Baby's First Christmas
If this blog applies to you and this happens to be your Baby's First Christmas, then Congratulations! This is going to be a very memorable Christmas for you even if your little one will have absolutely no clue what is going on!
Having been lucky enough to have experienced this wonderful time with my own kids, I thought it might be helpful to pass on my Top Tips, in no particular order, for your Baby's First Christmas.
1 Start to get organised early on. If you are planning to get a photo of your baby to use on the front of your Christmas cards, trust me, this can take a while! I remember dressing up my eldest for his first Christmas in a very cute Santa suit. I stupidly assumed it would take one attempt to get a photo. I was wrong, It took ages!
2 Don't buy too many presents for your baby. They will get so much. It is so true when people say that they are more interested in the wrapping paper and boxes. If you do want to buy them gifts, think about being practical - they will happily open up a box of nappies, vests, plastic cutlery etc
3 Donate some clothes or toys to others at Christmas Time. Whilst your baby is far too young to appreciate this, as they get older they will begin to understand the importance of helping others who are perhaps not as fortunate as them. This is a hard thing to teach but as parents I believe it is our job to do this in order to teach compassion.
4 Start traditions this year. As a new family, you and your partner should talk about traditions your family had at Christmas when you were a child and then you need to work out what you are going to do. Questions like when will you open presents? What food and drink will Santa get? Will you always have certain items in stockings? all need to be asked. We always had an apple, orange and 20p in our stocking growing up alongside other gifts which as a kid I always remember being rather confused at as I'm allergic to oranges. However that is what my Mum had in her stocking as a girl (she is allergic to oranges too!) and she had passed this tradition down to us and so I passed this down to our boys, although we now put £1 coin in due to inflation!
5 Start a tradition of gifting your child a Christmas Tree Decoration each year beginning this year with a Baby's First Christmas one. When they are grown up they will have a wonderful collection of decorations each one that will hold a special memory that they can put up on their tree and share with their family.
6 On Christmas Day itself, try to stick to your usual baby's routine. Make the most of any guests in your house. Let them help you. If they want to take your baby out for a quick walk whilst you get changed, prepare food etc then let them! Have your baby dressed in a sensible, comfy but of course cute outfit. You might also want to have another outfit on standby, just in case of a nappy explosion or sick. Unfortunately it can happen.
7 Remember to take lots of photos but make sure that you get at least a few with you in them too!
8 Enjoy the day! This is only going to happen once for you and your baby so relax and have fun.