Baby’s 1st Christmas
How do you celebrate Christmas with a four month old? We were met with so many different opinions on this. Does the fact they won’t remember it make it less important or is it more important to make those memories with loved ones and take plenty of photos to show them someday? Do they need any toys and presents or should you just give them a few wooden spoons and wrapping paper to play with?
I decided somewhere in between was about right. Ok, who am I kidding, I wrapped up a lot of things for Leo. Sure, he couldn’t unwrap them but he did have fun having a go. One of my favourite gifts we gave him was a homemade sensory box. I sourced a wooden tissue-box holder and in it stuffed lots of different colourful textures, from tissue paper to felt to sensory cloth. This, a personalised Nursery Rhyme book from Wonderbly, and a couple of camper van and campfire teethers we bought in the Lake District were our favourite gifts to him from us. He also had heaps of fun shaking the little handheld wooden sleigh bells -something I discovered a few weeks before Christmas during our baby yoga class - so in they went as a stocking filler. Of course, our gorgeous relatives gifted him all sorts of wonderful things.
What really made Leo’s first Christmas magical though was the love surrounding him. Our relatives couldn’t wait to have cuddles, he shared a matching outfit with his Cousin M, and the most precious thing of all for me was that he got to have cuddles with his Great Nan, my incredible grandmother, who spent a whopping two months in hospital prior to Christmas and thankfully, was sent home in time to share part of Christmas Day with us.
Ultimately, it’s quality time with loved ones that’s most important for me at Christmas and which I hope Leo will come to value most in life too. Homemade, repurposed and second hand gifts are fantastic for little ones but we’re equally grateful for Leo’s shiny new gifts too. There’s a lot of judgement and pressure on parents sometimes - don’t spoil your child, don’t get them new things, ladida, etc. etc. but really, if you’re teaching them gratitude as they grow, surely that’s the important thing? If my child gets more excited about a toy rocking horse someday than an old wooden rattle then I’ll understand - I’d feel the same way if my husband planned us a weekend away over a pair of socks. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t appreciate the socks or behave ungratefully if that’s all we could afford. Value of thought far outweighs monetary value.
What’s your take on this?
Of course this is all just future musing. Leo can barely grasp wrapping paper, let alone the concept of Christmas. Ok, who am I kidding, he’s got a pretty gnarly grip on that wrapping paper 😂
Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas 2021 and wishing you a love, laughter & adventure-filled new year 2022 🥂
