AIBU not to buy 8 month old Xmas presents

[Movingstressangst]

It will be my baby's first Christmas and I'm so excited for things like the lovely family time and seeing his reaction to the Christmas tree.

But ... I'm completely stuck on what to get him! He's sort of between stages, where he has all the walker/bouncers etc, but isn't ready for the next phase. Money is also obviously tight with mat leave. Part of me thinks that with our big extended family he'll be totally overwhelmed by new things, but will I regret not getting him anything 'big' for his first Christmas?? I have got him a few very little bits (maybe<£30). What did others do? He's honestly chuffed with a bit of foil to play with 🤣.

Of course it's fine. I didn't get anything for ds1 until he was at least 2. You buy everything they need anyway and they don't understand ownership so everything in the universe is already "theirs". Had to buy ds2 something small as a baby or ds1 would have got upset as he was old enough to understand presents by then. If you have any spare money, put it away instead. They will appreciate it much more when they are older anyway.

Nice set of kids books in hard pages? Julia Donaldson does a lift the flap series, and you will be reading her books for the next decade 😂

My daughter got a lovely hard bound book of Alice in Wonderland, another friend gave us the Winnie the Pooh series in a gift box.

Children's mug, plate and bowl? We had a Caterpillar set and the mug is still going strong 13 yrs later!

I didn’t. They got things off other people anyway and I then bought a couple of bits I felt we were missing throughout the year.

I spent £20 on one of mine first Christmas - he didn’t need anything. My first I spent loads!

I got all mine a soft toy for their first Christmas. My oldest 2 love the story now that Father Christmas gave them the teddy when they were babies and it’s their favourite. That’s all they got though! For the youngest I did a stocking (or there may have been questions from the older ones) but with things we needed like baby wipes and dummies!

I just wrapped some stuff up we were already getting for him ie clothes in the next size up, a few board books, nappies etc he loved unwrapping them but it wasn't buying stuff just for the sake of it. A keepsake could be nice though if you can think of anything.

Eldest we went overboard bought far too much. By time youngest was born she had small stocking with little bits in. A few books, practical bits like cup, bowl.

We got her a more of a keepsake gift for her Christmas present under the tree. All of mine had a Christmas bear with the year of their first Christmas on. They come out and sit under our tree every year.

Hahaha genius 🤣

I do like the idea of a decoration that a few of you have mentioned. Think we'll do that one!

OP.
You probably won't keep many of his toys from his first Xmas as he grows out of them. We did.a 'babys first Xmas' teddy with the year on, an easy and relatively cheap keepsake. Took photo with it next to tree etc for baby book.
As everyone says they will be spoilt by family. We did tell family we weren't spending much as nothing needed. Some bought gifts and others gave cash which we used during the year to buy appropriate aged things as needed.

I got dc1 a lovely Nutbrown hare soft toy, and a nice copy of the book.

Nutbrown hare still sleeps on his bed I yrs later.

I’m just remembering DD1’s first Christmas and birthday (her birthday is January) and her being completely surrounded by presents. 🤦‍♀️ Took weeks for her to open them all as she kept losing interest. I learnt after that.

We got our first DS a teddy for his first Christmas at age 11m. Same for our second DS on his first Christmas. Save your money until they will notice. They are loved, that's all they need for Christmas at that age.

That’s one of the many reasons it’s not a good idea to link Christmas gifts with good or bad behaviour. Santa brings presents to ALL children. Naughtiness shouldn’t really have anything to do with it.

We took a special trip to London to buy ours a teddy from one of the big shops. Didn’t get anything else but others did. I don’t regret it.

No, you won't regret it. We have never bought our little ones anything big for Xmas yet, this yr they will be 5 and 3. I am a different faith though, if I was Christian I imagine I'd feel differently about it. Also we don't have much money so that definitely plays a part in it too! They get spoiled by extended family so certainly don't miss out.

You could put some money towards the next stage car seat for him? That is what some people do, as the baby stage they are all much of a muchness, the booster seat stage pretty much the same again, but the toddler stage there are loads of options spanning various price ranges and safety ratings. It's definitely worth investing a bit of time to research and then getting the best one you can afford.

(Plus, they come in a VERY fun box!)

A nice photo would be a lovely reminder of baby’s first Christmas and doesn’t cost a lot.

I got the book astro science for babies..

I am sending one book of the science for babies series every month ... We definitely need more super nerds in the family :)

Buy a bauble for Xmas tree with his name and first Xmas on it. When he's older and leaves home he can put it on his own Xmas tree. My DC have taken their first Xmas baubles to put on their own Xmas trees now.

If you really feel the need for something, a colourful Christmassy board book would fit the bill, and would be used for future Christmases for a few years, too.

Mine will be the same age. We’re doing the “something you want etc” which will include a bookshelf for her room, an activity block, a new pram suit and a set of books. We asked for a walker with blocks from granny and a ball bit from nanny.
Not a huge amount of presents or money being spent!

For my 6mo's first Christmas we rewrapped some of his old favourite toys so he got to have the experience of ribbons, unwrapping, the box at the end. We included one "new" toy which was a teddy from a charity shop and a box of fairy lights in a clear plastic box as a sensory gift. On our side we got lovely photos of Christmas unwrapping. It was lovely and the cheapest Christmas ever. It only goes up from there. 😅

I think I spent £10 on my 6 month old for his first Christmas but he was completely oblivious to it anyway.