This year has been a rather exciting one for us, 2018 has brought us a brand new, beautiful family member.  Odette Edith was born on the 27th October, just in time to celebrate Christmas for the very first time.

Christmas to us, is a time to spend with family and friends.  A time to look back in fondness on the year that we’ve had, and having children just makes it even more special.

The build up to Christmas is by far my favourite part of it all.  I love to engage in all the festive activities and I just adore how magical everything feels with the twinkling lights and the merry atmosphere.  I thoroughly enjoy shopping for gifts and even more so, wrapping them up.

Therefore, naturally I want to make Odette’s first Christmas one to remember.  Obviously, she won’t remember it at all, but we will, and her 2-year-old sister, Ivy, will remember it- for a while at least! I think it’s important for Odette to be recognised during this time, and for her to be included as much as possible.  It would be very easy to allow this time to pass on by with absolutely no recognition, but how could I allow a time I love to just be glossed over because of the age of my child.

So, how are we including our new-born into our Christmas celebrations? How are we making this first Christmas, one to remember?

Firstly, we are including her in all our activities.  As a family we will be attending local festivities, we will be visiting Father Christmas, as well as many Christmas themed toddler groups and playdates.  Odette will be as much a part of these as all other family members. We will ensure that we have photos of her at all events so that we can one day look back on and talk to her about her first Christmas.

I know some people that don’t buy gifts for their child’s first Christmas, and I understand this can save money, and that they won’t even know any different.  But I will know the difference and so will our eldest daughter. If Ivy received gifts from Father Christmas, but her little sister didn’t- would that mean her sister was on the ‘naughty list’??? What we have done though, is buy carefully and sensibly.  All of Odette’s gifts are either things she needs, things for her nursery or items that will be kept as keepsakes forever.

Things she needs include; a nice plate to match her sisters for when she begins to wean later in the year.  Family members have been asked for money to go towards a new supportive baby carrier so that I can baby wear for longer.

I have found several gorgeous bits and pieces for her nursery from small independent shops.  These include a wall hanging and a few beautiful prints to hang on the walls.

As a keepsake gift I have bought her a rattle, as she grows and no longer plays with this, I will add it to her baby box.  A box of things to remember from her first year. A box that will be passed on to her when she decides to leave home, and hopefully some of these items will be ones that she will pass on to her children, and then to their children after that.  I’d like to be able to expand this box, not only for her first year- but perhaps it will include something to remind her of every year up to the age of 18?

And lastly, Odette will receive her first Christmas tree decoration.  This year we have been kindly gifted a beautiful hand painted bauble with Odette’s name on it.  This is a tradition that I started when Ivy was born, each year the girls will receive one new tree decoration, sometimes these will be chosen for them and sometimes they will be chosen by them, but each year they will have 1 new one each.  By the time they are ready to leave home and set up their own Christmas tree they will have a large collection of decorations ready-made, and each one will hold a special memory of the Christmas that is was found/made/purchased.

All of these things are the beginning of the magic that is Christmas.  We are including our new-born in our celebrations and ensuring that her experiences are documented forever more, because to us, Christmas is important to our family.  To us the magic is important, even at age 2 months! To us, it matters. And in turn, I’d like to think that Odette will look back fondly on her first Christmas, just as we will.

 

About the Guest Author
My name is Hanna AKA The Cherry Mama. I am a wife, a teacher and mama to two gorgeous girls. Over the past 2 years I have embraced motherhood, tackled all sorts of highs and lows, and faced new challenges whilst I have learnt to make sense of life that involves little people. I am an amateur photographer that loves to document our daily life through social media. Check out my Instagram and follow along to see what we’re up to on a day to day basis and to watch my girls grow.