For kids and parents there are few things more exciting than Christmas. For children it’s a magical time of presents, happiness and mystery. For parents it’s a wonderful family time and the magic is in seeing little excited faces and enjoying all the holiday traditions. Christmas is not all about the day however, and the build up and aftermath are just as important and a lovely excuse to enjoy some family time. The most exciting day after Christmas Day itself is probably Christmas Eve. The scene is set, most are off work, and excitement levels have reached their peak and it’s a great time to indulge in some brilliant Christmas Eve traditions.
Getting ready for Santa
Santa has loaded up his sleigh, and is finally on his way to deliver your little ones their Christmas presents, so you’d better hurry if you’re going to be ready for his arrival. The big tradition is putting out mince pies and milk for Santa when he comes down your chimney, but you can expand on this with a few extras for the reindeer. Put carrots and a bucket of water outside for Rudolf and friends, or you could mix oats and glitter to make your own reindeer food, complete with magic dust for flying.
Track Santa
Norad, the aerospace command centre, have a great website which goes live at Christmastime where you can track Santa’s progress around the world, starting in Australia and working his way round to the USA. The moving blip that is Father Christmas keeps kids glued to the screen eagerly awaiting his arrival, and is a sure fire way to get them excited about Christmas morning as well as teaching them something about time zones and geography. It’s also a great way to get stubborn kids to bed, as they can physically see that Santa is approaching and they won’t want to miss out on their presents.
Christmas Eve presents
Waiting until Christmas morning for presents is one of the most agonising waits you have as a child. As a parent it’s not much easier, as you eagerly anticipate the happy faces of your little ones opening their gifts. One way to appease over excited kids is to let them have a Christmas Eve present off of the tree before they go to bed. Pyjamas are a great idea for this present, as this means your kids can go to bed and wake up on Christmas morning in brand new snuggly PJs. Why not get them a onesie for extra winter warmth. There are some fab onesies at George in all sizes, for every member of the family.
Christmas Eve traditions can be anything you like, and they form the basis of memories that will last your kids a lifetime. Start when your children are little and develop and add to the traditions over the years, and hopefully they will pass some on to their own children. Get snuggled up with a hot chocolate on Christmas Eve and see the magic of the season through the eyes of a child once more.
