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Now that my son is 3 I’m really feeling the urge to start some traditions this year and one of them is a December 1st box. I recently learned about this on Instagram and thought it was the cutest idea. Basically, you give your child, spouse, or whoever you’d like, a box of things to kick off the holiday season. Think of a Christmas mug, holiday jammies, or some Christmas cookies. I thought this would be a super fun and memorable tradition especially when you put some of the same things in the box each year.
We are only giving my son a box this year but I bought some extra little things for my husband and I like a new Holiday mug. When I thought about what was going in his box I thought about a few things. I wanted it to be things we could use all month long. I wanted it to be things we can pack away and pull out again next year. And I wanted it to be festive. I personally don’t want it to be a bunch of toys. I want to create the tradition of bringing out special items each December 1st that have been packed away all year not necessarily buying new things to consume.
Here’s what’s going in his:
Mug
A small Christmas mug I got at the thrift store and some hot cocoa to go in that mug.
Puzzle
A $5 floor-puzzle I got at Walmart, I really wanted to get a Christmas puzzle but they were hard to find for young kids and pretty expensive. As he gets a little older we can get a puzzle for the family every year and work on it all month.
Movie Night Supplies
A box of popcorn and snacks for our family movie night (one of his advent calendar days).
Jammies and Socks
A new pair of Christmas jammies because I understand opening your Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve but I want to wear my jammies all month leading up to Christmas not once it’s over. A pair of fuzzy holiday socks.
Christmas Book
A Christmas book. This year I went with How the Grinch Stole Christmas because it’s a classic and we already own it. We’ve never really read it with Ryan so it’s like a new book to him. I haven’t decided yet but I may pull the Grinch out each year our buy a new Christmas book to add to our collection.
Holiday Activity
And lastly a playdough kit. I found a holiday-themed one I really loved but after shipping, I couldn’t justify spending almost $50 on that right before Christmas so I decided to make my own. I got some holiday crafting “things” (jingle bells, hard snowflakes, mini Christmas trees, wooden stars) from Hobby Lobby along with a fun dinosaur container. All of the holiday stuff was 50% percent off. The dollar store would also be perfect for this. And then I made red and green play dough at home. I keep all the ingredients on hand but you can easily get a couple of containers at Walmart super cheap. I really wanted a playdough kit because it’s something we will use all month long. It’s a gift but also an activity that will keep my son busy now that it’s getting colder, dark sooner, and the holidays are busy.
Other things you can add
Practicality wise the December 1st box, depending on what you put in it, can prepare you for the whole month of December. And also make mundane things you were already going to give your kids special. I’m all about making things my child is already going to get into “gifts”.
These can include new winter gloves, a bag of cookie mix or new holiday cookie cutters, a gingerbread house kit, supplies for homemade ornaments, basically, anything you plan to do during the holidays put it in the December 1st box or put a little something that you will use during that activity to make it special. This way you are already prepared for that activity and you don’t have to worry about going out and buying it while the stores are crazy. I have every supply I need for all of the holiday activities we are going to do and I feel so prepared.
If you want more ways to turn things your kid is already going to get into “gifts” check out my Advent Calendar filler ideas here.
Holiday Gift Ideas
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