Christmas Eve box ideas that make the night before Christmas feel magic

A Christmas Eve box is a box of small treats opened on Christmas Eve, so the wait for Santa feels like part of the fun. Shop our personalised Christmas gifts to fill one, and start with a box that carries their name.

The idea is simple. You give it in the early evening. Inside are a few things for that night: a cosy drink, a plate for Santa's mince pie, something to keep busy hands happy until bedtime. It calms the excitement, sets up a bedtime routine and gives the whole family a reason to sit down together.

Our Personalised Christmas Eve Box (£23.49) is the big one. It's natural wood with a metal clasp and hinges. It measures 28 cm high, 28 cm wide and 10.8 cm deep, so there's room for a good haul of treats.

• Their name: up to 12 characters
• Lettering: fixed uppercase
• Made in 1–3 working days

Because it's wood, it isn't a box you throw away on Boxing Day. Same box, same name, a fresh pile of surprises every year. That's a tradition with legs.

Want something smaller for a little one? The next section has two kids' boxes worth a look.

The best Christmas Eve box for kids has their name right on the lid, so it feels like theirs before it's even opened.

There's a special thrill in finding your own name on a box that turned up on the most exciting night of the year. These two are a handy size for children, 22 x 16 x 11 cm, so they're easy to carry to the sofa and tuck under the bed afterwards.

The Personalised Small Christmas Eve Box (£23.49) is hand painted natural wood with a metal clasp and metal hinges. It takes 3 lines of up to 15 characters each. That's room for a name, "Christmas Eve" and the year, or a short line from Santa.

The Personalised Christmas Eve White Wooden Box (£23.49) is a crisp white hand painted wooden box, also with a metal clasp and hinges. It takes two lines:

• Line 1: their name in fixed uppercase, up to 15 characters
• Line 2: up to 20 characters, printed as you type it

Both are made in 1–3 working days and carry the "Next day available" badge. Got more than one child? Give each their own box and you'll stop any squabbles over whose treats are whose.

Next up: the fun part, filling it.

Put in things they'll use that very evening: a plate for Santa's treats, a drink in their own mug and something to do before bed.

That's the trick to a good Christmas Eve box. Everything earns its place on the night, and a few pieces come out again next year.

For Santa. The Personalised Santa Mince Pie Plastic Plate (£11.99) is shatter resistant plastic, 7.5 inches across, so small hands can carry it to the fireplace without a wobble of worry. It takes one line of up to 25 characters in fixed upper case, for a child's name or a note to Santa.

For a cosy drink. The Personalised Christmas Characters Plastic Mug (£9.99) is an 11 oz plastic mug that's lightweight and BPA free, with cheerful Christmas characters and a name of up to 12 characters. Ideal for warm milk before bed.

For the wait. The Personalised 24 Sleeps Christmas Activity Advent (£11.99) is an A4 book of puzzles, jokes, colouring pages and challenges with their name, up to 12 characters, on the cover. It counts down 24 sleeps, so give it at the start of December and let the box carry on the fun on the night.

All three are made in 1–3 working days. Then add your own extras: pyjamas, a story book, a hot chocolate sachet.

Buying for grown-ups? Keep reading.

Adults and couples get just as much from a Christmas Eve box: fill it with something for the evening and a keepsake that marks the year.

A grown-up box is a lovely way to slow down before the rush of Christmas Day. Think a good bottle, favourite snacks, a film for the evening, and one personalised piece that stays long after the snacks have gone.

The Personalised Christmas Eve Mince Pie Board (£15.99) is a round chopping board, 25 x 25 x 1.5 cm, made for Santa and Rudolph. The words carrot, glass of milk and mince pie are already on it. You add a message of up to 25 characters, such as a family surname. It suits a household that leaves out treats every year.

The Personalised First Christmas as a Family Bauble (£11.99) is a glass bauble, 8 x 10 x 8 cm, with "1st Christmas as a Family" as fixed text. You add three lines of 20, 20 and 15 characters, printed exactly as you type them, capitals and all. Ideal for new parents or a couple who've just moved in together.

Both are made in 1–3 working days. The bauble doesn't carry the "Next day available" badge, so order it a little sooner. For more ideas, browse our personalised gifts for couples.

Got a baby in the house this year? The next section is for you.

For a baby's first Christmas, the best thing in the box is a named bauble they'll hang on the tree every year that follows.

A baby won't remember Christmas Eve. You will. So a first Christmas box is really for the grown-ups: a sleepsuit for the morning, a soft toy, a book you'll read aloud, and one keepsake with their name and the year on it.

The Personalised My 1st Christmas Feather Bauble (£9.49) is a feather glass bauble in pink or blue, 8 x 8 x 8 cm. "My First Christmas" is fixed text. A heart tag carries your words:

• Baby's name: up to 12 characters
• The year: up to 4 characters

Both appear exactly as you enter them. It's made in 1–3 working days and carries the "Next day available" badge.

Hang it on the tree on Christmas Eve and take a photo. Then do the same next year, and the year after. Before long you've got a row of pictures showing how much they've grown, all next to the same bauble.

Buying for a new arrival in someone else's family? Our personalised baby gifts have more ideas for a first Christmas.

Next, the words themselves.

Keep it short: a name, "Christmas Eve" and the year is the classic, and it reads well every December after.

Each gift has its own limits, shown on the product page. Here's how to use them well.

• One line, 12 characters: just the name. OLIVIA, ALFIE, THE SMITHS.
• Three lines of 15: Olivia's / Christmas Eve / Box. Or From Santa / for Olivia / Christmas 2026.
• A name line plus 20 characters: a name, then Christmas Eve 2026.
• 25 characters on a plate or board: For Santa from Alfie, or The Smith Family.

A few tips before you type:

• Add the year if you want it to feel like a keepsake. Leave it off if you'll use the box for years.
• Use a nickname if that's what they're called at home. It lands better.
• Some lines print in fixed uppercase. Others print exactly as you type, so check your capitals.

You type your words in the boxes on the product page and a preview shows them as you go. The maker sets the font and layout for each gift. We print exactly what you type, so a tick box asks you to confirm "I've checked my spelling". We can't print accents, emoji or most symbols, so stick to plain letters, numbers and simple punctuation.

Words sorted? Here's how quickly it reaches you.

Every gift in this guide is made in 1–3 working days, then sent by Royal Mail Tracked 24, which usually takes 1–2 working days.

It's tracked all the way to the door. Each product page shows when that gift should arrive, so you can check before you order.

In a hurry? Look for the "Next day available" badge. On those gifts, you can pick paid Express delivery at checkout. Every product here carries the badge except the First Christmas as a Family bauble.

A few more handy things:

• Spend over £60 on gifts and we pay the first £6 of delivery.
• Send it straight to them. Add their name and address at checkout.
• Add a free e-card. We email your words to them at 8am on the first day the gift could arrive, so they know something's coming.

The big one: personalised gifts are made to order, and Christmas Eve can't move. Order early, and check our Christmas last order dates before you do.

If a gift arrives misprinted, faulty or damaged, we remake it or refund it. Because each one is made to your words, we can't take it back for a change of mind. The full details are on our returns page.

Ready to build your box? Head back to our Christmas gift range and pick your favourites, or see our personalised Christmas gift ideas guide for the rest of your list.