9 Ways to Celebrate Baby’s First Christmas Season

Your baby may not understand what Christmas is, but there are plenty of ideas and activities you can do to help celebrate baby’s first Christmas season!

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Christmas is my favorite holiday, so I’ve been searching and thinking of ways to celebrate with Camden. He’ll be about 10 months old during the Christmas season, so not old enough to understand much of what is going on or to do too many big activities. But there are still little ways we can start celebrating with him this year!

Here are 10 ways to celebrate the Christmas season with a baby:

Take a walk to look at local Christmas lights.

We live in a small town where a lot of people decorate, and we live close to multiple other towns as well. We have a favorite street in our town, the neighboring town, and the next town over where people really go all out and have crazy elaborate Christmas decorations. My husband and I always take our dog and go walk once or twice to look at these lights, and it’s easy to bundle Camden up and take him too!

Bundle your baby up in winter clothes, hat, mittens, and a blanket in the stroller and go see the lights! Babies love to look at the bright lights, especially if they’re moving or if there’s music to go with them!

Go see Santa.

Take your baby on a not-crowded day to the mall or somewhere else and let him get his first look at Santa. I have a feeling Camden won’t really like to be put on a stranger’s lap, but the picture will make for a good memory, right? Ha!

We’re going to avoid all the Santas at big festivals and events, because those lines are likely to be crowded. Camden will have zero patience or interest in a long waiting line, and it’s just not worth it. My husband has Mondays off, so we’re going to hit up Santa on a weekday, because it will be way less crowded.

Read Christmas Books.

No matter what age a child is, they can always enjoy books! Some of my favorite Christmas board books are: Little Blue Truck’s Christmas; Merry Christmas, Stinky Face!; Llama Llama Jingle Bells; That’s Not My Snowman!; and the Jingle, Jingle Reindeer finger puppet book.

Read a Christmas book each night before bed – maybe with some Christmas lights on – and you’ll definitely start feeling festive!

Go Visit the Reindeer.

Google ‘Reindeer Ranch’ near where you live and see if you have a place to go visit the reindeer. Babies are often fascinated by animals up close, and at a reindeer ranch, you can get close to the reindeer and even pet them if you want! (Just remember to wash baby’s hands afterward.)

Take a picture of baby in a stocking (or a Santa hat, if they’re older!).

You know you’ve seen the cute Pinterest pictures of little babies in stockings! Give it a try – and let me see how it turns out!

If your baby is too big for a stocking – Camden is! – then try putting a Santa hat on them and see if you can get a cute, festive picture! At the very least, he or she will enjoy playing with the fuzzy part of the hat.

Host a Baby-Friendly Ugly Sweater Party.

This year, we’re having an ugly sweater party – at 3:00pm. That way, our family – and the numerous families coming who have babies – can make sure Baby has a good nap beforehand, and everyone can duck out before Baby’s bedtime.

Plus, you can find the cutest ugly sweaters in baby and toddler sizes at Target. (See above picture!)

Make an Ornament.

Pinterest has a ton of ideas for cute baby ornaments using handprints or footprints. If you can get baby to stay still long enough, dip his or her foot in paint and make one of these.

If your babe is more mobile – like Camden – try a salt dough ornament where you just have to get a mold of their foot. Less time, less mess.

Dress your family in matching pajamas.

I know, I know, your baby won’t know or care about matching pjs. But you’ll get a cute picture and start a tradition that, as your little one gets older, he will remember and even be able to help you pick out that year’s pjs!

I love the idea of having matching pj pictures from Camden’s first Christmas on. These are the ones we’re getting this year (should we get the dog her own pjs, too?? Ha.)

Take pictures of the first time your baby sees and explores your Christmas tree.

Babies love lights and new things, and the Christmas tree is going to be fascinating to him! Take a few pictures and a video so you can remember how he reacted the first time he saw this giant thing in your living room. It will definitely be a memory to treasure!

How will you (or did you) celebrate the first Christmas with your little one?

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