17 days until Christmas....
It is December 8th 2017 and there are 17 days left until my baby girl's first Christmas! Hey, I hope all my readers are doing great and to new readers that may be here with us today, welcome! First of all I would like to start of with thanking everyone who read, shared and sent me messages of support for my #metoo blog post last week. It was very hard to write but it is so important to speak out, let others know it is not their fault and start to hopefully fix this problem we have in society. So thank you so much for that. I was truly touched. Onto a happier subject, its CHRISTMAS... well it almost is and this year is especially exciting for my little family as it is mine and Reece's first Christmas as parents and more importantly Ella-Grace's FIRST CHRISTMAS!!! So on the run up to Christmas I thought I would try to fit in at least 2 festive themed blog posts, starting with this one. So let's just get right into it. What Christmas means to me...
[above: my first Christmas]
Well Christmas has always had a special place in my heart. It has always been my favourite time of year even now as a 21 year old woman I get that same excited feeling when I go to bed on Christmas eve. That I can only put down to the effort my parents, especially my Mum puts into Christmas. I always say to people my Mum is basically Mrs Claus haha. Although as I grew up I would say some of our little traditions and how early my Mum puts our Christmas decorations was 'embarrassing' I always secretly loved it and now fully embrace the Christmas spirit again. I hope to make this time of year every bit as magical for Ella-Grace as my parents have done for me. These are the best memories of my childhood and I cannot thank them enough for this. In years to come who knows maybe I will be having them over for Christmas although I know my Dad would have to be in control of Christmas dinner and Mum will have decorated my house like a Santa's grotto.
[my mum and I, my first Christmas]
Christmas Traditions...
As I mentioned my family do have some Christmas traditions and Reece and I are going to continue these traditions with our family. We are going to my parents this year for Christmas so these traditions will obviously be automatically put in place as they have been every year since before Ella-Grace was born but even in the future when we may decide to have our own Christmas we will be trying our best to implement them just as magically as my parents have. These traditions will include:
- Christmas movies on the run up to Christmas, leaving Polar Express for Christmas Eve (The most magical Christmas film!)
- 1 present on Christmas Eve (always being Pyjamas)
- Milk and cookies for Santa and carrots for reindeer.
- Giving out Santa sack before bed to take to their room (magically to be filled with gifts by Santa in the morning!)
Something else I would like to do with Ella-Grace as she grows up during the festive season that I never did when I was younger is a 'backwards advent calendar' where ever day in December (1st - 25th) you donate something to someone who needs it whether that me clothes, toys, food whatever. I really want Ella-Grace to appreciate what she has and to know that not everyone has what she has. Having the incentive to help others and think of others before yourself is always a good thing to learn as well. I did not do it this year but next year I think is when we will start this.
Present Ideas....
A baby's first Christmas is always a difficult one depending on the age. Ella-Grace will be 9 months just before Christmas so yes she can play and its a good age for toys but at the same time she is growing so fast so whatever we get her will most likely be given away this time next year. So depending on your babies ages this is my best advice when it comes to buying gifts for Baby's first Christmas:
- Stick to your budget: I know we all want to give our babies as much as we can and if you can afford to go big, good for you! But if like us your budget is tight (Christmas, First Birthday and Wedding all to pay for at once!) then just get what you can afford. Your baby won't know the difference at the moment whether they have one toy or thirty, lets be honest they will probably want the box or wrapping paper more than anything else haha. Your baby wants love. And if that means on Christmas day you are giving them a new outfit and one toy to play with. Put that outfit on them, play with that one toy and give them lots of kisses. I'm sure they will be happy with that.
- Buy them stuff they need: At this age they can't ask for anything so it is really up to the parent/s or guardian to decide what they want to get them. So why not have a look at what you think they may need for the year ahead. For example as I said Ella-Grace is turning 9 months just before Christmas so Reece and I knew we were going to get her quite a lot of 9-12 month clothing as this was a need regardless. Obviously we added some toys but even then we noticed she was bored of some of her toys so we got her a new toy that was more for her age now than some of her toys that are for younger babies. This will mean you are getting something she needs for her Christmas instead of getting lots of random things on top of the things baby needs.
- Remember other people will be buying them things: This was one I kept forgetting until relatives and friends came over with gifts. Yes, not everyone has an abundance of family and friends who want to give gifts to their children but even if you just have 1 relative or a neighbor that you think will pop by with some gifts, keep this in mind as you don't want to end up with so much presents for your little baby that you can't even find your baby in among it all haha.
- Its not all about the gifts: Sometimes this is hard to remember when faced with shops and TV adverts reminding you that it's Christmas and you need to buy, buy, buy!! But Christmas is not about the gifts. Yes it is nice to recieve presents of course but especially for your baby they don't even know what Christmas is yet but they do know love and happiness. So even if this year you can't afford a gift, some cuddles and playing I'm sure would make their day. Family time is much more important that the latest toy.
As for what we are actually getting Ella-Grace..Well of course Santa is in charge of the gifts but we have had a word with him and this is the list we have compiled for Ella-Grace's first Christmas.
Clothes : As I said, she really needs clothes so that was a give in. A new jacket was a must as well. So to be specific we bought her 2 full outfits and a jacket for Christmas, this also being what we asked for from any friends and family. You can never have too much clothes.
Bath Toy: Again as I mentioned, her rubber ducks just haven't seemed to be cutting it recently so we got her a new bath toy from toys r us. A long boat that can be split into different sections meaning it is 3 bath toys in 1 (which I feel is very handy, you feel like your getting more for your money).
3 in 1 Toy: Toys r us Black Friday sale gave us a bargain and we got a box in which had 3 toys ( a mini activity center, a tower which you can put a ball in the top and it rolls all the way down and a little bus with shapes you can put in and out) for half price. This meant her new toys were sorted in one purchase. Again I would always look out for these types of bargains instead of spending money on multiple different products.
Ball Pit: We noticed how much Ella-Grace loved the ball pits at soft play and many of our friends said this was a great 1st Christmas present so we decided to get one. Amazon actually had one for £3 that folds away, it just arrived yesterday and we love it! Perfect size and easy to store. I would recommend looking at the reviews before buying anything online but yeah always look out for bargains as we almost paid £20 for one but got this one for £3. The balls did not come with this however but we were lucky that my Mum picked some up for us. I think she got them from Argos for around £5 (bag of 100 balls).
Dairy Free Chocolate Reindeer: Tesco's Christmas Freefrom section is amazing! Whoever thinks you are limited at Christmas time as a vegan you are mistaken! This stocking filler was only about 50p and I cannot wait to watch her get messy on Christmas with her Chocolate reindeer.
Christmas cup and bowl: Can never have too many cups and bowls as a Mum who does not always have time to wash dishes. So a Christmas cup and bowl just seemed fitting. Again bargain at Tesco for £1 each.
Christmas bib: Tesco again! We live round the corner from one so I guess you can't blame me for doing a lot of my Christmas shopping there. A pack of two Christmas bibs £3. Never, ever can you have too many bibs!!
Bubbles: Because who doesn't love bubbles! £1 from Hawkins Bazzar.
Glow in the dark wall stars: Ella-Grace does not like the dark so we always have to have a tiny lamp on but she also likes to look at things as she goes to sleep so I thought some glow in the dark stars above her bed would be so cute and helpful to her. £2.75 from Hawkins Bazzar including things to stick them up with.
Books: I myself love books and would love Ella-Grace to be an avid reader like me. We noticed she has been liking Thomas the Tank Engine at the moment and so we bought her two Thomas the Tank Engine books from Waterstones. Think I got them both for under £10 as I had a discount at the time for attending a group there.
CD player and CD: The CD player is actually my old one from when I was younger (another tip, pass gifts on) and we bought her the Moana soundtrack on CD. As most of you may know Ella-Grace adores Moana especially the music and ever since she went into her own room at 5 months old she has listened to Moana on YouTube via our iPad every night. Well I would like my iPad back and not to have to go into her room in the middle of the night to change the YouTube video back to Moana. I hope in the future she may want to listen to audiobooks ect. So she will get years of use out of this gift hopefully.
Merry Christmas...
In case I don't get the chance before the day (although I am hoping to post one last time before Christmas) Merry Christmas! I hope no matter what you are doing, where you are or who you are with, you have the best Christmas and new year! And please spare a thought for those in the world who may not have what you have. I always find this time of year we get caught up in what we want out of it but never sit back and think of how lucky we are to actually be able to be given gifts, eat a big meal and spend time with our friends and family. This has been the best year for me and although I sometimes go through tough times I know I am extremely lucky to have the life I have. I am very grateful. So yeah enjoy and be thankful.
Thank you for reading...
As usual thank you to everyone who ever reads my blog and feel free to leave a comment or send me a message, I love to hear from readers. Writing my blog brings so much joy to my life and I love the fact that reading it has caused joy for others too. Don't forget to follow my social media for blog updates and an insight into my day to day life! Instagram: @laurajanelifex
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/laurajaneblog20/
What did you/are you getting your little one for Christmas? What are your Christmas traditions? Are you a Grinch or have you had your tree up since October? Comment below!
Stay Happy Everyone :)!
Stay Happy Everyone :)!
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