My post about creating a Christmas Eve Box for the kids has gone crazy on Pinterest and it seems mums everywhere are trying to get themselves organised and pulling their hair out in the process!

Every woman who has crossed my path in this last week at work has appeared frazzled and stressed by the run up to Christmas this year. I don’t know whether it’s the fact we appear to be working longer in the lead up (for those of you who work anyway) because obviously if Christmas fell on a Wednesday you’d likely finish up on the Friday and have 5 days to prepare, but because Christmas inconveniently falls on a Friday this year (how dare they!) most people are finishing up on the Wednesday which gives us ONE day to prepare! ONE DAY! And even if you aren’t working it appears everyone is looking tired and a little wary this Christmas. I can tell you that I’m definitely feeling a tad disorganised and having a bit of anxiety about being able to get it all done!

So wouldn’t it be AMAZING if a magical elf were somehow to prepare a Christmas Eve Box just for us?

Imagine it: A hard day at home slaving over the stove while wrangling the children and stressing about the Christmas wrapping and how not to be caught wrapping Santa’s presents (and to wrap Santa’s presents in one paper and yours in another!) without leaving any kind of handwriting evidence that could make them suspicious (‘Mum, how come Santa has your writing and used our labels?’) while making sure the reindeer don’t die of starvation, Santa is fed and his thirst quenched, the children haven’t destroyed the house, the presents get put under the tree, the food is prepped and ready … on second thought, I think I might just cancel Christmas this year! But if I were to get a Christmas Eve Box it might just renew my spirit (are you reading this husbands and partners everywhere!).

So what would I want in my Christmas Eve Box? Let’s see …

ALCOHOL 

Wine, beer, hell … tequila! Give me a bottle of Tequila and some shot glasses and then I can make those truffles for Santa while feeling very merry indeed! If you have responsibilities the following day though, perhaps some frozen Margarita mix or a nice bottle of wine would be more suitable! I’ll stick with the Tequila.

COFFEE

Make it a nice blend of coffee for your coffee machine, a voucher for coffee at your local cafe or some fancy coffee sachet you can just add hot water too. GIMME COFFEE! And make it strong (you’re gonna need it after drinking the tequila).

A CLEANING FAIRY

Cleaning fairies don’t exist (but Santa does kids, Santa is real. And the reindeer and all of his elves!) but men, now they can do housework (don’t let them tell you otherwise!) so if they could just you know, tidy up the whole house for you then that would be bloody awesome so upon delivery of the Christmas Eve Box, if they could don some kind of fancy dress and clean the entire house till it sparkles then that would just be friggin awesome!

CHOCOLATE

Make it the bloody good stuff. Melt in your mouth chocolatey goodness! Mmm!

CHEESE

Some fancy cheese and crackers to have with our wine while we watch our men do the housework wouldn’t go astray! Thank you very much!

A ‘NIGHT OFF COOKING DINNER’ VOUCHER

Here it is, a free printable voucher for your man to print off and put in your Christmas Eve Box just for you! 

I’ve made it simple folks, print it off and pop it in and be organised! It doesn’t have to be fancy, hell, cut up some sausage rolls and cook them for all I care, just GIVE US A BREAK FROM THE KITCHEN!

BUBBLE BATH OR BATH SALTS

Some bubble bath or bath salts in some yummy fragrances so we can relax our tired limbs in the bath (while your man is cooking dinner) would be bliss!

A TICKET FOR ‘AN EVENING OF TOILET TRIPS ALONE!’

This is the golden ticket right here! Imagine being able to go to the toilet in peace for an entire evening! Your children may need restraining (not your problem, the magical cleaning fairy AKA your husband or partner can deal with that!). No fingers under the door, no screaming (ok, perhaps only the echo of screaming from down the hallway) and no one barging in or insisting on ‘watching’. In fact, have the bubble bath after the toilet break using the same ticket! Make it a two for one!

A CHICK FLICK (OR SOMETHING)

Heck, a free TV pass to watch some mindless reality TV show like 16 and Pregnant or The Bachelor will bloody do. By now we are soooo tired we just want to watch mindless drivel. However, I must admit to loving Love Actually or Four Holidays or something slightly Christmassy and sweet and romantic (and chick flicky!) at this time of year so stake claim to that! This is for us to watch with more wine while we watch you (yes, I am actually talking directly to you now other halves worldwide because I am hopeful that by now your woman has got you reading this) get Santa’s snack ready and make Santa’s footprints with some flour. Ok?

AN EARLY NIGHT PASS

This is where you say ‘Honey, you have done such an awesome job getting everything organised for Christmas. Not only are you the best wife and mother in the world but you spent hour upon hour planning and buying and shopping and cooking to get ready for tomorrow. Go to bed, I got this *insert anything that has not yet been completed*’. Oh the bliss of that!

I’m sure I’m not the only one who seems to end up having to do everything while their men seem to think it all just magically comes together!

Who would like one of these boxes?! Hands up ladies!

The post The Christmas Eve Box You’ll Want Your Other Half To Make YOU! appeared first on Maybe Baby Brothers.

I’m going to share the love with you again this week with yet another Christmas tradition. I promise this is the last one I have up my sleeve and I’ve got in early with all my Christmas posts to:

A. Avoid the mad rush and give people a chance to be prepared; and

B. To get in before it gets lost in a sea of Christmas posts!

So far I’ve shared the Christmas Eve Box and The Elf on the Shelf and today is the last of the new family traditions that I’ve started for my boys, after all it’s not called the silly season for nothing and one can’t go too overboard (well, you can if you have the time and energy up your sleeve of course and plenty of wine to survive the mayhem!) so I like to try and keep it pretty simple (though the Elf on the shelf tradition is debatable when it comes to making it easy on ourselves but in my opinion it’s worth it for 24 days of good behaviour!).

This one is very simple, in fact it’s the simplest of them all and will just add a touch of magic and excitement to what is already a tried and true tradition in many families the world over – a trip out to see the Christmas lights! Most people live in a neighbourhood, town or city with at least one mad for Christmas resident who goes all out on the light decorating.

When I was a small child the highlight of my Christmas was being able to go to the Festival of the Lights at Pukekura Park in New Plymouth and see the the Christmas lights they would string up through the trees and across the bridges and lakes.

My favourite element was always the ultraviolet light tunnel that would turn everything bright white and light up the little neon painted stones under my feet so they would glow. I absolutely loved it and have very fond memories of those balmy evenings out with my mum and the whole extended family.

Here though, there is a street a 20 minute drive away that is done up to the nines and you can actually walk in and explore the property and see all the awesome displays and lights on offer (I hate to think how much the power bill is!). You can also get a map online that gives you the street addresses of all the houses in the area that are done up for passers by to admire.

Last year we took the boys out for the first time and I wanted to build the suspense and make it ultra exciting for them so I designed and printed off tickets to hide under their pillow. In the days leading up we’d get them in their pajamas and tell them to look under their pillow at bedtime for the special ticket to go on a special adventure and on night three there it was: a ticket for The Christmas Express!

Our boys were beside themselves with excitement because who doesn’t love finding out as a young child that instead of going to bed you get to hop in the car (very rare in the evening!) and go to see something ultra cool (even my husband and I thought that it was ultra cool!). In fact I think just going out at night is ultra cool for kids!

Even if you do it already, the ticket just adds another fun element to the adventure and it will be something the kids look forward to every year. You can even prepare snack bags for the ‘journey’ if you’re so inclined and brave enough to allow snacks in the car!

Yesterday I whipped up a slightly flasher version of last years very basic ticket so I could share it with you so you can do this without any effort except for printing and a wee bit of trimming. Voila! The ticket is mostly black and white as it has been designed to go onto metallic or coloured card but there is a pop of colour if you just want to print it on white and there are three to a page to account for multiple children and keep printing costs down.

Click here or on the preview image to download your free printable ‘The Christmas Express’ tickets now and enjoy this easy twist on an old favourite.

PS: Last year Cohen was 3 and as we were driving along heading for our destination he saw our local supermarket sign lit up ‘Oh mummy! The Christmas lights are so beautiful!’ Look!’. I’ll never forget it, so innocent and hilarious! I wonder if that will fool him again this year, I said to my husband we could have just turned around and gone home at that point and he’d have been none the wiser! 

Do you go and look at the Christmas lights anywhere? Is this something you did as a child?

Linking up with #IBOT @ Essentially Jess

The post The Christmas Lights Express: Free Printable ‘Tickets’ For the Kids! appeared first on Maybe Baby Brothers.

A year or so ago I started to hear bits and bobs floating around the internet about this Christmas tradition that entailed a strange little Elf toy moving around the house and being found in fun and strategically set up scenarios for children to find every morning.

I did some research and discovered that it actually looked like a ton of fun, particularly with two imaginative little boys but they were sold out that year so I got in early the following year (last year) and bought one.

For those who don’t have a clue what The Elf on the Shelf actually is then here is a brief outline:

The Elf on the Shelf®: A Christmas Tradition is a special scout elf sent from the North Pole to help Santa Claus manage his naughty and nice lists. When a family adopts a scout elf and gives it a name, the scout elf receives its Christmas magic and can fly to the North Pole each night to tell Santa Claus about all of the day’s adventures. Each morning, the scout elf returns to its family and perches in a different place to watch the fun. Children love to wake up and race around the house looking for their scout elf each morning.

We adopted our Elf from The Book Depository and called him Alfie (yes, very creative I know!). Alfie joined us for his first December last year and we started off well.

Here’s what Alfie got up to with us last December:

Then this happened:

NOTE TO PARENTS: 

The Elf on the shelf is a very difficult endeavor to achieve when you have children who keep getting up or refuse to go to sleep! You do not want to be up at all hours of the night trying to set this up so my advice to those of you with restless sleepers is to wait a year! Our Elf stayed on strike for the rest of December until he delivered their Christmas Eve Box.

This year we have already started reading the book every night which the kids are loving. Last year the book wasn’t read because the kids weren’t interested but given the popularity of that aspect, I think this year will be a winner! And these monkey’s actually SLEEP at night now! Woohoo! That will make being creative so much easier!

Now, the only problem is that when Alfie was hidden away returned home to Santa after Christmas he was tucked away somewhere so safe that he is now lost. Wish me luck on my retrieval mission! Only 3 weeks until he needs to start working his magic (ie. making the children think they need to be good boys and girls or Santa will be told!).

No, I am not adverse to bribing good behaviour, if only for one month a year! Bring it on I say!

Do you do Elf on the Shelf? Have you even heard of it before now? Is this something you would be interested in doing?

Linking up with #IBOT @ Essentially Jess

The post The Elf on the Shelf appeared first on Maybe Baby Brothers.

Christmas Eve was never an incredibly exciting time in my home growing up so when I saw the idea for a Christmas Eve Box for the kids, I was immediately intrigued.

By not incredibly exciting, I mean that we (my sister and I) were incredibly excited for the following day but we had nothing that happened on that day to be excited about in and of itself or to distract us from the fact that as we slept Santa and all of his reindeer were going to fly to our house, come down the chimney (or break in the door, either or) and drop presents off under our tree.

I remember lying in my bed trying desperately to go to sleep so Santa could come because I was scared if I couldn’t sleep then I wouldn’t get any presents! One night when I was around 7 I could have sworn I heard the sleigh bells flying over head …

When I had my own kids I decided I wanted to do something to make Christmas Eve a significant day for them too, to stretch the holiday cheer out and start a new family tradition. So I turned to Pinterest (as you do!) and discovered the Christmas Eve Box tradition.

In America and the UK, Christmas is of course in the middle of winter so the ideas I came across consisted of winter goodies like hot chocolate and fudge pudding. In the middle of summer this was not going to work so I had to come up with my own ideas for our box.

So what is it?

A Christmas Eve Box is a big box dropped off by Santa’s Elves on your doorstep the night before Christmas. It contains items to keep the kids busy and entertained that evening and sets up a chance to relax as a family before the mayhem of the following day.

If you have something you need to do that night (like help ‘Santa’ put up a trampoline say, then start the movie portion of the box early or you too could be up till 11.30pm on Christmas Eve putting it up with a head lamp!). That is if you are like my husband and think that you know better than the instructions and cut corners only to discover that their was a reason to the order and you have to take it all down and do it again! Men!

We did our first Christmas Eve box last year and it contained these items:

A CHRISTMAS STORY

I stumbled across Father Christmas Needs A Wee on the Book Depository last year and I thought that was right up the alley of little boys, especially given one was toilet training at the time. I had no idea what to expect but it’s actually a really fun rhyming little book that we now have to read year round. Short and easy (key word: short!).

‘Father Christmas needs a wee. He’s been drinking drinks since half past three …’ At each different house that he visits Father Christmas drinks and eats all the goodies left out for him. Before long he really, really, really needs a wee. So much so that he even forgets to leave the presents behind. But he dashes back, delivers all the pressies and flies home at high speed to avoid an embarassing accident …there’s just one tiny problem …he’s lost his house key!

This year we have Slinky Malinki’s Christmas Crackers from the ever charming Hairy Maclary series which my boys have just recently fallen in love with. I’ll let you know what they think!

Slinky Malinki’s Christmas Crackers is a hilarious rhyming story by New Zealand author Lynley Dodd. ‘Christmas was coming. Out came the tree, dressed up in finery, splendid to see. Trinkets and tinsel with baubles and bows, a mouse with a hat and a very red nose…’ So begins Lynley Dodd’s cracking Christmas tale told in her usual rollicking, rhythmic rhyme. Festive preparations are being made in Slinky Malinki’s house and the rapscallion, mischievous cat is most curious about the Christmas tree. With its reindeer, ribbons, baubles and bells, it’s too tempting a treat for Slinky not to investigate. So Slinky Malinki, with mischievous glee, creeps out from the shadows to climb up the tree…

NEW PJ’S

Out with the flannelette (we live in a cooler part of NZ so yes, we do wear flannelette right up until Christmas!) and out with the summer PJ’s! There cute boys pajamas are from Charlie and Me. The idea is that the kids get dressed up in their brand new PJ’s for the evening, who doesn’t love hopping into brand new jammies!

If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere then flannelette and cute fleecy onesies or dressing gowns (robes!) may be the go for you!

A DVD (OR MOVIE VOUCHER)

The entertainment part of the box is of course the family Christmas movie to watch as a family that evening. We don’t have a DVD player so I just chose one that had been on TV and recorded it ready to watch that night. In place of the DVD (video in our day – boy that makes me fee old!) I pop a ‘movie voucher’ to view the movie of choice in the box but if you have a DVD player you may like to just buy one and start a Christmas collection.

MOVIE SNACKS AND GOODIES!

Christmas Eve is the perfect opportunity to have a few special treats in the box to enjoy with your family movie! Whether it be some chocolate Santa’s or gold coins, popcorn, chippies, cookies or marshmallows, choose things that they don’t get every day so there is some novelty to it. Last year we did chips and popcorn kernels to pop our own popcorn. This year I am putting in all the makings of the perfect ice-cream sundae – chocolate sauce, sprinkles (AKA hundreds and thousands!), wafers, chocolate drops, waffle cones … the kids can create any ice-cream creation they desire (and so can I!). Yum!

For those huddled inside against the winter elements then cute mugs and hot chocolate sachets would be a cool addition!

MAGIC REINDEER FOOD

The reindeer have to figure out where to land somehow!

Make some reindeer food out of rolled oats and coloured sugar or edible glitter and add the following label to your jar or bag:

Sprinkle on the lawn at night
The moon will make it sparkle bright
As Santa’s reindeer fly and roam
This will guide them to your home.

Then take the kids outside and let them scatter it on the lawn so the reindeer know where to land and can have a snack while Santa delivers the presents!

SANTA’S MAGIC KEY

Just before they hop into bed, after the reindeer food has been scattered and the milk and cookies (or homemade truffles in our house!) have been laid out, hang out the key that arrives in the pack outside one of your doors. This is a very special key, for the elves have sent it just for your house! The poem attached to the key (use an old skeleton key if you can find one lying around somewhere!) is:

This key is very special you see,
It won’t work for just you and me …

Hang it just outside your door,
Go to bed and worry no more …

Close your eyes and close them tight,
For Santa Clause is coming tonight.

OTHER SUGGESTIONS

If you’re not a movie family then there are so many other things you can put in the box. Why not make it the opportunity to collect a new family board game every year and play it for the first time that night? From a cheap packet of dominoes to Uno, to Jenga and Twister. There are also downloadable Christmas themed colouring in pages that you could print and include with new crayons or felt tips or anything along those lines! We are going to make thank you cards for Santa with some new crayons and paper to leave with the milk and cookies this year as an added afternoon activity.

Do you do a Christmas Eve Box? Does this post inspire you to think about starting one as a new family tradition? What Christmas family traditions do you have?

*Free printable Reindeer Food and Santa’s Key available! CLICK HERE or on the image for your free PDF.

The post How to Create a Christmas Eve Box! appeared first on Maybe Baby Brothers.