Budget-Friendly Christmas Eve Box & December Box Ideas for Kids 🎄

Christmas with kids is magical… but let’s face it, it can also get expensive very quickly!

Between presents, festive days out, Christmas jumpers, school events and enough snacks to see you through until New Year, December spending can soon start to snowball.

That’s why we love the idea of keeping Christmas Eve boxes and December boxes simple, affordable and full of things children will actually use. You definitely don’t need to fill them with expensive presents to make them feel special.

So, if you’re wondering what to put in a Christmas Eve box, looking for budget-friendly Christmas Eve box ideas for kids, or considering starting a December box tradition this year, here are some of our favourite ideas.

What is a Christmas Eve box?

A Christmas Eve box is a small box, basket or bag filled with a few festive treats for children to open on 24th December.

The idea is to create a cosy little Christmas Eve tradition rather than another huge round of presents. Think new nightwear, hot chocolate, a Christmas film, a story and a couple of inexpensive treats.

And the box itself certainly doesn't have to be new. A shoebox wrapped in Christmas paper, a basket you already own or the same reusable Christmas box brought out every year works perfectly.

In fact, making and decorating the box together can become part of the fun.

Christmas Eve box or December box – what's the difference?

If you want to get a little more wear and enjoyment from the contents, you could swap the traditional Christmas Eve box for a December box.

Sometimes called a 1st December box, this is opened at the beginning of December and is designed to kick-start the festive season.

Instead of giving children their festive pyjamas or onesie on Christmas Eve and only getting a few days' wear from them, giving them at the beginning of December means they can enjoy them for Christmas movie nights, cosy weekends, festive sleepovers and the whole run-up to Christmas.

December boxes can still be really simple. Pop in some festive nightwear, a Christmas book, an activity and a treat and you're done.

What to put in a Christmas Eve box on a budget

The secret to a great Christmas Eve box for kids isn't how much you spend. It's choosing a few things that help create a lovely evening together.

A simple formula is:

Something to wear + something to eat + something to do + something to enjoy together.

Here are some inexpensive Christmas Eve box filler ideas:

• Hot chocolate sachets and mini marshmallows

• A candy cane or chocolate coins

• Festive socks

• A Christmas colouring or activity sheet printed at home

• A letter from Santa

• Homemade reindeer food

• Popcorn for a Christmas movie

• A Christmas book you already own or one borrowed from the library

• A homemade ticket for a family Christmas movie night

• A small Christmas decoration they can hang on the tree

You could even add a voucher for something that doesn't cost anything at all, such as “Choose tonight's Christmas film”, “Stay up 30 minutes later” or “Christmas lights walk with Mum and Dad.”

The memories are often far more exciting than another little plastic toy!

Add something cosy they can wear again and again

If you want to include one slightly bigger present, make it something useful.

New kids' Christmas pyjamas are a Christmas Eve box classic, but a cosy onesie is another brilliant option – particularly when the temperature drops.

Our Christmas onesies collection includes some fabulously festive choices for December, Christmas Eve and beyond.

Our super-cute Reindeer Onesie comes complete with Rudolph-inspired red nose and antlers, while our red and green Elf Onesie is perfect for any little helpers hoping to join Santa's team this Christmas.

Better still, they're not just for Christmas Eve. Kids can wear them throughout December for movie nights, lazy mornings, sleepovers and chilly evenings at home – and bring them back out again the following winter if they still fit.

That's what we call making a Christmas purchase work a little harder!

Create a budget Christmas movie-night box 🍿

Another easy way to keep costs down is to create one Christmas Eve box for the whole family rather than individual boxes for every child.

Turn it into a Christmas movie-night box with:

Popcorn + hot chocolate + marshmallows + cosy nightwear + a Christmas film.

No expensive gifts required.

Need some movie inspiration? Take a look at our Top 10 Family Christmas Films to Watch This Christmas and let the kids choose their favourite.

Everyone can get into their Christmas onesies or pyjamas, turn the lights down and settle onto the sofa together.

Christmas Eve sorted. ✔️

Make your own Christmas Eve box

One of the easiest ways to save money is not to spend £20 on the actual box!

Instead, reuse something you already have. An old shoebox wrapped in leftover Christmas paper works brilliantly, or decorate a cardboard box with the kids using stickers, drawings, ribbon and festive stamps.

If you do buy a Christmas Eve box, choose one you can reuse year after year and simply change what's inside.

It can actually become part of the family tradition – when the box appears from the loft each December, the kids know Christmas is officially on its way.

For more inspiration, Argos has some useful Christmas Eve box ideas, including inexpensive homemade activities and suggestions for creating a cosy family night without filling the box with lots of presents.

Don't feel pressured to fill it!

Possibly our most important tip.

Christmas Eve boxes have become increasingly elaborate, but they don't need to be another pile of Christmas presents.

Three or four carefully chosen things are plenty.

A pair of pyjamas or a cosy onesie, a hot chocolate sachet, some popcorn and a handwritten Christmas movie ticket can create just as much excitement as an overflowing box of expensive gifts.

And if you're starting the tradition with younger children, keeping it simple from the beginning makes life much easier in future years!

December box ideas that last all month

If you're leaning towards a December box for kids, think about things that encourage festive activities throughout the month.

You could include:

• Christmas pyjamas or a festive onesie

• A Christmas book

• A Christmas biscuit cutter for an afternoon of baking

• A festive colouring book

• A Christmas movie checklist

• A decoration for the tree

• A hot chocolate sachet

• A note suggesting a Christmas lights walk

• A homemade voucher for a Christmas baking afternoon

You could even add a mini list of festive challenges for the family to complete during December.

The important bit? You don't have to buy something for every activity.

Bake with ingredients already in the cupboard, watch a Christmas film you can already stream, visit your local Christmas lights or spend an afternoon making paper snowflakes.

Christmas magic doesn't need a huge budget.

A cosy Christmas without the Christmas overspend

Whether you choose a December box, Christmas Eve box or family Christmas movie-night box, keeping things simple can make the tradition feel more special – not less.

Choose a few inexpensive treats, add something useful like kids' pyjamas or a Christmas onesie, throw in an activity you can enjoy together and you've got everything you need.

And if you're looking for something extra cosy to pop inside, take a look at our kids' Christmas onesies, including our adorable Reindeer and Elf onesies.

🎁 New to Kids Onesies? Get 10% off your first order – plus FREE UK delivery on all orders.

Because Christmas should be about making memories together… not wondering how on earth you managed to spend that much before December is even over!