Memories of your babies first Christmas

[Lola001]

This Christmas will be my long awaited babies first Christmas, she will only be five months old and I know if I'm lucky she will look at the twinkling lights and that will be about it. But I really want to start some little traditions, and (yes more for me than her this year) do some Christmas things with her.

I never did this in my childhood - money sadly wasn't there though I was extremely fortunate that the love and my family was my favourite memory was a walk around the village.

Can you tell me about your babies first Christmas? It's a while off but I'm thinking I will need to start booking stuff.

I bought a few new Really nice baubles a year and when my kids left home they each got to choose their favourites to take with them.

Every December we made ginger bread houses. When they were in school, we made one for the school and wrapped it to raffle off at the Christmas fair. They LOVED that one.

The best I've I've done so far is for my grand baby, born last year. I got a story book advent calendar. I set my tree up mid November and then me and my husband took turns sat by the tree, reading the books while we filmed each other. We dressed up and everything. Then we repackaged the calendar and sent it to my daughter. Every day we sent our daughter the video and audio file for the matching book. So we got to read our grandson a story every night and she can keep them forever and do the same thing long after we are fine with her grand kids. It went down REALLY well and I'm so glad we did it.

The things DD has enjoyed the most tend to be free, low pressure things like going for a walk in town after the last day of school to see the lights, getting a hot chocolate and coming home for a cosy dinner. Making paper chains. Cutting out snowflakes. Last year we booked an expensive 'experience' thing for the first time and it was awful, DD was overwhelmed, cold, whingy, but because we had paid I got really annoyed that we were not enjoying it properly/fully! This year we will be sticking to low key things.

We all had norovirus on DS's first Christmas so just as well we didn't plan anything! Did a bit more for DD's but that was only because DS was starting to get into it by that point.

This will be my baby's second so it's all fresh in my mind. I did lots of sensory experiences with her as she was also just five months. We did a light train, a light/glow walk, Christmas themed messy play, hand prints onto baubles, and I made her a photo album of it all to keep and look back on when she's older. It was lovely!

Stay home. Any time out will be a pain. Make your family Christmas tradition to please yourselves and do what you want to do.

And tell anyone assuming you will host them for a week/cater/travel across country to do one. And then keep it that way!

My first was also 5 months old at Christmas and yes he had zero idea of what was going on and tbh it didn't feel special or like Christmas at all to me as I didn't get to do much relaxing like I would usually do. Th

I would say, don't force it. Traditions come naturally. My first was 10 days old on his first Christmas and slept all day. My second was 11 months at Christmas and was poorly sadly (threw up his Christmas dinner all over the dining table almost on BILs plate!) So we went home early to get him to bed. Christmas with babies can be unpredictable, try to not imagine a perfect Christmas in your head, just go with the flow. Eg she might sleep through Christmas dinner, or throw up on her best Christmas outfit before a photo etc. Don't put too much pressure on yourself for it to be perfect, it will be lovely even if you keep it simple

Posted too soon!

The best bit was going to grandparents houses and having someone else hold him for a bit!

But yes to special ornaments as he still likes to put his ones on the tree now at 9.

DD was 5 months. Unfortunately it was December 2020 so, yeah, lockdown. Probably not a tradition that either of us will be wanting to keep!

Best thing is to not stress and let the memories make themselves.
My eldest will be 16 at Christmas, his favourite Christmas memory is the year me and him rushed to A&E when he was 4 because he had crippling stomach pains. Left my beautiful roast beef dinner and it ended up being trapped wind!
He was happy though because he was given a train tracks book that came with a little wind up train.

I’m going to go against the grain here - I went all out for my son’s first Christmas when he was 10 months, and since then he has been diagnosed with autism and SEN and can’t handle Christmas, but we will always have that lovely first one and I really treasure it now.

I can't remember either of my dcs first Christmas! I feel bad now. I do remember the Christmas that I wrapped the living room door up, and I remember the year I got really excited and got a real tree for the first time but zilch about their first ones.

This right here
ESP with the cost of living stuff.
Put that money aside for something else
It will be magical because she is the magic.
You don't need to book on Father Christmas nonsense for magic

This sort of thing. Definitely. But don't spend Money on experience for a baby.

Every Christmas Eve starting with her first we do a Christmas bath (sparkly lights, Christmas rubber ducks, some snow (foam), put on new Christmas pyjamas and then watch the snowman.

I prefer to forget. DD was born 2 days before Christmas, nearly died, and spent her first Christmas in ITU, not expected to survive.
When she pulled through, we were looking forward to celebrating her first birthday and second Christmas.
Except DH died of a brain haemorrhage that November, the day before my birthday - he never got to spend those days with her. I had to give her the presents he had signed, knowing she would never even remember him.

Mine was just under 2 weeks old and slept through it, so we put him on the table next to the turkey. Don't think he'd fit now

A colleague told me that on Xmas morning they would all walk downstairs as,a family singing a carol. I thought that was a nice one.

We were staying at my in laws and I had norovirus (but I thought it was just a tummy bug). Was chasing a crawling baby up and down the stairs in their un-childproofed house in between vomiting while everyone else entertained friends and enjoyed drinks/food etc. And everyone thought I was being crazy and difficult when I insisted that the pram be brought upstairs because my snotty, coldy baby wouldn't settle in an unfamiliar cot and I was keeling over with tiredness and just needed them to sleep.

Then they all caught it from me just as I was getting better, so I ended up looking after and making food for everyone including the baby for the rest of the visit when I was exhausted myself.

We didn't go anywhere for the next two Christmases. Christmases 3 and 4 have been the most magical ones so far... my DC has loved decorating the Christmas tree, choosing a Christmas tree decoration, having Christmas biscuits in Starbucks/Costa, Christmas tree spotting and having a little party at home for a few of their friends. It just gets better and better as they gain more awareness of what is going on.

@Babdoc oh god, I'm so sorry

I'm so sorry for your and your DD's loss.

I was in a DV refuge with my 8 mo baby and we spent it alone, by choice, and we had the loveliest time and I remember ever bit of it. I gave her a xmas dinner in her high chair, I had a bottle of cava, we made some videos to thank people for gifts, and had all the xmas telly on.

best xmas ever.

I'm so sorry you had to endure the circumstances that led to this, but it sounds lovely

My eldest was 11 months at his first Christmas. I bought lots of gift bags and boxes for his presents so he could "open" them himself play with the boxes. Some of them are still going strong and still being reused over 20 years later. My DSGS is the first of the next generation to receive the boxes. It wasn't an intentional but it has been has been a nice tradition bringing them out every year, remembering favourite gifts that came in a particular box.

You could make or buy fabric gift bags to use over the years.

I got that book for DS too. He will be 3 this Christmas and I have read it to him every Christmas eve.

My son was only 7 weeks for his first Christmas. He slept through most of it and when he woke up, he took turns at throwing up on everyone’s nice Christmas clothes 😂 we went to PILs who cooked for us, then came home by 4pm and chilled on the sofa with chocolates, cheese and crackers and baileys and watched a muppets Christmas carol, which we’ve watched every Christmas since being together so it’ll be tradition for our kids too I guess.
We did take him to see the drive-by Father Christmas who goes around the village on Christmas Eve. That was adorable, he liked the lights.
just play it by ear!