Baby's first Christmas
Christmas is a time for family rituals, and when better to start some
traditions of your own than your first Christmas with your new baby?
If you're facing your first Christmas as a parent, prepare to wave goodbye to the old festive traditions. Wild Christmas parties and spare cash for luxurious gifts may be a fading memory, but take heart - for every sacrifice there's at least one bonus to be had.
The ghost of Christmas past
Think back to Christmases past and you may remember partying until dawn, shopping 'til you dropped and competing with your partner to choose the most lavish and original present. You had the time, money and energy to face the High Street Christmas crowds, and you could juggle your social life and job. This year, in between feeds and nappy changes, you may feel a yearning for some of the activities that made Christmas fun. And that's ok. Your first Christmas with a new baby is an important developmental milestone for you as a parent and, as with most milestones, it may feel like a mixed blessing.
New traditions for a new family
It's true that you have different priorities but that doesn't mean that all the fun has gone out of the festive season. Far from it! This year you'll have every excuse to shop by mail order and the easy option of giving all your friends a framed photo of your beautiful new babe. You have the perfect excuse to avoid office parties and awkward get-togethers plus you can reasonably demand any number of luxury gifts - you deserve to be pampered after bringing a new baby into the world.
Santa's coming back into your life, too, and he's here to stay for at least the first five years of your child's life, so the magical quality of Christmas is set to return. You might find yourself reliving all the excitement of your own childhood as you hang your baby's stocking up on Christmas Eve. You'll have a perfect excuse to stick your nose into every Santa's Grotto you come across, and you'll appreciate just how much your own parents used to put into planning Christmas for you. It's also a chance to lay down some new traditions that can be unique to your new family. Need some ideas? Check out some of the family traditions other iVillagers remember from their childhood.
1 | 2 | next
printer friendly
send to a friend
Delicious
Digg
reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Horoscopes| Message Boards | Quizzes | Newsletters | Join
iVillage Ltd is a UK company registered in England & Wales (3837269) at 80-110 New Oxford Street, London WC1 1HB
