My baby's first Christmas

I am a huge fan of Christmas. It is actually quite ridiculous how excited I get about this time of year. I love everything about it. Whether I am busy writing cards, wrapping presents, or decorating the house, you can usually find me with a massive grin on my face.

I love the lead-up to Christmas as much, if not more, than the day itself. I get a thrill out of counting down the days, making last-minute gifts, and singing Christmas songs and carols all day long. And let’s not even talk about the ridiculous number of Christmas films I own and watch every single year without fail.

But no matter how much I love this festive season normally, this year is extra special. This year will be our baby’s first Christmas and the year in which we start creating our own festive family traditions. Some of them will be adaptations of the ones my husband and I grew up knowing and some will be completely of our own making.

Obviously, Oscar is a little too young to appreciate Christmas this year, being that he will only be three months when the big day arrives, but it is still incredibly exiting to think of celebrating this year as a family of three. 

Last Christmas we were still very new to the whole trying to conceive deal. I was learning to chart my cycle and although I knew the chances of us falling pregnant during December were slim, I cannot explain how very disappointed I was when my period arrived just a few days before Christmas. Not only were we not successful that month, but I got to have cramps during my very favourite time of the year.

Yet I couldn’t help but wonder if we would have a baby by the following Christmas. In my heart I truly hoped we would, but my head kept saying that the chances were we would be trying for a long time and I might be pregnant by the following year but surely we wouldn’t have an actual baby by then.

So it seems terribly exciting to me that I got my wish and we are here planning our baby’s first Christmas. It isn’t going to be a very big celebration this year, because not only will too many changes to his routine unsettle Oscar, but we’re also both exhausted to the extreme and would rather spend more time relaxing than running around trying to see all the family and join in every activity we can. But it is still going to be special.

I am currently decking the halls with tinsel, lights, baubles, and more tinsel. There isn’t so much a plan or theme to my decorating this year as a focus on all things sparkly and colourful. Oscar is fascinated by lights and bright colourful pictures, so I want him to be able to gaze around the room at all the fantastic colours Christmas decorations provide.

And I am already thinking about next Christmas (yes, I am that obsessed with it) and how much more exciting it will be when he is toddling around and wanting to play with all this tinsel. I have already told my husband we need to buy a much smaller tree next year so that if Oscar decides to pull on it and it topples over it is less likely to fall on top of him than our usual 5ft tree would. 

And thinking even further ahead than that, we are beginning to talk about all the ways in which we can make Christmas come alive for him. How can we make the magic of Christmas seem so real? Will we sprinkle a bit of glitter or fake snow by the fire to show where Santa came down the chimney?  What treats will we leave out for Santa and his reindeer? And will Oscar get a new pair of Christmas pyjamas every Christmas Eve so that he looks his best for when Santa peeps in to check he has been a good boy?

'Hi, my name’s Amanda, and I am utterly addicted to all things Christmassy!'  But I’m sure you’ll forgive me, right?