Every Christmas, along with all the fancy, pretty decorations, my mum still gets out decorations from when we were a baby and when we were at school.
Now some of these decorations are barely holding it together anymore (not surprising considering they’re at least 25 years old!) but the sentiment behind them means they get pride of place each year.

Here are a few ideas for you to remember your first Christmases with your babies.

Get Painting!

It is incredible what you can turn a hand or footprint into with a bit of imagination. Feet can be Christmas Trees, ‘Mistletoes’ or reindeer and hands can make a Christmas wreath or reindeer antlers.

And if that seems a bit too much like hard work, just give your baby some child safe christmas paint and a piece of paper, fold it in half and you have nanny’s favourite Christmas card.

Make Salt Dough Decorations

If you’ve never tried making your own Salt Dough before, you might be surprised just how easy it is.

Mix 1 cupful of plain flour (about 250ml), half a cupful of table salt (about 125ml) and half a cupful of water (about 125ml) together to make a dough.
Shape it however you like, or even better use your baby’s hand or foot to imprint the dough. If you’re turning it into a Christmas decoration, don’t forget to make a hole for the ribbon!
Put in the oven for 2-3 hours on the lowest setting until it hardens.
You can then either leave it plain or decorate it however you like.

Why not do one a year with the date written on to keep track of just how fast your little one is growing.

Buy a Personalised Decoration

Art not really your thing? There are tons of different options out there with different ways to personalise a bauble.
You can get ones with just their name, the date or even use photos from their year or in their new Christmas outfit.

Have a Christmas Photo Shoot or take your own Christmas Photos

Why not book a Christmas photo shoot or take your own Christmas photos?

Here’s a few ideas:

• Lay your baby on a christmas blanket in your favourite christmas blanket

• Lay them down on a white blanket surrounded by tinsel and baubles. They’ll love to shake the tinsel around (and probably eat the baubles…)

• Place them in front of a Christmas tree to capture all the beautiful lights and decorations behind them

• Put your favourite Christmas bedding on your bed and take some pictures of them in their Christmas pyjamas.

I hope this has helped your think of a few keepsakes you can create to help mark your first Christmases with your baby. If you have any more ideas, comment below and share them with other mums and dads.

Happy Christmas!!