9 Traditions for Your Child’s First Christmas

Christmas is a wonderful time for family bonding. Creating traditions during Christmas can lead to many years of cherished memories with your family, and will be continued as your children grow, creating precious moments that will last a lifetime.

Why Traditions Make Christmas Special with a Newborn

Christmas traditions are cherished throughout generations, they bring loved ones together and add an extra sparkle to everyone’s festive season. Starting these amazing traditions from when your child is a newborn means they’ll grow up with these special moments and eagerly anticipating them each year. Read more in our article ‘How to Bond With Your Newborn’.

Traditions also offer parents the opportunity to relive their childhood memories or create new ones with their own family.

Let’s get started with 9 Christmas traditions that are suitable for both newborns and children:

1. Decorate the Christmas Tree

There’s nothing quite like grabbing your decorations, tinsel, and family photos to begin decorating your Christmas tree. It’s a great way to bond with children and your newborn. They can help newborns develop fine motor skills as you hand them decorations to hold while you design the perfect tree.

As your child grows, they can have a more hands-on approach, creating a great family tradition. This way, you will also see how much your child has grown and changed over the years. Read up on ‘Fun Ways to Teach Teamwork and Instruction Following’ to prepare your child for the inevitable, teamwork and listening skills.

2. Christmas Crafts

Get messy and busy with some creative Christmas arts and crafts. Crafts can be enjoyed with all ages and can become meaningful for everyone involved. Making ornaments, cards or even gifts with your little ones can lead to a great family tradition.

Once your newborn is a little older, they can start learning how to count Christmas cards for their class, or learn how to write with personalised cards or name place cards for dinner. This can be a cherished tradition that can be adapted as your child grows.

Get inspired with our article ‘7 Creative Christmas Crafts for Toddlers‘ and get yourself ready for a fun festive season.

3. Introduce Advent Calendars

Another great activity for teaching your child how to count is creating your own advent calendars. Whether you use a Christmas themed advent calendar like the Happyland Advent Calendar or create your own, this will build anticipation for Christmas as they open a new door each day.

4. Go On a Christmas Lights Tour

Take your family on a Christmas lights adventure, whether in your local area or at a special event such as the Christmas Lights and Winter Illuminations event or the Christmas Lights Trails.

Festive lights will stimulate your little one’s sensory skills as you push them around in a pram or pushchair. As they grow, they will be mesmerised even more.

5. Christmas Games Night

Create a wonderful tradition of games night throughout the festive period or even on Christmas day itself. This is a fantastic way to enjoy quality family time that your baby will eventually participate in.

For the early years, you can invest in games that will be beneficial for their learning skills, such as toys for fine motor skills, toys for discovering the world, or toys for hand-eye coordination.

Toddlers can enjoy exploring different types of games and puzzles, these games are perfect for children aged between 3 and 4 years old.

6. Family Christmas Photoshoot

What is Christmas without the infamous family photoshoot.

Capture and create precious memories that everyone can look back on over the years. Watching your little one’s grow through the years in these photos will be truly heartwarming.

Coordinate outfits with the whole family and even the family pet for those oh-so-adorable memories. Once your baby becomes a toddler, why not gift them with their very own camera for some mini photographer inspiration.

7. Christmas Charity Work

Instil the tradition of giving in your child by introducing them to charity work. Whether you are donating toys to your local charity or volunteering at a shelter, this tradition can teach your child how to show gratitude for what they have and aid others where they can.

Read more on ‘Teaching Your Toddler the Meaning of Christmas’.

8. Make A Gingerbread House

Cooking and baking together, like making a gingerbread house, can be a fantastic sensory and fine motor skill-building activity for your child. Young children can also learn through taste and smell, and this tradition can grow with your child, eventually leading to lovely gingerbread house designs.

9. Start a Christmas Eve Ritual

Incorporate any points from the above to create the perfect Christmas Eve ritual for you and your family. Don’t forget, you can also watch a Christmas classic, read a book, or re-enact the Christmas story to add to your eventful festive period.

Family Christmas Traditions

In summary, Christmas traditions are a beautiful way to bond with your newborn and family. As your child grows, these traditions will adapt and evolve, but the significance of these memories will remain unchanged. Remember, family traditions tend to be passed through generations, so have fun and experiment with everything that can bring you all closer.

If you are currently looking for the perfect gift for the upcoming festive season, we can make that easier for you, why not shop by age? Have a look at toys for 0 to 3 months, toys for 3 to 6 months, or toys for 6 to 12 months.

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