GREAT Gift Idea to ALLOW Your Child(ren) to Open Christmas Eve

Mouse7088 · #1 (**permalink**) 11-19-2001, 11:44 AM

Last night I was reading my Dec. issue of "Woman's Day" magazine and it had a lot of Holiday ideas..some were for starting family traditions etc..I will have to do this one. We celebrate our Christmas Day w/ my parents on Christams Eve so I really have never dealt with the "let us open just one gift", but this year I may have to give the kids a gift from us on the Eve as well...

NEW PAJAMAS! This way when you start snapping off all those special Christmas morning pictures, all of your little rugrats look spiffy! No worrying about the oversized t-shirt they refuse to give up appearing in your Holiday albums! I love this idea and my kids can always use new PJ's..if I had seen this article before, I would have asked my parents to do it...the birth of a new tradition.

kells3 · #2 (**permalink**) 11-19-2001, 12:53 PM

I try to do this every year. But then I do let them open a second gift of MY choice. As a kid I hated to get clothes as a gift so I also let them open a small toy.

Kelly

telos2000 · #3 (**permalink**) 11-19-2001, 01:41 PM

How about a Chicken Pox soaked rag? Seems to be the in thing to do now-a-days. People are throwing Chicken Pox parties, so why not give it to your kid for Christmas? All those little red splotches will mix right in. (TFPIC)

#4 (**permalink**) 11-19-2001, 01:50 PM

Mouse, been doing this for years....Just make sure you wash the jammies before wrapping them...forgot one year and my dd was itchy and took them off!

Chicken Pox soaked rags?????!!!!!!! People are PURPOSELY giving their kids Chicken Pox??? NO WAY!!!!

weacross3 · #5 (**permalink**) 11-19-2001, 02:21 PM

What a great idea! I ordered some PJ's for both boys from Kohl's last week when they were 50% off. Thanks for sharing Mouse!

Bones899 · #6 (**permalink**) 11-19-2001, 02:27 PM

Always gotten new pj's Christmas Eve! Even my Dad would get some most years. I always loved it, still do. I'd love to get some Old NAvy ones this year.

~Nicole

telos2000 · #7 (**permalink**) 11-19-2001, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by WIFEY1227

Mouse, been doing this for years....Just make sure you wash the jammies before wrapping them...forgot one year and my dd was itchy and took them off!

Chicken Pox soaked rags?????!!!!!!! People are PURPOSELY giving their kids Chicken Pox??? NO WAY!!!!

Yes way!!! I know it sounds stuuuuupid, but it is true. Once you have had CP, you are immune to it for life. So, some idiots are having parties. When a kid gets sick with CP, mom calls all her friends and they bring the kids over to get them infected.

wss4 · #8 (**permalink**) 11-19-2001, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by telos2000

Yes way!!! I know it sounds stuuuuupid, but it is true. Once you have had CP, you are immune to it for life. So, some idiots are having parties. When a kid gets sick with CP, mom calls all her friends and they bring the kids over to get them infected.

I guess that they haven't heard about the thousands of children who die each year from complications with chicken pox. What about the vacine? I suppose they have never heard about this either!!

Back to the pj thread. Mouse we also do this every year. My girls are 2, 6, and 8 and they love getting new fancy jammies on Christmas Eve. We also tuck a little $1 toy in with them so they have something to entertain themselves with for the evening before bed.

They always look forward to it!!!

buckeyemomma · #9 (**permalink**) 11-19-2001, 03:29 PM

I always did that with all my kids too and let them open 1 present of MY choice

Great minds do think alike

Mouse7088 · #10 (**permalink**) 11-19-2001, 03:52 PM

OKAY..answer me this..if all of you knew this little PJs idea then how home I had to read it in a MAGAZINE!?!?! Why didn't any of you let me in on this..uh..it would have saved me some pretty horrific Christmas morning pics.! LOL!

Now..to my kids, PJs are totally NOT in the same category as clothes..maybe because they're always fun clothes instead of bought for durabilty or somethin'!

Since the kids always have presents to open Christmas Eve from my folks, I have never allowed them to open any once we got home..now if I can just remember to do this..I like the idea of throwing in a goofy little toy w/ the PJs..some PJ's you get w/ a small toy. Codey received a pair of Hot Wheels PJs and they came with a cool Hot Wheels race car for his birthday one year.

Now about this Chicken Pox thing..oh yeah..I know a couple of ppl. who have purposely exposed their child to CP. All three of mine had it at the same time one year, actually..this same time of year..we didn't go to our usual Thanksgiving dinners and we had ppl. begging us to bring the kids. NO WAY...I know there were many adults who couldn't even remember if they had them or not as kids, no way was I going to be responsible for some tiny tot or GRANNY getting these. I know most children get thru them w/o complications, but I couldn't imagine having something serious happening and I would be totally responsible.
The kids spent most of their Thanksgiving school break soaking in baking soda baths..worked as well as the Aveeno Oatmeal and was far less expensive. Benadryl was a BIG time help! Ohhh, I guess we may have seemed to cruel to some..when we knew they had the CP, we made them OVER dress..yeah..we wanted them to get their body temp. up so that all the little boogers would come out more quickly. We were also told my the Dr. NOT to use like Calamine (sp.) lotion..well..we did and it dried those suckers up in no time..I'm just saying what we DID and what we were told NOT to do..LOL!

hannahsmom · #11 (**permalink**) 11-19-2001, 04:01 PM

after midnight mass we'd get to have a cup of eggnog and open ONE present. and it was always matching pjs. we loved it. (just the magic of christmas eve, and the candlelight and sacred music at mass, the staying up late, the first eggnog we'd tasted of the year, sitting around the tree with the rest of the lights out. who needed gifts? [we kids did!

]) AND, all 5 of us looked adorable for our disheveled christmas morning photos, too. WHAT FUN!! i can't wait to carry on these traditions w/ hannah and (god willing) the new one. this time of the year is so magical.....

dancema · #12 (**permalink**) 11-19-2001, 06:22 PM

My parents did this for me as a kid and I have continued the tradition...(I definetely wash them, too!)
I also give them a good story book,puzzle or a game to go along with it! Something nice that doesn't take away from the Santa anticipation!

jen6889 · #13 (**permalink**) 11-19-2001, 06:33 PM

I've always done this too.. not jammies though! I let my kids pick one gift they want to open, but the rule is NO big ones. Just the small presents. Save the big ones for Christmas Day!! Oh and the gift they open has to have both Mommy & Daddy's okay before they open it!

My husband's family did this while he was growing up too, but mine didn't. Well, we had the get-together at my Nana's (grandmother - my mom's mom) on Christmas Eve every year and opened all those presents, but that doesn't count. It wasn't until my Nana decided she was too old to be cooking Christmas Dinner and our Christmas Eve get-togethers ended that my older sister and I (then at least 15 and 19 Years) begged our parents to let us open just one and they gave in. But that only lasted a couple of years 'til my sis got married.