50+ Things to do for baby’s first Christmas (Traditions, Photos & Ideas by Age)

Baby’s First Christmas: Traditions, Activities & Photo Ideas

This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own, just like always.

Your baby’s first Christmas is such a special milestone. It can be magical, but let’s be honest, sometimes it’s just as much about diaper changes, naps, and travel schedules as it is about twinkling lights.

I’ve now done baby’s first Christmas four times, and here’s what I’ve learned: the baby will not remember it, the wrapping paper will outperform every gift, and you will still cry a little when you hang that first ornament. When our first was almost one, I dressed him in cozy Christmas pajamas before heading downstairs to my parents’ tree. He was far more fascinated with the crinkly wrapping paper than the actual toys inside, and I loved every second of it.

If you’re wondering how to celebrate or what to do for baby’s first Christmas, this guide is packed with ideas: photo inspiration, meaningful traditions to start, activities broken down by baby’s age, and the keepsake gifts that have survived four kids in our house.

How to Celebrate Baby’s First Christmas

There are countless ways to celebrate, but the key is not to overwhelm yourself. Pick one or two new traditions, a few simple activities, and focus on making memories. You do not need to do all 50 things on this list. (Please do not do all 50 things on this list.)

Baby’s First Christmas Photo Ideas

Want to capture the magic of the season? Try these cute photo setups:

• Baby in front of the Christmas tree
• Baby tangled in Christmas lights (with supervision!)
• Baby asleep on a Christmas book
• Baby with cookies and milk for Santa (swap the cup for a bottle!)
• Baby sitting inside a wrapped gift box
• Baby on Santa’s lap
• Baby in a Santa hat or stocking
• Baby surrounded by ornaments and garland
• Baby in a toy car with a mini Christmas tree tied on top
• Baby unwrapping presents
• Monthly milestone photo in front of the tree (December’s basically does itself)
• Baby’s hand grabbing an ornament, close up (my favorite kind of detail shot)

Photographer tip: turn off the overhead lights and shoot near a window during the day. Soft natural light plus tree lights in the background gives you that dreamy glow without any editing. [PLACEHOLDER: 1-2 sentences about a favorite photo from one of your babies’ first Christmases and where it lives now, e.g. framed, in an album]

If you’re coordinating outfits for the photos, I rounded up our favorite sources in Best Places for Matching Christmas Outfits. We’ve done matching plaid with a 3-month-old and lived to tell the tale.

Things to Do at Home for Baby’s First Christmas

Looking for cozy at-home activities? These are fun for the whole family:

• Create a holiday playlist (or stream a baby Christmas station)
• Give your baby a meaningful keepsake gift (like a snow globe, personalized book, or Christmas train)
• Make or buy a personalized stocking
• Read a Christmas Eve bedtime story
• Decorate the nursery with lights
• Make a handprint or footprint ornament craft
• Bake cookies for Santa (your baby can “help” with mixing or tasting dough-free batter)
• Dress the family in ugly sweaters (baby will look adorable in anything!)
• Start a holiday book collection (buy one special book each year)
• Host a white elephant exchange with mom friends
• Create a scrapbook of baby’s first Christmas
• Buy Christmas-themed bibs or outfits
• Reenact the nativity (you’ve got the perfect baby Jesus this year!)
• Make a felt Christmas tree for baby to decorate again and again

Christmas Traditions to Start with Your Baby

This is my favorite part of a first Christmas. The baby won’t remember any of it, but traditions aren’t really for the baby yet. They’re for the family you’re building. Start them now and by the time your kids are toddlers, they’ll be reminding YOU it’s time for the nativity story.

Here’s the thing about traditions I wish someone had told me with my first: a tradition doesn’t have to be inherited to count. If you didn’t grow up with meaningful holiday rituals, your generation gets to be the first. That’s not a consolation prize, that’s the fun part.

Traditions we actually do in our house:

Nightly nativity story. Most December evenings we gather on our Christmas quilt and act out the nativity story with our figurine set, then have a small treat together before bed. We started this our oldest’s very first Christmas, and years later it’s the tradition our kids ask about most. [PLACEHOLDER: current detail, e.g. what the youngest does during nativity time now]

One new ornament per kid, per year. By the time they leave home, they’ll have a whole box of ornaments and the stories that go with them. Year one is the “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament, obviously. (More on my favorites in the gift section below.)

Matching Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve. A classic for a reason. Even a two-week-old can participate, and the photos age beautifully.

A Christmas light drive. Babies LOVE lights, and it’s the rare Christmas activity that works during a car-nap. Find your town’s over-the-top neighborhood and make it an annual thing.

A letter to your baby each Christmas. Write a page about who they are this year, what they love, what this season looked like. Keep them all in one book. Future you will be so glad.

More traditions worth considering:

• Make a family Christmas card and save one for your memory box
• Donate a gift to children in need
• Bake cookies together every year (even if baby just plays with sprinkles)
• Begin an advent tradition (a book countdown, family activity calendar, or acts of kindness)
• Decide how your family will celebrate Santa
• Start a nativity collection (add one new piece each year)
• Gingerbread houses (hot glue gun for assembly, candy for decorating, thank me later)

Christmas Traditions to Start with a Newborn

If your baby is brand new this December, keep it simple. The best newborn-friendly traditions are the ones that require nothing from the baby:

• Take the “first Christmas” photo by the tree, even if it’s day 10 and you’re in a nursing tank. Especially then.
• Hang their first ornament together and say a few words about the year
• Read one Christmas book aloud on Christmas Eve (newborns love your voice, the book is irrelevant)
• Write that first letter
• Do a stocking, even if it’s filled with diaper cream and things you were buying anyway

Newborn Christmases are 90% survival and 10% magic, and that ratio is fine. The traditions will still be there next year.

For a look at how these traditions evolve once your baby is mobile and opinionated, here’s our full list of family holiday traditions with toddlers.

Christmas Ideas by Baby’s Age

What a first Christmas looks like depends a lot on whether your baby is 3 weeks or 11 months old. My four kids were 11 months, 6 months, 4 months, and 3 months at their first Christmases, so I’ve road-tested most of this range personally. Here’s what actually works at each stage.

Christmas with a Newborn (0–6 Weeks)

Your only jobs: the photo, the ornament, and surviving relatives. A newborn’s ideal Christmas activity is being worn in a carrier while you sip hot chocolate and look at the tree. Skip Santa photos (the line is long and the flu is real), keep visits short, and let people bring YOU food.

Christmas Ideas for a 2 Month Old

At 2 months, your baby is starting to track lights and faces, which makes this the perfect age for low-effort magic:

• Lay them under the tree looking up at the lights (also an incredible photo)
• A Christmas light drive at dusk
• High-contrast Christmas board books
• Tummy time on a Christmas blanket
• Their first (very brief, very supervised) Santa photo if you’re up for it

3 Month Old Christmas Ideas

Our youngest was exactly this age for her first Christmas, and it’s a sneaky-great one: three-month-olds smile on demand and haven’t learned to grab ornaments yet. Golden window. Everything from the 2-month list applies, plus:

• Jingle bells on their socks or wrists during play time
• Christmas music during floor play (they’ll start “singing” back)
• Baby’s first Christmas outfit that isn’t pajamas, because they can hold their head up for photos now
• Handprint ornament craft, since their fists finally unclench long enough to press into clay

Christmas with a 6–11 Month Old

Now the baby is a participant. Sort of. A destructive, delighted participant:

• Let them unwrap one gift (wrap something they already own, they cannot read receipts)
• Baby-safe ornaments on the bottom third of the tree
• Sensory bin with jingle bells, ribbon, and fabric scraps
• Soft nativity set they can actually play with
• First taste of Christmas dinner foods (see the food section below)

Christmas Activities for 1 Year Olds

If your baby’s first Christmas lands right around their first birthday, you hit the jackpot: old enough to be amazed, young enough to prefer the box. My oldest was 11 months for his, which is exactly how I know the wrapping paper wins every time.

• Unwrapping presents (their gross motor Olympics)
• A felt Christmas tree they can decorate and re-decorate
• Stacking and knocking down empty wrapped boxes
• A trip to the tree farm, they can toddle a few rows
• Christmas cookie “decorating” (translation: eating sprinkles)
• Their first ride-on toy under the tree

Baby’s First Christmas Outings & Events

Want to get out of the house? Try these festive adventures:

• Take a Christmas light tour (babies love lights!)
• Visit a Christmas tree farm
• See Santa for the first time
• Attend a holiday parade or tree lighting
• Go caroling with friends (everyone will love a visit from baby!)
• Visit a live nativity or holiday church service
• Watch ice skaters in the park
• 

Foods for Baby’s First Christmas

If your baby is ready for solids, the holidays are a fun time to introduce festive foods. Depending on their age, you might try:

• Mashed potatoes
• Sweet potatoes
• Green beans
• Carrots
• Turkey (shredded or puréed)

Always check with your pediatrician before introducing new foods, and skip the added sugar and salt at the baby’s end of the table.

Baby’s First Christmas Gift Ideas (What We Actually Own)

Babies don’t need much, and they definitely don’t need much that’s Christmas-specific. The best first Christmas gifts are keepsakes that grow with them or basics dressed up in holiday wrapping. Here’s what has earned its place through four babies:

Personalized “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament. The one gift I consider non-negotiable. Etsy is the place for these; a hand-stamped or hand-lettered ornament with baby’s name and year beats anything mass-produced. [ETSY AFFILIATE LINK: personalized first Christmas ornament] [PLACEHOLDER: 1 sentence about a specific ornament one of your kids received]

Personalized stocking. Buy the nice one now so all the siblings’ stockings eventually match. Ask me how I know about mismatched-stocking regret. [ETSY AFFILIATE LINK: personalized knit stocking] [PLACEHOLDER: confirm whether your stockings match or this is the self-deprecating truth]

Holiday board books. Start the book collection tradition here. Our most-read: a touch-and-feel Christmas book for the baby stage and a classic nativity board book that has been chewed by all four kids. [AMAZON AFFILIATE LINKS: 2-3 specific board books you own]

Matching family pajamas. Technically a gift for everyone. If you want them to survive multiple kids, buy quality; ours from [PLACEHOLDER: your actual pajama source, e.g. Hanna Andersson] have been through [X] kids and still look good in photos.

A keepsake blanket or Christmas quilt. Ours is the center of our nightly nativity tradition, so it’s less “gift” and more “family member” at this point. [AFFILIATE LINK if applicable, or leave as personal anecdote]

Soft or plush nativity set. The one Christmas decoration the baby is allowed to grab. [AMAZON AFFILIATE LINK]

A wooden Christmas train. The classic keepsake toy that comes out of the Christmas boxes every year and never ages out. [AMAZON AFFILIATE LINK]

For the full list of ornaments we love (and how to pick one that lasts), see my [baby’s first Christmas ornament guide](INTERNAL LINK: ornament buying guide URL once live). And if you’re filling a stocking on a budget, my cheap stocking stuffers roundup has ideas under $5.

FAQs About Baby’s First Christmas

Final Thoughts on Baby’s First Christmas

Your baby won’t remember their first Christmas, but you will. Focus on enjoying the season, capturing little moments, and building traditions that will last.

Whether it’s taking photos in front of the tree, baking cookies, or hanging that first ornament, these simple acts turn into meaningful memories. Four first Christmases in, I promise the magic isn’t in doing everything. It’s in doing a few things every year.

Here’s to a cozy, magical baby’s first Christmas!

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