December is such a special time of year and there are lots of ways to mark your baby’s first Christmas.
Whether your baby is due at Christmas, or they were born earlier in the year, that first Christmas is a milestone you’ll want to remember.
You can create ornaments and mementos that you will keep taking out every Christmas to remind you of your baby’s very first festive season, and it doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money!
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What to do if your baby is due at Christmas
If you are expecting a Christmas baby then you may be anxious about the fact that this is a pretty full on time of year.
There are friends and relatives to see, lots of costs, a busy Christmas Day and all the wrapping!
But this is a time of year to enjoy, especially if its your first with your baby, so there are plenty of practical things you can do to make the festive season easier.
Try these tips for preparing for Christmas, you can read more over on my post about how to prepare for a Christmas baby:
- Buy and wrap presents well before December.
- Finalise your Christmas Day plans in advance.
- Stock up on essential household items ahead of December.
- Have emergency gifts and wrapping paper just in case.
Also check out this post for tips on being pregnant during winter.
How to celebrate your baby’s first Christmas
Once you’ve got all of the organisation and gifts out of the way, you’ll want to focus on enjoying every minute of this time with your baby.
What you do is up to you, but it’s nice to create traditions, however simple, for you and your family to enjoy.
Why not try some of these great ideas:
1. Homemade tree ornament
Capture your baby’s hand and footprint so that you will always remember how tiny they were.
You could make salt dough, roll it out and press your baby’s foot or hand into it. This is really easy and cheap to make, then you can decorate it however you want.
You may prefer readymade kits which takes the pressure off you a little.
2. Scrap book
Remember all of the firsts associated with your baby’s first Christmas with a special scrap book.
Inside the book you can put things like photos of them meeting Santa, dressed up in a festive onesie or next to the tree on Christmas Day.
You could also add all of the cards they received from relatives for Christmas and write down your own thoughts about their first Christmas, including what gifts they received.
Finish the book off with impressions of their hands and feet so that you always remember how little they were.
3. Footprint card
Send good tidings to your relatives, and capture a special moment in your baby’s life, by making footprint cards.
You could simply press their feet to the cards and add a merry Christmas message, or you could go more intricate and paint around the footprint to make it look like a reindeer or Santa.
4. Photo collage
Celebrate every festive moment with a photo collage of all the Christmas fun you get up to.
Use pictures of your baby in a festive hat, outside in the snow, meeting Santa and playing with their relatives around the tree.
5. Visit Santa
You are never too young to visit Santa! Take your baby to meet Santa, and remember to take a few pictures too.
6. Family photoshoot
Organise a family photoshoot outside. If you have snow, then that’s the ideal setting for a Christmas photoshoot!
You don’t have to hire a photographer, just get a friend along to help you out.
Use props such as baubles, a Santa hat, cute Christmas onesies, blankets and Christmas decorations to make your photo shoot work!
There are lots of tips for taking family photographs over on this post.
7. Family tree ornament
There are lots of beautiful personalised tree ornaments you can get with either a photograph of you all together or everyone’s name. I love this gorgeous gingerbread man ornament.
This is a gorgeous way to celebrate your first Christmas, and you’ll use it every year too!
8. Get a personalised outfit
You can get some seriously sweet festive onesies, vests or tops with your baby’s name and the fact that it’s their first Christmas.
This is a lovely thing for them to wear on the big day, and it looks great for pictures.
9. Hang a Christmas stocking
If you’re crafty you could make your own Christmas stocking. Otherwise there are lots of personalised Christmas stockings you can buy online for your baby.
Hanging it up can become a tradition you do together every year.
10. Try Elf on the Shelf
Elf on the Shelf might seem like something that’s just for the older kids, but any game like this is still going to fascinate your baby.
Start this tradition now and it will become something both you and your kids enjoy every single year.
11. Make a Christmas Eve box
Get a wooden crate or box and decorate it for your baby. Paint their name on, or use stickers, and adorn it with snowflakes, trees and other Christmasssy things.
This box could be used every single year to give your child a treat on Christmas Eve. You don’t have to spend a whole lot on filling it.
A Christmas Eve box can contain new PJs, a book, toy or picture frame to put a photo from Christmas Day inside.
12. Read Christmas books
Add some festive books to your bedtime story book pile!
There are some perfect books for Christmas aimed at babies.
13. Watch a Christmas film
Tiny babies might sleep through the entire movie, but it’s still nice to cuddle up as a family and watch a festive film.
You may like these Christmas movies for toddlers.
14. Wear matching family pyjamas
Festive pyjamas are a fun way to make your baby look even cuter!
Get matching family PJs and then you can all pose for a fun photo.
15. Make a festive plate
Create a cute footprint mistletoe plate using your baby’s hand or footprints! Find a local shop that lets you paint plain ceramic plates and then fires them for you (it’s tricky to do at home!).
There are so many designs that you could choose! Check out these ideas for inspiration on how to decorate your festive plate.
