I'm so excited!!!

[MaltipooMama]

I shouldn't be this excited about Christmas, particularly as it will mean I am only one week before returning to work from maternity leave having been very lucky to take a year off! BUT, I still am! My baby boy will have turned one three weeks before and I want to have a magical (sorry to sound cheesy lol) Christmas as the first one was spent cooking/eating dinner around his erratic naps and falling asleep allllll the way through the Sound of Music (partner and I were both on autopilot as baby was only a few weeks old haha)!

As mentioned he will have recently have turned one by then and is already completely fascinated by everything!! So I want to go all out and have an amazing Christmas before I go back to the W word. What did you all for Christmas when your little ones were this age?

If he likes trains there are lots of options around the country for Santa express or North Pole adventures as he gets older, or even now.

They do get booked up quickly so you have to have the ticket release dates in your diary ready to book.

Most good Santa experiences get booked up fast. I usually start looking towards the end of august and get something locked in in September. I know things like the UK North Pole releases tickets in April I think 🤔

We’ve done lots of different experiences over the years, farm visits, Stately homes, caving, theme parks… we like trying different adventures. I always look locally for charity/community Santa experiences too (can never get too much of the big man). Our local fire station dose one where Santa arrives by fire engine. Some of the farm visits have been the best though.

Also keep an eye out at your local primary schools for Christmas fairs.

Also church carol services, even if you’re not a church goer. I love one that’s held in one of our local churches, all the different religions hold it in the same church each year, brass band, school choirs, it’s lovely.

My son was 9 months on his first Christmas. We put him to bed one night then decorated the tree so when he got up in the morning ( we'd kept the curtain closed) he was just gobsmacked. He was pointing and laughing and just staring at the pretty lights. It was very special.

My god daughter was about 7 weeks old on her first Christmas and her mother asked me to come Christmas shopping with them to help. The baby was a fretful baby and didn't sleep well and cried a LOT. Anyway I was walking around holding her while her mum nipped into various shops. She was crying a lot as normal so I lifted her up to rest on my shoulder when suddenly the crying stopped dead. It took me a couple of seconds to realise this and I was walking and gently swaying when she started crying again then just as suddenly she stopped. I then realised that she too was fascinated with the tree lights and she stopped crying when she saw them, if I'd walked around and taken them out of her line of vision she started again. By the end of that shopping trip we had a tree and similar lights which continued to fascinate her throughout Christmas.

Xmas Eve boxes are a waste- advent boxes are a far nicer idea and spread the excitement over a longer period. Pjs can be worn throughout the month… crockery etc too rather than one night.

Get a new Xmas book and add to this each year…

I love the ribbon idea and also the new ornament each year too.

Keep it simple while you can and some babies are actually quite unsettled by the changes in routine etc so don’t overstimulate or put pressure on for it to be “special”.

Save the money for future years!!!

Awe you're making me excited OP. My dc will be 3 and 5 this year and I just feel they're at such a perfect age now to enjoy it but also feel desperate to make the most of it before they're too old.
Agree with pp re 1st december/advent boxes rather than xmas eve boxes. When they get up on 1st of december or when they get home from nursery/school, depending how the day lands, I have the elf out (with a letter) their xmas bedding on (even managed to change while DD was sleeping last year), their advent calenders, the xmas books, games etc all laid out on their beds and some new outfits (christmas pyjamas, a christmas jumper and a new sparkly dress for the nursery party) They're soo excited by it, it feels very magical and kicks off christmas for us. Then they can use all the books, games etc through december rather than just on christmas eve.
On christmas eve the elf brings a basket of goodies (instead of a xmas eve box) this is stuff to do on christmas eve like ginger bread houses, hot chocolate kit, reindeer food, night before christmas book. There christmas cups for hot chocolate

As far as gifts for baby, honestly don't go over board, I massively did on DD's first christmas and she didn't give a crap about most of it, was far more interested in the tree lights

@Ahwig I'm definitely getting carried away with the Christmas magic already, actually got goosebumps thinking about how amazing it must've been for your little one to wake up and see that! I love that idea!

@middleagedandinarage aw what an amazing age they're at to really appreciate all the loveliness of Christmas! Agree about the presents, it's not so much the presents I'm excited about but more so all the festive touches I can add to create some Christmas magic for my boy, and you've given me some wonderful ideas to add onto my list! Thank you!

I read something on here when my eldest DD (now 7) was a baby, and now do it every year for both children. We go and choose a Christmas decoration (DDs each pick their own now) and hang on the tree when we decorate it. I keep all their chosen decorations in separate boxes, and when they are grown up and having their first Christmas in their own places, I’ll give them their boxes of decorations.

Sipperskipper,

That's lovely, really lovely.

I got my little son a baby's first Christmas bauble when he was 9 months old.

For our second Christmas I bought him another - personalised with caption saying Christmas (YEAR) and 'I am (AGE)'. I've kept this going every year until he was old enough to understand, become excited and ask whether he was getting 'his' bauble this year, and could he please hang it on the tree?

He's now ten and still gets his 'special bauble' every year. It's a small thing but they really are sometimes the most precious. We're both happy we've fallen into this small but important part of Christmas and will probably still be doing it when he's 20!

Our Christmas tree was always very special to me and my sadly long-dead but still beloved mum. It feels in some strange way like staying in touch with her, and keeping something that meant so much to us still alive. She'd have adored the grandson she sadly never met. I still have all the baubles she gave me, some of which she made herself. They are infinitely precious ❤