Baby's First Christmas – Tips and Tricks
Preparing for the Festive Season With New Baby
Oct 18, 2009
Christmas is about family, and no one knows that better than new parents. Mothers and fathers look forward with great anticipation to their baby’s first Christmas, but how can families best enjoy the holidays with a new baby? Baby’s first Christmas is a memorable time below are some tips and tricks to get the most out of this magical time.
Personalised Baby Christmas Cards
Bespoke Christmas cards featuring a photograph of the new arrival can be a great way of introducing a child to the world. Online photo sites such as Snapfish, Photobox and others offer parents an easy way to create personalised cards featuring a favourite photo of their baby. Babies can be photographed surrounded by decorations or dressed in a Christmas-themed outfit for the purposes of the card.
Baby Christmas Outfits
There is nothing quite as cute as a new baby dressed in a special Christmas outfit. Parents dress their babies as snowmen, reindeer, elves and many other things to mark the day. An outfit for Christmas day will make great photographs for the family album and bought in advance can be used for a picture on a personalised family Christmas card.
Christmas Presents for Babies
Parents will want to give their new baby a memorable present but should be aware that often first Christmas presents are discarded in favour of the paper or boxes they came in! Budgets for first Christmas presents need not be exorbitant, with the focus on the experience of receiving gifts, rather than the gifts themselves.
Festive Gift Wrap for Babies
Little hands find it hard to tear thick or metallic papers. Often the budget paper option (thin economy paper from a supermarket or tissue paper) is the best choice for a small child as it allow them to open their own presents. Lengths of ribbon/gift tie should not be used on presents for babies as the pose a strangling hazard and anyone adding bows or rosettes to gifts should be mindful of the choking hazard.
Baby’s First Christmas Stocking
A special Christmas stocking will become symbolic of festive fun and family time to a child, so it is important that a suitable one be chosen for a baby’s first Christmas. Parents should think about what size presents they wish to put in a stocking over the years. Will main presents go in the stocking or under the tree? Would a pillow case be better or cost too much to fill each year? Personalised Christmas stockings are a lovely touch for baby’s first Christmas, as are homemade versions.
Christmas Food for Babies
New parents should think about what their baby will eat on Christmas day – depending on what stage of weaning they are at. Some stores stock special festive versions of popular baby food brands, or parents may like to create a baby friendly version of Christmas dinner in advance and freeze it ready for the day. Older babies, or babies following a Baby Led Weaning programme might find Christmas is a great opportunity for first tastes of new foods.
Starting Christmas Family Traditions
Parents who want their children to grow up remembering family traditions may wish to start laying the groundwork on baby’s first Christmas. How will the family prepare for the arrival of Father Christmas or Santa Claus? Will the family attend church together at Christmas? Does that family open presents before or after breakfast? Will the family go carolling together? How is the family home decorated for Christmas? New parents can lay the groundwork for activities that will become entrenched as the family grows together.
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