How exciting is it to start thinking of the first time you have your gorgeous baby with you at Christmas?!?
Yes, I know it is still October but I love Christmas and with 4 kids on my side of the family, all who have their own kids, and 3 kids on my husband’s side of the family who all have kids, plus friends and all… well, let’s just say I enjoy feeling somewhat organized about what I am going to get for people!
Plus planning gifts is so.much.fun.
Especially for baby’s first Christmas!
I had wanted to do the thing where I wrapped him in Christmas lights to take a photo of him looking super cute and wonderfully gorgeous. Of course, I saw the idea on Pinterest.
But the result was worthy of one of those epic Pinterest fail images. You know the ones? Where you have the original idea and next to it is the attempt that failed so badly it is hilarious?? Yeah. If I had even got one shot that had been clear enough I would have been tempted to show you. As it was he screamed so badly that I couldn’t get even one image. Ah well. Not all fun ideas work!!
So instead I just made my plans around having a great day, eating lots and relaxing with family.
Our first Christmas day was a blur of fun and family and food (of course), and because we had a January baby, a child who could start unwrapping presents himself. Super fun!
[Side note: there were lots and LOTS of comments from almost everyone that maybe the wrapping paper was more fun for him than the present itself…! But when they saw him enjoying the gifts long after the paper was destroyed they changed their minds.]
Some of those gifts did not last for very long with the rate of destruction that our kids seem to manage. But some of them are still going strong and even being played with now that our kids are school and preschool age.
I don’t know about you, but I think the perfect gift is one that lasts the test of time.
So here is my list of the 7 perfect gifts for your baby’s first Christmas:
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Stacking Blocks
This gift lasted us until just recently. I think over 5 years of some fairly hard use is rather impressive for a gift that is made of cardboard!
When he was tiny he enjoyed stacking it, or rather knocking it down when it had been stacked up for him! But as he got bigger, he learned the letters and enjoyed putting them in order.
The boxes have also made excellent garages for cars, containers to hold lego pieces, and little beds for dolls.
Now that is a gift I can really endorse!
If plastic is more your thing, then this may take your fancy:
Books
Books are some of my favorite gifts for absolutely anyone. I don’t think you can ever go wrong with a book, not even for non-readers.
So there has to be at least one book on this list, right??
This is a picture book that seems a good choice for Christmas. It has very few words and amazing pictures that tell the stories.
The story of baby Jesus being born has to be one of our all-time favorites. I don’t want to spoil it for you… but I guess you kinda know this story so it doesn’t need a spoiler alert! The artist has done a great job of building up the suspense of Mary and Joseph not being able to find a place to sleep for the night until they finally get the stable. My kids still enjoy Joseph knocking on lots of doors with weary inn keepers telling him no and people crammed in behind them, showing that there really was no room!
It is still a bedtime favorite. So it’s safe to say that this is a book that lasts the test of time.
[As a side note, because there are no words it is perfect for our emerging readers now as well. They have the confidence to tell the story since they can’t “get it wrong”!!]
For a book that you don’t have to worry about pages tearing, you can try something like this instead:
Musical Instruments
Musical instruments have to be one of the most underrated children’s gifts of all time.
Please understand that I am not suggesting that you buy proper expensive instruments that require lots of practice to sound anything other than a squawking duck. Nor am I being a “tiger mom” or whatever it is called, where you push your kids into doing things at a super young age so that they are amazing, if slightly unhappy, adults.
No.
But drums and simple percussion instruments are superb.
It’s why babies like rattles. They can control them to make noise. Watching them learn to have control over their body is such a fun part of having a baby. I love when they discover their hands for the first time. Like… whoa, hands! And then they learn that they can move them… epic discovery!
So yeah. A toy that makes noise when they are doing the discovering of what their body can do is right up there with everything awesome.
Over the first 2 years of our son’s life, we got a ukelele, a recorder, a triangle, a xylophone and drums.
The ukulele is never in tune, but it is still used. The recorder is sometimes not available for use (sneaky mama trick: bring it out only when you have patience and no headache!). The drums didn’t last very well. But despite being bent from very hard use, my kids still use the xylophone often.
And you can get an entire set of musical instruments right here:
Clothing
Well, as much as I wanted a list of things that would last, it is impossible not to think of having at least one super cute baby outfit for Christmas, right?!?
I don’t know what your style is, but here is a selection I found that I wish I could get my kids into:
Duplo
If you haven’t had to stifle your yell after you step on a piece of Lego in the middle of the night, I’m not sure you are even a parent… so if you are not at that stage yet, let me recommend a good way to begin. Duplo.
Super stuff.
We have really enjoyed this train set for so many years that there was an outcry when I packed it away recently.
Since there is a vehicle to drive, as well as blocks to build, and numbers to count this is a toy that does work for a long time. And we all know how good Lego products are at just not breaking or getting worn out.
If you prefer, there are some other amazing sets of Duplo:
Baby bowls and spoons
Whatever stage your baby is at for their first Christmas, the chances are that you will either be feeding them solids or thinking about it.
Before my kids began to feed themselves I had these dreams of the amazing homemade baby food I would do… that they would guzzle down since it was so delicious. 2 fussy feeders later, that dream makes me laugh every time!
But I also had kids that wanted to do most of the feeding themselves. So stopping the mess was right up there alongside actually feeding them for me. We were renting at the time and I did not want stains on the carpet that I could not clean!
Having spoons and bowls that worked well was a big lifesaver for me in this.
I realize these are not exciting gifts for kids… except that these are the years when ANY gift is exciting so I personally say make the most of it!!
Baby Toys
Our favorite toys were bright colorful and nearly indestructible ones. My son did have a tendency to climb anything possible literally as soon as he could move so things did need to be sturdy.
[And again you can see why I listed the cardboard stacking boxes as number one since they survived. Sure they look battle weary, but they did not die. Impressive!]
So here is a little selection of things that I was given for my kids, or would buy now, with hindsight…
So there you have it. Seven perfect gifts for your baby’s first Christmas. Why not send this list to the grandparents if you want to give them a little hint for what to buy!
