What are the most common Christmas Eve traditions?

Attending a church service, eating a special family meal, opening one gift, leaving cookies and milk for Santa, watching a Christmas film together and putting children to bed early are the most widely shared Christmas Eve traditions in the English-speaking world.

What do families do on Christmas Eve?

Most families combine a special meal, time together at home and one quiet ritual: a film, a walk, a midnight service, opening a single present or reading a Christmas story aloud. The point is to slow the day down before Christmas morning.

Why do we leave cookies and milk for Santa?

The tradition of leaving cookies and milk (or mince pies and sherry in the UK and Australia) for Santa grew out of older European customs of leaving food out for spirits and saints during midwinter. In the US it became popular during the Great Depression as a way to teach children gratitude.

What is the Feast of the Seven Fishes?

The Feast of the Seven Fishes (la Vigilia) is the traditional Italian and Italian-American Christmas Eve dinner: seven (or more) seafood dishes such as baccalà, calamari, clams, shrimp, anchovies and smelts, served on a meat-free Christmas Eve table.

What time do Christmas Eve traditions usually happen?

Most family Christmas Eve traditions happen between 4 pm and 9 pm: an early dinner, a film or game, then a calm wind-down before bed. Midnight Mass and late-night Réveillon dinners are the main exceptions.

What are some unusual Christmas Eve traditions around the world?

Iceland's Jólabókaflóð (the Christmas book flood), where everyone gives and receives books and reads them together on Christmas Eve. Caracas, Venezuela's tradition of roller-skating to early morning Christmas Eve Mass. Japan's Christmas Eve KFC dinner. Sweden's Donald Duck Christmas special at 3 pm.

Christmas traditions

Christmas Eve Traditions

A cozy Christmas Eve scene with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk on a wooden side table next to a Christmas stocking hanging by a glowing fireplace

Quick answer

Christmas Eve is the quietest, most personal night of the year. The traditions families keep on December 24 vary hugely by country, but the shape is almost always the same: one special meal, one small ritual, and an early night so Christmas morning still feels like a surprise. Here are the customs most worth keeping and a few worth borrowing.

The most common Christmas Eve traditions

A special early dinner
Most families eat a dinner that is more special than a weeknight meal but lighter than Christmas Day. Soup and a roast, pasta, fish or a baked ham are all common starting points.
5 to 7 pm
Opening one gift
A widely shared family rule: each person opens one present on Christmas Eve, often new pyjamas, so the rest of the gifts can wait until morning.
After dinner
Cookies and milk for Santa
A plate of biscuits and a glass of milk (or mince pies and sherry in the UK, and a carrot for the reindeer) left out before bed. Children love the ritual; parents love the photo evidence.
Before bed
A Christmas film together
It's a Wonderful Life, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Home Alone, Elf, The Holiday or Love Actually. One film, the whole family, the lights low and the tree on.
Evening
A walk after dinner
A short walk after the meal to look at neighborhood lights. Underrated for clearing heads, settling overexcited children and making space for dessert.
30 minutes
Midnight Mass or a church service
Carols, candles and a service that ends at midnight as Christmas Day begins. Even non-religious families sometimes attend for the music and the atmosphere.
11 pm to midnight

Christmas Eve traditions around the world

Iceland: Jólabókaflóð. Families exchange books on Christmas Eve and spend the rest of the night reading them together with hot chocolate.
Italy: Feast of the Seven Fishes. Seven (or more) seafood dishes on a meat-free Christmas Eve table, followed by Midnight Mass.
Poland: Wigilia. 12 meatless dishes, an empty place at the table for an unexpected guest, and sharing opłatek wafers before the meal begins.
Germany: Bescherung. Most German families exchange and open presents on the evening of December 24, not on Christmas morning.
Sweden: Donald Duck's Christmas special, Kalle Anka, airs every year at 3 pm. Almost half the country watches.
Venezuela: Misa de Aguinaldo. Early morning Christmas Eve Mass with a tradition of roller-skating to church in Caracas.
Japan: A KFC dinner on Christmas Eve, often ordered weeks in advance, has been a national tradition since the 1970s.

Simple Christmas Eve traditions for families with young kids

New Christmas pyjamas as the one present opened on Christmas Eve
Reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas aloud before bed
A short Christmas Eve box: a film, a snack, a craft, a book
Tracking Santa together on the NORAD Santa tracker
Leaving a carrot for the reindeer next to the cookies and milk
An early bath, dimmed lights and a calm bedtime story

Christmas Eve for adults and couples

If you do not have small children, Christmas Eve can be the calmest, most romantic night of the year. A long dinner you actually had time to cook. A film. A walk. A bath. An early night. For cozy ideas to make the evening feel intentional, see our cozy Christmas ideas guide, or pair the evening with our Christmas Eve countdown on a phone in the kitchen.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common Christmas Eve traditions?: Attending a church service, eating a special family meal, opening one gift, leaving cookies and milk for Santa, watching a Christmas film together and putting children to bed early are the most widely shared Christmas Eve traditions in the English-speaking world.
What do families do on Christmas Eve?: Most families combine a special meal, time together at home and one quiet ritual: a film, a walk, a midnight service, opening a single present or reading a Christmas story aloud. The point is to slow the day down before Christmas morning.
Why do we leave cookies and milk for Santa?: The tradition of leaving cookies and milk (or mince pies and sherry in the UK and Australia) for Santa grew out of older European customs of leaving food out for spirits and saints during midwinter. In the US it became popular during the Great Depression as a way to teach children gratitude.
What is the Feast of the Seven Fishes?: The Feast of the Seven Fishes (la Vigilia) is the traditional Italian and Italian-American Christmas Eve dinner: seven (or more) seafood dishes such as baccalà, calamari, clams, shrimp, anchovies and smelts, served on a meat-free Christmas Eve table.
What time do Christmas Eve traditions usually happen?: Most family Christmas Eve traditions happen between 4 pm and 9 pm: an early dinner, a film or game, then a calm wind-down before bed. Midnight Mass and late-night Réveillon dinners are the main exceptions.
What are some unusual Christmas Eve traditions around the world?: Iceland's Jólabókaflóð (the Christmas book flood), where everyone gives and receives books and reads them together on Christmas Eve. Caracas, Venezuela's tradition of roller-skating to early morning Christmas Eve Mass. Japan's Christmas Eve KFC dinner. Sweden's Donald Duck Christmas special at 3 pm.