A December First is akin to an Easter or Boo basket. It’s another take on a Christmas Eve box. It’s a box of fun gifts for someone to enjoy ahead of Christmas. In our house, we love to do December First boxes to kick off the season.
A December First box is exactly what it sounds like. One would receive this box of goodies on…December First! It’s like an advent calendar, but given upfront. A Christmas Eve box, would be given on Christmas Eve. Our boxes are typically filled with books, Christmas pajamas, puzzles, an ornament, and other family-fun Christmas-y things. What I do not quite understand about a Christmas Eve box is the idea you’re giving a box of gifts right before Christmas.
What goes inside a December First Box? Anything! Some years, it’s just pajamas, other years like this year, it’s filled with a collection of goodies.
Making your December First Box
Every Christmas, my family gets an ornament. It’s a tradition my parents had with my sister and me when we were growing up. I am sharing that tradition with my kids. The idea is to find an ornament that reflects that person or a moment meaningful to that person over the last year. This year, instead of receiving their ornaments on Christmas, everyone’s getting their special ornament on December first so we can enjoy and reflect on them all season-long.
When we’re decorating the tree, I love looking at each ornament and reflecting on the story behind it. Our tree usually goes up Thanksgiving weekend. However, it does notlight up until the Rockefeller Tree is lit, that’s the rule. This was my rule as a kid. No, not a rule my parents had for me, but a rule I made up for our family. I’d countdown with Al Roker and turn on our tree at the same time as the Rock Center tree. That rule is still in effect. Luckily, we get to light up the tree tonight!
Things in our December First Boxes
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- Ornaments (Target)
- Fuzzy socks (Target)
- Light up necklaces (Amazon)
- Christmas night lights (Amazon)
- Palm pals (Amazon)
- Santa and the Goodnight Train book (Amazon)
- How to Catch a Reindeer book (Amazon)
- Christmas pajamas (Old Navy)
- Gingerbread house (Target)
- Sugar cookie mix and cookie cutters (Target)
- Cards that double as ornaments (Target)
I’ve been mindful of my spending on these December First boxes since I’m also making them for my nieces and nephews. Everything I could find was on sale or the cost was justified–except the cards. Those were a splurge. However, I did get back $5 for every $20 spent on those cards. The festive boxes are also from Target and were only $6. They’re huge! They could have easily sold them for $10 and I’d still buy them.
The kids didn’t get the same goodies. I tailored each box by age and each kid’s interest. They shared things like the light up necklaces and nightlights where multiples of each came in a pack, but books, ornaments, and socks were different for everyone. Sugar cookie mixes and gingerbread houses alternated as well.
My total cost per box came to $40-$50 for my kids, and $20-$30 for my nieces and nephews. It was a little more than I was planning to spend, but I love them all so much. This year I was feeling extra festive.
Do you do a December First box or a Christmas Eve box?
