My son was born in early October so right after was a slew of holidays that my family celebrates. That being said, my favorite of those holidays is Christmas and really just the whole holiday season. I fully believe in setting up Christmas decor — including a tree — the day after Thanksgiving because that’s what I did as a child growing up and I’ve always loved it. I really wanted to commemorate Baby A’s very first Christmas in a couple of ways (outside of just getting some “Baby’s First Christmas” ornaments of which I have many and love every single one.) If you don’t celebrate Christmas, know that that doesn’t prevent you from using either of these ideas as they’re not necessarily specific to the holiday. However, to me it’s super cool to be able to bring out these two items every Christmas season for the rest of my life and I’m very excited about it.
The Patchwork Bear
I don’t even remember how I heard about this idea but I think it’s the coolest thing ever. I sent all of the different holiday outfits — read: pajamas — that Enzo wore for his first Christmas at just 2 months old, including of course our family Christmas day pajamas. The process took about 4 to 6 weeks once they received the materials, and it cost about $100. You’re able to provide notes on materials you want used the most heavily and can decide if you want any leftover pieces returned to you. I think his bear turned out far cooler than I ever could have imagined and hope it is an item he passes down to his family one day. The Patchwork Bear company also makes quilts, other stuffed animals, duffel bags and more.
Mistletoes Artwork
On Christmas Day 2020 — Baby A’s first Christmas — we took prints of his feet so we could make this cute little artwork to have for years to come. He was only two months old and not entirely sure what the heck we were doing so he moved a bit and they’re not perfect, but we still think they turned out SO cute. For the holidays it is adorable to write “Mistletoes” on the top and date the piece as well. Had I wanted to also draw a bow I could have turned the paper upside down and made the footprints more mistletoe like. If you look on Pinterest you will find 100 million different ideas for turning hands and feet into various different holiday characters, but I think this piece would have been equally simple and pretty with just his feet in black and white for an everyday piece of art.
Time flies SO fast with little ones and I’m so glad I took the time to make these pieces to commemorate our little’s first Christmas!
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