Christmas Box: How to Make a December Box + Tons of Christmas Box Ideas
The Christmas Box is a family tradition your family will always remember! How to make a December Box + tons of Christmas Box ideas to create this fun holiday gift!
I know many families have a tradition of a Christmas Eve Box for kids, for their spouse, or even for themselves. If you’re wondering what this is, let’s talk about the concept and how we do it in our family.
What is a Christmas Eve Box?
If you’ve never heard of this, it’s a box to help get ready for and celebrate Christmas. It typically includes Christmas pajamas and some fun gifts to help enjoy and celebrate the anticipation of Christmas. They often have activities to do on Christmas Eve, and perhaps a few small presents to play with, and are just meant to keep the kids busy.
I’ve always loved the Christmas Eve Box tradition! My family did a version of it off and on, depending on my mom’s energy level with six children. It’s such a fun idea to get kids excited about their new Christmas pajamas and keep them busy channeling Christmas Eve energetic joy! If you want to use these Christmas box ideas for a Christmas Eve box, I think it’s a fantastic way to go!
HOWEVER, we’ve become huge fans of celebrating the Christmas season and leaning into more holiday traditions. And that’s why we’re here to advocate to go beyond just the Christmas Eve box idea and lean into the December box!
Celebrate all Month with a Christmas Box
I really have fallen hard for the concept of a holiday box. It’s the same concept, but instead of waiting for the holiday, it’s given at the start of the month to celebrate the season. We’ve already shared our Halloween Box and Thanksgiving Box ideas. It’s time for the big one I’m most excited about, the Christmas Box!
Instead of gifting these items on Christmas Eve as a Christmas Eve box, we decided it’s more fun to wear those holiday pajamas all season long! While we’re spending a lot more time at home this year, a box of fun Christmas activities and traditions is something I’m happy to kick off on December 1st! My kids got a sneak peek of their December 1st Box, so we could share the fun and help with some Christmas Box ideas for everyone else ready to celebrate the season all month long!
Christmas Gift Box Ideas
You can truly do anything that fits your family and budget!
I have an entire section of ideas with direction links on MY AMAZON STOREFRONT to make your shopping experience easier!
But let me share a bunch of our favorites and what we included in our Christmas Boxes this year!
SOMETHING FESTIVE TO WEAR
Christmas Pajamas
I am a huge fan of Christmas pajamas! I think most people are; there’s a reason matching Christmas pajamas are a common tradition for millions of families! They may just be the most favorite of all family Christmas traditions, from babies to teens, Christmas PJs are always a great idea!
Of course, I love the idea of new pajamas for Christmas Eve, ready for Christmas morning. But we’ve learned from a decade of personal experience that they’re even more fun to enjoy throughout the season! We’ve enjoyed watching our kids wear holiday pyjamas for Christmas movie nights, going out to carol, and at a myriad of other holiday activities.
If you’re looking for some great holiday pajamas, we have several in our Family Christmas Pajamas roundup.
Festive Outfit/Holiday Shirt
We like to get our boys a new church outfit for Christmas Sunday. Our kid is excited about finding the outfit, or at least a new bowtie, in the box! It’s a fun way to make new clothes feel so exciting!
I also love a good festive shirt to enjoy for holiday events and parties. There’s nothing like a red or green festive shirt to wear to a preschool Christmas program! A sweater or family picture outfit is a great option, too. Or you can go for the printed t-shirts with some fun holiday-themed pictures or messages.
If your kids need new clothes you’re planning on buying anyway, it’s a great time to drum up some excitement and include them in a Christmas box!
Festive Slippers
A few years ago, we did family Christmas slippers, and they were so fun! While we loved the reindeer, you could go with any cozy slippers to make a special box feel extra custom for kids. This is one of those December box ideas that keep you cozy all winter!
Holiday Socks
We found some fun pairs for just over a dollar at the Target Spot. It’s easy to include a pair of Christmas socks that they can enjoy all season.
Christmas ACTIVITIES AND Christmas CRAFTS
Advent Calendars
How fun is it to start on December 1st and count down to Christmas Day? We’ve been doing Lego Advent Calendars for years, and they’re always a hit for our Star Wars fans! But we also love chocolate or small sweet treat calendars that are cheap and easy!
And these are so fun to open early in the season, instead of just waiting for Christmas Eve box ideas, that you can only enjoy for one night.
Christmas Books
You just can’t be the cozy feeling and quality time together that comes from holiday books! We have a full list of the best Christmas Picture Books you can find in this post. I love adding a new release or a classic we don’t own to our Christmas book collection. We bought several this year instead of just one, since we know we’ll be home more. My oldest son will add Dasher, The Polar Express, and Tough Cookie to our book collection.
For my baby, we included Christmas in the Manager, Merry Christmas Little Elliott, and Santa and the Goodnight Train board books in our collection.
We have so many other fun and new titles in our Christmas Picture Books list that we think make great gifts!
Christmas Activity Books
I love keeping my kids occupied with fun learning, art, and activity books. When you can find a festive Christmas-themed activity book that provides some screen-free fun, we’re all in!
Here are some of our favorites:
- Paint By Sticker Christmas
My son is obsessed with these books, and they provide hours of quiet time fun! The Christmas stickers form a picture, and they’re just so cute! Plus the Christmas book has sparkly pages that feel a little extra magical. - Brain Games Sticker-By-Number Christmas
This is an easier sticker book option, and it’s super cute! - First Big Book of Coloring: Christmas
I’ve raved about these books so many times. They are the perfect coloring book for all ages! They have crisp white pages with deep black outlines that make the contrast for little people so easy to follow! The layouts and pictures are perfect for little hands or even paint projects, The Christmas/winter pictures are so cute! - Highlights Christmas Activity Books
These are so fun and so well done!
*I have tons more linked on my Amazon storefront!
Christmas Puzzle
My family had a super fun tradition of spending the week off school huddled around a puzzle table, working on a jigsaw puzzle together. We’d play Christmas music, watch holiday movies, enjoy some Christmas goodies, and often spend hours just talking and laughing together. They are some of my favorite memories as a teen and college student.
So please take this as your sign to start a Christmas puzzle tradition and include a fun Christmas puzzle!
Christmas Crafts
I start looking for these easy items at the Target Spot early in the season. It’s a great place to grab several items for about $3 a piece. But I’ve also found amazing stuff for better deals at Joann. You can shop online and find tons of cute, simple Christmas crafts/projects for kids to do!
I’ll also share several cheap, easy Halloween crafts for kids in the coming week, so stay tuned!
Christmas Family Fun EXPERIENCES
Christmas Movie Night
I read a study over a decade ago that said the actual favorite tradition families love and look forward to the most is watching Christmas movies as a family. And I think most families will agree with this!
This is your opportunity to give a mini movie night kit with some sweets and snacks to enjoy while you watch! You could also make a themed movie night experience, like eating spaghetti and syrup and watching Elf!
A fun gift idea is to gift an actual DVD that your recipient will love. However, there are so many great Christmas movies for kids on Disney+, Amazon, Netflix, etc. You could also do an Amazon gift card or a Fandango gift card to cover the cost of a rental.
That bonding time together is something kids just cherish, and it’s so easy to give some popcorn or a movie to enjoy!
Tickets for a Holiday Activity
Chances are, you have fun Christmas activities you make a special effort to go see. Like maybe A Christmas Carol play, or a special Christmas light show. This is a fun time to gift a ticket or a reservation receipt and help build some excitement and anticipation!
Festive Treats/Holiday Baking
One holiday tradition most families with kids from toddlers to adults adore is having a Christmas cookie night. Give some cookie cutters, a Christmas cookie mix, and/or some fun sprinkles, and get ready for loads of fun baking and decorating Christmas sugar cookies.
Every year, we love to bake our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I added a bag of Christmas M&Ms to my kids’ Christmas boxes, ready to make an easy and favorite festive treat. If you have something you love making together, give the special ingredient (like sprinkles or candy canes) and plan a baking night.
You could add a recipe card, an ingredient, or a printed picture to a Christmas box, letting your kids know a festive item will be created together.
Hot Chocolate Night
We love creating a hot cocoa bar for a hot chocolate date night: but this works so well as a family date too!
Find a new mug for the holiday season, and add in hot cocoa mix, marshmallows, or hot cocoa bombs that melt with warm milk and pop open. They’re extra fun, and the sweet teeth fans in your family will love these!
Christmas Tree Decorations
I love that many families choose a special ornament to gift each year. You could choose a personalized one and include it in your December box so easily!
Create a December Box Perfect for You
This is by no means an exhaustive list. And please don’t feel pressured to add more than a few items in a single Christmas Box! However, whether you want to celebrate and create some excitement for your kids or significant other is up to you! Feel free to go all out, but you can also pull one of these together for only a few dollars.
Want our FREE PRINTABLE? Grab it right here!
Photos by: Chrissy Blake
Like this Christmas Box Ideas post? We’d love it if you pinned it and helped others find some Christmas magic!
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I absolutely loved this post! The ideas for the Christmas box are so creative and fun. I especially like the suggestion of including homemade treats and festive crafts. It’s such a great way to spread holiday cheer on December 1st! Can’t wait to start putting my box together.