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.

We have a Christmas book advent, a basket of Christmas books with numbers 1-23 on them (Christmas stickers) and every year I print off corresponding numbers and put them in a jar. The dc take it in turns every day from December 1st to pull a number from the jar and we read that book. Christmas Eve is always The Night Before Christmas. We reuse the books every year but have replaced a few as they've grown out of them. DS is almost 15 but still enjoys this every December

Even when kids are older, they very frequently most appreciate and remember very different stuff to what you expect.

My now 7yo and I went to a family weekend gathering a few weeks ago. We spent ages playing ping pong together and listening to some funny radio programmes and laughing and I thought hey, I'm winning at this mum thing for once, we're making some great memories.

When we got back DH asked him what the best thing about the trip was. "Staying in the hotel!" (An entirely forgettable and blah Travelodge.)

Me too! And I'll be working for his second Christmas. I think I'll start trying to make it "magical" when he actually knows what's going on

The MW visited to check my various collections of stitches.
Baby peed on his own face which made me giggle as I wondered if baby Jesus did that too.
I sobbed at Away in a Manger because Little Lord Jesus had no crib for a bed.
I sniggered at the stuffed turkey that my friend brought round for meals on wheels with the memory of people rummaging around inside being so fresh.

These did not become traditions. Well apart from my hormones permanently turning me to goo at Away in a Manger. 😂

Traditions will grow with time and sometimes they adapt and change. Creating too fixed a plan can be an issue long term.

Plus, in my experience of my own and others' DC, they're impressively resistant to having Magical Moments Narratives imposed on them by adults. They make sense of their world in their own way and it often doesn't resemble Instagram very much.

I would say don’t waste money when they’re tiny! Also traditions sort of develop as they grow up, obviously there are things you can start but now mine are in primary school our traditions have organically changed. Trying to ‘force’ these does not work.

My dd1 was 11 months on her first Christmas.

We started an advent wreath tradition that year, lifting the candles for hope, faith, peace, joy and love throughout December. She didn't get it, of course, but it is something we still do and have done as long as they remember (dc are now 18, 20 and 22).

On this first Christmas they all got their own stocking, which we still stuff every Christmas. On dd1s first we got her her favourite thing to do - a box of tissues she could pull out on her own. We spent it with my parents who gave her a walker full of bricks, even though she couldn't quite walk.

She is too little to book stuff, but you could take her to a carol concert.

Get a her a copy of the The Night Before Christmas? Reading that on C'mas eve has become a real tradition. And you could her a stocking that she will care about in years to come.

You could go to a pottery cafe and make an ornament with her footprint on then go on making a decoration with her each year.

Usually baby groups do Christmas sessions so there might be a fun baby sensory thing or something you can go to like that for Christmas:)

Perhaps go to a light trail? Babies tend to like them and it'll be fun for you.

My eldest I remember taking her with her cousins to father Christmas she didn't know anything but her cousins were older and loved it so it was fun :) my second just came along to everything we did for the first.

What I would say is try to keep anything low pressure and be around people you feel at ease with ...sometimes with babies you go somewhere or have people round and they are having a windy fussy old day or you've had a rough night and if you put pressure on yourself for things to be just right it can feel really disappointing if things aren't great especially if you are with people who make you feel uncomfortable . But if you can just let it be and let the magic moments like them staring up at the Christmas tree in awe or squishing the wrapping paper spontaneously happen you are in for a lovely time :)

DD1 was 5 months, she wore a silver dress with cardy and tights and sat in a bumbo whilst we put presents around her. I think she chewed some toys.

DD2 was 11 months, toddling about. She tried to pull a cracker with her great uncle, got covered in food and enjoyed ripping paper.

Best advice I've seen on here is to buy two identical stockings so one can be ready filled and it's a quick swap (I didn't and it's tricky!) You won't need to worry about that this year though.
My DC's stockings are big enough that I could put them in them as babies for a picture 😁. Now they just stick them on a foot for the annual photo!

From 2-11 we did visits to Father Christmas, now we do a visit to the Christmas panto instead at some point before Christmas.
Sometimes we do Christmas lights. We have a baked brie then midnight mass on Christmas eve. DC are now 11 & 13. Nice to go with the flow though.