Like so many other new parents, my daydreams about my baby’s first holiday were filled with joy, peace, and visions of us opening gifts under the tree and having a magical day. But honestly, my son didn’t care one bit about his first Christmas.
And my visions were, well, just visions. He slept all the way through the gift opening, didn’t even look at any of his things, and cried just as much as he always did.
Of course, I did the regulatory bringing him to meet Santa, which made him scream bloody murder and wasn’t worth the picture. And I invited the entire family over on Christmas Day so they could see him dressed in his Christmas outfit, only to regret it later because he was sleeping.
I wanted to sleep, and I was too cranky to wait on everyone
Then, since I didn’t learn much the first time around, I did the same thing with my daughter on her first Christmas.
At 6 months old, she wasn’t even aware of her fingers, much less what day it was, and all she wanted to do was sleep and nurse the day away because she had a cold.
By the time my third rolled into the world, I’d learned a few things
In fact, we didn’t even get him any gifts since he wasn’t even 2 months old, and I didn’t have the energy to buy him anything because I had two toddlers and a newborn to take care of.
What I am saying is this: If you are stressed, worried, or doing everything in your power to make your baby’s first Christmas perfect, give yourself a break and skip it. They won’t remember a thing or be aware of what’s going on. However, you will be very aware and probably really tired, so do yourself a favor and plan the kind of day you want.
If that means not having anyone over so the baby can eat and nap on schedule, do that
If you want to say no to traveling and skip buying gifts for the little munchkin but are feeling guilty because it's their first Christmas, again they aren’t able to tell the difference.
They will, however, be able to sense if you are stressed or tired.
Even if your child is almost one, I can guarantee they will have more fun playing with the wrapping paper than with their gifts
When my third had his second Christmas, he’d just turned one and played with his new toothbrush from his stocking the entire morning. Then he ate, took a nap, and played with the toothbrush again.
I had the video to prove it, and I remember thinking I could have saved myself a lot of trouble by not buying him anything since he had so many hand-me-downs from his brother and sister anyway.
If you feel up to celebrating big and wrapping lots of gifts to put under the tree on baby’s first Christmas, by all means, go ahead. But take it from a seasoned mom: They won’t care, you will do all the unwrapping for them, and you are better off saving your energy for the next 18 Christmases.
