How should a baby’s first Christmas be like (2025)

This Christmas may be your first opportunity to introduce the Christmas magic to your little one. Celebrating this holiday season as a complete family is filled with emotions and expectations, especially how you spend the day. Planning every detail, from the décor, food, gifts, and activities, will help you set the day’s tone. This Christmas, celebrate grandly with your little one so you have tales to tell when they grow. Let this guide be your guardian angel, giving you tips and tricks to spill some Christmas magic into your home.

When you start the Christmas decorations this year, remember to baby-proof them for the latest addition of your family members. These angelic-looking babies may tangle themselves in the beautiful fairy lights or choke on tiny ornaments, God Forbid! Thereby, choose high-hanging fairy lights and big-sized ornaments that prevent any mishaps. Additionally, consider putting a gate around your tree and hanging ornaments where their hands won’t reach. Don’t forget any shiny decoration; it will grab their attention, and they will be drawn to play with it. It is best if you decorate your tree with soft pom-pom ornaments that are both cute and baby-safe.

Even if your baby is too little to understand anything, you can start teaching them early on about Christmas. By showcasing Christmas-themed books or lullabies, they can understand what this festival is and how it’s a happy time. You can choose one Christmas book and read it every Christmas, setting a memory in their minds. Similarly, play Christmas-themed songs on YouTube for them to familiarize themselves with the holiday aura. Take this opportunity to introduce Santa Claus to them; you can visit a real one at a nearby mall! As babies learn fast, you can play soft holiday-themed music like “Jingle Bells” to create core memories of Christmas.

Your baby might not have developed a taste in décor yet. But for you to relish this opportunity of celebrating Christmas as a parent for the first time, decorate their nursery. Choose simple decor, like changing their sheets and hanging paper garlands on the walls. Use bright colors like red and green that are stimulating and engaging for little ones while still fitting the theme. You could consider getting them a festive-themed mobile that will keep them engaged. Similarly, switch out their usual toys with new Christmas-designed toys. It’s a win-win for both of you, for you it’s the aesthetic, and the baby can enjoy new toys.

From your baby’s first Christmas onwards, you can choose which festive traditions you want to set for your family. You can take inspiration from your childhood and replicate that for your child. Choose their first stocking and ornament as an heirloom to be used from henceforth. Collect these meaningful gifts over the years and hand them down when they are old enough.

If you are inclined to give a more age-appropriate gift to your baby, gift them a Christmas-related plushie. Like a cute little Santa plushie or an elf or a reindeer.

As it’s your baby’s first Christmas, you can anticipate a lot of gifts from your friends and family for them. So, don’t bombard them with all the gifts at the same time, as they will get overwhelmed. Simultaneously, as they are little fellows, their attention gets stuck on one gift, and they will ignore the remaining gifts. Thereby, to keep the joy of getting gifts, introduce the gifts slowly each day till New Year’s Eve. This extends the magic of Christmas to a longer time and delays instant gratification. With this practice, as your child grows, they anticipate Christmas presents year-round.

Your baby’s first Christmas is an occasion like no other, so indulge in taking plenty of pictures and videos. Preserve all moments, from candid to staged, to look back upon after they grow older. You can do a fancy photoshoot, where all of you adorn themed clothes. From matching pajamas to dressing up as Santa and the elves, become the costume designer of your baby. You can document the magic of Christmas in your family over time by making yearly photo albums. These albums will serve as a reminder of how much your baby has grown and embraced the celebration. The first Christmas celebration album can be a gift for their grandparents to witness the growing generations.

Christmas morning is filled with excitement and happiness, but your baby doesn’t detect any difference from an ordinary day. Keeping this in mind, try to stick to your baby’s daily routine to prevent over-excitement leading to tantrums. When your baby is fed and put to sleep at their routine times, you get a breather to celebrate. Your house will be bustling with family and friends celebrating your child’s first holiday season. Seeing this crowd, your baby may get over-stimulated and throw a fuss, step out to a separate room when this happens.

We know the overpowering feeling that a mother may feel when planning a celebration around their newborns. Give yourself grace, and enjoy the moment with your child without worrying about the aesthetics. This Christmas, your living room doesn’t have to look like it’s out of Pinterest. You don’t have to follow the traditional activities of Christmas by going beyond your capacity. Dress comfortably and order take-out food while enjoying this new feeling of celebration as a complete family.

The celebration of Christmas as a parent marks a pivotal point in your journey. Don’t lose sleep over making this holiday season the best. Remember you already have each other’s company as the best gift, giving you more reasons to celebrate. Hold on to this short period of your children remaining young, set traditions, and capture memories to look back to.