Making Your Babies First Christmas Magical

When you are a new parent, Christmas is a very exciting time. Even though, as too many cynics will be quick to point out, your child will not remember his or her first Christmas, it is a special time for you, the parent. You will probably remember this first Christmas for the rest of your life. It is a milestone for you. You get to experience Christmas a whole new way.

My son was only four months old last December, but he definitely enjoyed the Christmas season, and it was special for our entire family. Here are some ways to make your baby's first Christmas absolutely magical.

Christmas Lights

Vinny loved looking at Christmas lights, and every other parent says the same. The twinkling colored lights are a special treat for infants, and so we went out of our way to put Christmas lights everywhere inside and outside our house. We also took him to every special display of lights around town that we could find. We would get out of the car and walk around to see all the shining lawn decorations.

Christmas Activities as a Family

Stay on top of the current events section of your local newspaper to look for fun Christmas activities you can do as a family. Even though your baby will not understand it, infants find all the sights and sounds exciting. We took the entire family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc., to a living nativity at a local church. Vinny loved the animals and the hay. We also made several trips to the local mall. The music and the decorations really captured his attention. Our local mall is an outdoor mall, and each evening at 8pm they had "snow" fall in the center plaza. It was just foam bubbles made to look like snow, but Vinny was captivated.

Take tons of pictures!

As previously mentioned, your child will not remember his or her first Christmas, but it will be appreciated later when looking at pictures of how special baby's first Christmas was.

Take turns opening presents

Vinny got a ton of presents, which he was too young to open himself. We took turns "helping" him open his presents, which was fun for everyone. Grandma held Vinny on her lap and helped him open the toy drum we got him, so she was surprised to see what it was, too. Daddy held Vinny while he opened the singing caterpillar from Aunt Tricia. Mommy helped open lots of pajamas and cute outfits from great aunts and cousins. It made the present opening a joy, and gave each of us a break to enjoy our own presents as well.

Start a new tradition

Having your first child makes you your own family. While it is nice to hold on to some of the traditions you had as a child, it is important to start some of your own. Decide on something that you will do as a family each year, such as going to chop down your Christmas tree. Traditions may change over the years, but there is something special for a child to be able say, "We've been going caroling every Christmas for longer than I can even remember!"

Ribbons and Bows!

Vinny didn't care much about his gifts on Christmas morning, but he certainly loved the bows. We sat him in his Bumbo and made him the bow boy. Every adhesive bow we took off a gift went on to him. He also loved playing with the curling ribbon. Keep an eye on babies with this one though; you don't want him choking on pieces of ribbon or staples from the bows.

Observe regular naps and bedtimes

Although it can be hard to stay on schedule around the holidays, it will not matter how much effort you put into planning fun things if your cranky baby wants nothing to do with any of it. Try to schedule any Christmas events around nap times, since a rested baby is a happy baby!