Christmas and the holiday season with Handsocks

With Fall well settled in, our thoughts start turning towards Christmas and the holiday season. If you, a family member or friend have been fortunate enough to have a baby this year then you and they will no doubt be looking forward to the holidays even more than usual.

We know Christmas is made all the more special when we have children around: adults can indulge in the fun and frivolity embarrassment-free when they’re joined by little ones.

But babies first Christmas? We’re not sure they quite understand what all the fuss is about just yet! Not sure they got the memo that everybody should be on best behavior (no middle of the night waking everybody up), full of festive cheer (no screaming in the grocery store), and enjoy the exchange of gifts (erm, babies can’t gift shop). But it really doesn’t matter that they don’t get it...we parents, relatives, and friends celebrate doubly for them.

We asked the Handsocks team and friends what fun, cute things they did for their baby’s first Christmas and what tips they have for new parents this holiday. We’d love to hear your ideas too, on our Facebook page.

• Have your festive meal on Christmas Eve, leaving Christmas Day free for spending time with your little one, family and friends. Leftovers are great, nobody needs to be stuck in the kitchen all day!
• Paint a plate each year using your baby’s hand and foot prints. Do it a few days before Christmas and that’s their plate for the holiday. Makes a lovely memento.
• Handmake a stocking: you can find a template easily online and use a simple fabric like felt, or buy a stocking and handstitch your baby’s name on to it.
• Take your baby to choose a new Christmas tree decoration. Buy which one they look at or grab at most. This can become a lovely yearly tradition.
• Remember, under 1s are often less enamoured by the actual gift than the wrapping. Use crinkly paper, tissue paper, patterned fabrics, ribbons to wrap even the smallest gift. The playing with the wrapping may be the most fun part of the day for your baby!
• Take a photo with Santa, print the photo (remember, we used to print photos all the time!) and start a special Christmas album that you can add to every year.
• Choose gifts for relatives’ and friends’ babies thoughtfully. If they prefer not to have a house full of plastic toys, consider a classic book that will keep until the baby is older, or a quality, well-made wooden puzzle, or something that will be useful for parents too such as a pair of Handsocks or a weaning dining set.
• Dress them up! Santa’s helpers, reindeers, snowpeople, Christmas puddings: shamelessly dress them as cute as can be and take lots of photos. In a few years they’ll refuse to wear a costume so make the most of it while you can.
• Take it easy, especially if you’re a very new parent. So, the decorations aren’t as lavish as usual, you didn’t finish your gift shopping, there’s no big meal planned…it doesn’t matter. What matters is you and the people you love enjoying the holidays with your new baby.