December is such a magical time. Spending it with family, decorating, baking, giving, parties and more. One thing I absolutely adore is the Night Before Christmas. Since my children were little we have had this one Christmas tradition, which I wanted to share with you.

One Christmas Tradition Your Kids are Sure to Love

My kids are still pretty young so they are in bed early. So the day / night before Christmas we have an afternoon tradition that includes giving a special gift to each child. It is a box filed with items to spend the afternoon / evening in.

The main event, is always a free Holiday movie (pre-selected from Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime). The title of which we print and place in each child’s box. If you have an actual DVD player, you can rent the movie from Redbox or even buy it to keep and watch whenever the mood strikes!

I also give each child their own homemade hot coco with a peppermint mini candy cane and a bag of popcorn kernels.

To top it off we all get in our comfy clothes. The kids get special holiday PJs. I usually purchase next years pajamas right after the holidays so they are super cheap. Last year I got a pair for each kid for $5.00 from babyGAP. Not bad! So be on the look out for great deals.

While the box is special, spending time as a family is priceless. Since we started this tradition, my oldest looks forward to it each year. He knows it is the start of something magical.

The best part is you can make it your own and add your favorite items to this wonderful Christmas Tradition.

Night before Christmas Box

here are some examples of what I put in my kids Christmas boxes last year. But you can customize it to make it your own Christmas Tradition.

• Christmas Jammies
• Popcorn to Pop
• Special Bowl
• Hot Chocolate / Tea
• Candy Cane
• Holiday Movie to watch
• Small gift (like a teddy)

Other ideas for what you could include in your Christmas Tradition Box are:

• sippy cup / water bottle
• mini candy
• holiday mug
• ornament
• art supplies
• marshmellows
• holiday theme book

The sky is the limit on what you can put in the box. My goal is to keep the cost in check. I never spend more than $10 – $15 / per box. For example the box items above total cost was just under $10.00. I reuse the same box each year, so i do not spend on that.

If you have a larger family with 3 or more kids, then i would recommend making a single “family” box to keep the costs down.

Looking for other holiday inspiration for your family?

Check out the ultimate list of non candy stocking stuffers, sure to make your life easier this holiday.

If you are short on extra funds for the holidays and you do not want to go into debt to enjoy the season, then I have simple and actionable ideas to help you save $1,000 right now for the holidays.