in, you have a row of tiny hands growing up, one Christmas at a time. Our Handprint Frame holds several prints in one frame, so it can become part of the box each year.
How is a Christmas Eve box different from a stocking or an advent calendar?
A Christmas Eve box is opened on the evening of the 24th, a stocking on Christmas morning, and an advent calendar a little each day through December. Many families do all three. If you are planning those too, our stocking fillers guide and advent calendar ideas use different picks, so nothing repeats.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Christmas Eve box?
A small box a child opens on the evening of 24 December, usually holding pyjamas, a bedtime book, a treat and one small gift. It is a calm start to Christmas rather than an extra round of presents.
What do you put in a Christmas Eve box for a toddler?
New pyjamas, a Christmas picture book, a warm drink or biscuit, and one gift they can play with quietly that evening, such as a personalised name puzzle or a drawing tablet.
What age is a Christmas Eve box for?
From a child's first Christmas right through primary school. The pyjamas and book stay the same; the gift grows with them, from a name puzzle at one to a family dice game at five.
When should I order a personalised gift for a Christmas Eve box?
As early as you can. Personalised puzzles are made to order, so order well before December to make sure it arrives in time.
With love from the Montessori Toddlers team 💛
