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10 Ways to Remember Baby’s First Christmas

December 16, 2015 by Wifeeclectic 35 Comments

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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Filed Under: Christmas, Holidays, Parenting Tagged With: Arts and Crafts, Christmas, Pregnancy and Baby

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Masshole Mommy says

    December 16, 2015 at 8:21 pm

    I had pictures taken and made each one into an ornament. We hang them every year 🙂

    Reply
  2. Kori Tomelden says

    December 16, 2015 at 9:50 pm

    I did my daughter's handprints in salt dough last year and we'll likely do that again this year. I want to start doing handprint themed projects every year.

    Reply
  3. Michelle says

    December 17, 2015 at 1:41 am

    That sweet baby and the lights!!!! I SO wish I had taken some pics like that with my little ones!!!! Precious!

    Reply
  4. Brianna George says

    December 17, 2015 at 4:47 am

    I really wish I would have done one of these things for my boys. I love the ornaments with their hats and bracelets. 🙂

    Reply
  5. EZPZ Mealz says

    December 17, 2015 at 5:10 am

    These are darling ideas! If only I could go back in time.

    Reply
  6. JennaK says

    December 17, 2015 at 5:14 am

    I have never seen a bunch of these. Love the mistletoe one.

    Reply
  7. Stacey D says

    December 17, 2015 at 5:48 am

    You have shared so many great ideas! I love the ornament filled with memorabilia and well as the photo with the Christmas lights.

    Reply
  8. JennaK says

    December 17, 2015 at 6:50 am

    You have all these great ideas for DIY baby cards! love the gift ideas.

    Reply
  9. MyTeenGuide says

    December 17, 2015 at 1:05 pm

    These are all awesome ideas. I wish I have done this when my kids were babies.

    Reply
  10. Ashleigh Walls says

    December 17, 2015 at 6:44 pm

    I love these ideas. Anything with hand or foot prints has me every time, always cute to see how small they were.

    Reply
  11. Jillian@FoodFolksandFun says

    December 17, 2015 at 7:35 pm

    These are all such amazing ideas!

    Reply
  12. tiarastantrums says

    December 17, 2015 at 7:43 pm

    these are all great and unique ideas. I didn't do any of thee with my kiddos. I just completed baby books instead

    Reply
  13. Beth@FrugalFroggie says

    December 17, 2015 at 8:55 pm

    I love those ideas. I have done a few but not for baby's first Christmas.

    Reply
  14. Allie Kunze says

    December 17, 2015 at 11:44 pm

    These are such adorable ideas. We're getting ready to celebrate our little one's first Christmas, and I will definitely be snagging your ultrasound ornament idea.

    Reply
  15. Matt @ Plating Pixels says

    December 18, 2015 at 12:38 am

    How cute, much better than a store bought ornament.

    Reply
  16. Heather says

    December 18, 2015 at 2:52 am

    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.

    Reply
  17. Roxanne Ferber says

    December 18, 2015 at 3:53 am

    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. 🙂

    Reply
  18. Laura - Eye Candy Creative Studio says

    December 18, 2015 at 4:21 am

    I really like the hand print ornament and I wish I would have done one every year with my daughter to see how much they change – that would have been great to see!

    Reply
  19. Heather Gallagher says

    December 18, 2015 at 10:51 am

    SO ADORABLE! I love these 😉

    Reply
  20. Rebecca Brosemer says

    December 18, 2015 at 12:59 pm

    These are all such cute ideas! If we have a little one, I will be sure to try them out.

    Reply
  21. Jamie Sanders says

    December 18, 2015 at 2:35 pm

    Love these ideas!

    Reply
  22. Yona Williams says

    December 18, 2015 at 3:46 pm

    OMGoodness…that Mistle-Toes print is incredibly adorable. I also think the Handprint Ornament is another special keepsake to make.

    Reply
  23. kristi dominguez says

    December 18, 2015 at 6:24 pm

    Such sweet ornaments!! Love these.

    Reply
  24. Melanie @ bear rabbit bear says

    December 18, 2015 at 7:23 pm

    All of these are such adorable ideas!

    Reply
  25. Hi, I'm Susannah! says

    December 18, 2015 at 7:47 pm

    These are all such cute ideas! Caleb was only a month old last Christmas so I was still in the newborn fog and don't feel like I did enough to commemorate it…

    Reply
  26. Kerry C says

    December 18, 2015 at 8:26 pm

    I love the ornaments with the handprints. A great way to preserve your baby's handprints.

    Reply
  27. Momi Glenz says

    December 20, 2015 at 1:37 am

    Great ideas! thanks for sharing…

    Reply
  28. Mamal Diane says

    December 20, 2015 at 11:27 am

    These are great. Your pictures are precious!

    Reply
  29. Michelle De La Cerda says

    December 21, 2015 at 2:53 am

    These are all precious ideas.

    Reply
  30. Petra says

    December 12, 2017 at 10:13 am

    Thank You soooooo much for sharing these! I can’t wait to create some with our little angel 🙂

    Petra

    Reply
  31. Becky says

    November 30, 2018 at 11:12 am

    What type of paint did you use that is safe for little ones for these projects? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Wifeeclectic says

      November 30, 2018 at 4:26 pm

      Apple Barrel is a non-toxic, water based formula so it is perfect for crafting with kids!

      Reply
      • Kathy H says

        September 2, 2021 at 10:34 pm

        So is Folk Art paint, not-toxic, Water soluble, easily washed off.

        Reply
  32. Meg says

    December 11, 2019 at 8:31 pm

    The photos with the lights and santa hat are my favorite but they’re all adorable!!!

    Reply
  33. Christina says

    December 29, 2021 at 12:15 am

    Did you use plastic or glass for the big hand/footprint ornaments? And where did you get the jumbo ornaments ?

    Reply

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Welcome to Housewife Eclectic

Debra Hawkins - Housewife EclecticHi, I'm Debra. I am a craftaholic photographer married to a web-programming amateur chef with two sassy littles keeping it interesting. It gets crazy around here. Read More…

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