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10 Ways to Remember Baby’s First Christmas

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There is something magical about baby’s first Christmas. I have had a newborn and a 8-month-old at Christmas time and both times they have been a holiday to remember. With my first, she was so brand new at Christmas time and we had such a struggle with her eating at first that my mind was all consumed with her at Christmas time and I didn’t do very much to commemorate her first Christmas. I did have her picture taken with Santa and a few pictures of her in a Santa hat but that was about it.
When my next little one was born in April, by the time Christmas came around we were well established in all of our routines so I started looking for fun an cute ways to remember her first Christmas and a few ways to remember her sister’s first Christmas even though it was years later.

These ornaments are some of my absolute favorite. They show so much of my girls, my seven-year-old made the comment that one days she was going to take her ornaments and I don’t think I am EVER going to be ready for that. I love them so much.

1. Baby Hat Ornament

You have probably seen this idea floating around Pinterest and for good reason. It is a darling idea! The best part of this idea is that if you have kept these little items from your baby, you can make this ornament even years later. All you need is a extra large ornament, your baby’s hospital hat, a hospital ID bracelet and some other small piece of paraphernalia, in this case a bracelet.

Roll the hat up into a little tube and insert it into the ornament. Shake the ornament up once the hat is in there to get it to open up a little more, Add the ID badge, I found the best way to do this was to put it in long ways and slightly bend the edges until it was all inside. Add an ornament hanger and you have a true memento.

2. Ultrasound Ornament

What if you have lost your baby’s hat or if like me, you didn’t get one? My second baby was born at a warm time of year and I never got a hat for her. I came up with the idea of using one of her ultrasound pictures instead. I trimmed around the ultrasound until it could be mostly open in the ornament and then I rolled it loosely and fit it inside.  I then added a hospital badge and the pair of socks the nursing staff gave me at the hospital after she was born, but if you don’t have those things, just an ultrasound image would be darling too!

3. Handprint and footprint ornament

These ornaments are really easy to make and hold such a dear place in my heart. I have found it is easiest to use the extra large ornaments for these ones too. For a little tiny baby, it is easiest to do while they are eating or asleep, for my older baby, I stuck her in the high chair with a treat and did her footprint while she was munching away. These ornaments are fun because you can do them with older children too. The hand print below is actually my 7-year-old’s. I have something similar of her when she was a baby, but I never got around to turning it into an ornament.

When you are making an ornament for a little baby, if you use the jumbo ornaments there is plenty of room to do a hand print on one side and a footprint on the other. Use a foam brush to brush paint onto their hand or foot and then hold it firmly and roll it onto the ornament. Allow to dry completely and add an ornament hanger!

4. First Pair of Shoes

One of my family’s traditions is to turn baby’s first pair of shoes into an ornament and hang them on the tree. If their pair is a soft shoe, using a large needle to poke a hole in the shoes, thread with ribbon and hang on the tree. If the first pair of shoes you are using are a hard sole lace shoe, simply tie the laces together and hang them on the tree. My first daughter was born in winter so her first shoes are teeny tiny. Since my other daughter was born in summer, hers are a lot bigger since apparently I don’t believe in putting shoes on them when it is hot outside. 😉

 5. Mistletoes

Brush your little one’s toes with green paint and then press them onto a small canvas. Finish off the footprints with tiny red bows and the words Mistletoes.

6. Baby Feet Reindeer

Brush your baby’s foot with brown paint and press it onto a canvas. Allow to dry and then add a dab or red paint for a nose and use a brown marker to add antlers and eyes. I love this version because it is so easy to add older siblings.

7. Handprint Santa

I actually did this one with my older daughter because she was feeling left out of the Christmas painting fun. Brush their hand with red paint and press onto a canvas. After the red dries, paint over the fingers with white paint and outline the beard with a marker. You can add eyes and a nose too.

8. Christmas Tree Hands

Brush your little one’s hands in green paint and press onto a canvas. After the green dries completely add little ornaments with red dots of paint and a star with yellow paint. After the red and yellow paint dry use a black marker to draw between the ornaments to make it look like a garland. This is also a really easy one to include older siblings in. I love having a big tree and a little tree. If you used a bigger canvas you could have lots of trees.

I love all of the little hand print canvases and they take hardly any work. Just remember to occupy your baby or do it while they are sleeping so they aren’t so wiggly!

9. Ornament photos

Lay a baby in a basket full of PLASTIC ornaments. You can do this with a sleeping newborn or a older child who is playing with them. It makes for such a darling and sweet photograph.

10. Christmas Lights and Santa Hats

These are some of my absolute favorite pictures to take. Take a strand of clear Christmas lights and plug them in, add a Santa hat and you have the makings of a seriously cute picture. I like to turn the lights on first and then put the Santa Hat on so the baby is distracted and leaves the hat on. It is best to have a plain and simple background. If You don’t have backdrops, think of doing it on your made bed or against a plain wall in your house. You want the focus to be on your little one!

I love creating these special Christmas memories with my little ones because I know one Christmas they aren’t going to be so little anymore.

 

Which one will you make with your baby this year?
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  16. says

    This is an amazing idea! I have seen these a few different places, which means I should be getting them for my kids to make this year. Growing up my mom always gave me a handmade ornament every year. They are all over my tree now and it is so fun to look back on them.

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  17. says

    My one regret is that I was to worried about what was in the paint that I never made tiny prints of my babies hands and feet. I was also taking care of twins alone and not a moment for Pinterest to find inspiration. 🙂

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