Babies won’t remember their first Christmas, so the gift to choose is a keepsake that lasts until they’re old enough to care. A book with their name and a dated message from you works well: you read it to them now, and they read your words themselves later.
Babies need very little for Christmas, whether they’re six weeks old or ten months. That takes the pressure off. You don’t have to find the toy of the year, just something that’s still around when they start school. If you’re buying for older children too, our guide to personalised Christmas gifts for kids has ideas for every age from 0 to 9.
The short version
- Choose something that’ll still be around in ten years.
- Put the date on it, so it always says ‘first Christmas’.
- Write them a few words, to the child they’ll grow into.
- Add one small thing they can use now, if you like.
- Keep it small. Babies don’t need a pile of presents.
What makes a good first Christmas gift
A good first Christmas gift passes three tests: it’ll still be around in ten years, it carries the date, and it carries your words. Most baby gifts pass none of them. A Christmas sleepsuit fits for a few weeks, and the rattle ends up behind the sofa. They’re lovely and useful, but they’re rarely the ones that get kept.
When they’re seven and going through a box of baby things, the one that matters is the one that tells them who loved them before they could say a word.
First Christmas gift ideas that last
These are the ones we’d look at first, roughly in order of how long they’ll last:
- A book with their name in it. With a message from you at the front, it’s a story and a letter in one, and it stays on the shelf for years.
- A dated tree decoration. Choose one with their name and ‘Christmas 2026’ on it, and it comes out every December. One day it goes on their own tree.
- A memory box. Somewhere for the hospital bracelet, the first cards and the first Christmas photo. Put your own card in before you give it.
- A framed photo from their first few months. Write the date and who’s in it on the back.
- A blanket with their name or initials. Go for one that’ll survive years of washing.
For something to use right now, a cloth or board book they can grab and chew is hard to beat. A soft toy works too, if the parents are happy with one. If you’re not sure whether a toy suits a baby that age, ask the parents, or check with their health visitor or doctor. The parents will also know what they’ve already got two of.
Is a book a good gift for a baby who can’t read yet?
Yes. It’s one of the few gifts that gets used twice: read aloud to them this Christmas, and read by them a few years later. In the US, the American Academy of Pediatrics asks paediatricians to encourage reading together from birth (AAP guidance on shared reading, 2024).
A book with their name in it has a small bonus. In a study by Mandel, Jusczyk and Pisoni, babies recognised the sound of their own name at about four and a half months (Psychological Science, 1995). So if they’re older than that by Christmas, their name may be the one sound in the story they already recognise.
Our books are A4, in softcover or hardcover, so they’re for reading together on a lap. Keep a board book in the pile for the chewing.
What to write for a baby’s first Christmas
Write to the child they’ll be when they read it themselves, at seven or eight, and put the date in. They won’t read it this Christmas. One day, though, they’ll open the front cover and find a note from you about a Christmas they can’t remember.
A pattern that works, in five short parts:
- Their name and the date. ‘For Rosie, Christmas 2026.’ The date is what turns a book into a first Christmas book.
- Where they were and who was there. ‘Your first Christmas, at Nana’s, with all 11 of us squeezed round one table.’
- One thing about them right now. What could they do that December? Maybe they’d just found their feet, or laughed every time the dog sneezed, or would only fall asleep on Dad.
- One line for later. A wish, a promise, or something you’re looking forward to doing with them.
- The name they’ll call you. Auntie Bec, Grandad, Uncle Rob. Not your full name.
We reckon four lines is about right. It’s printed in the front, so keep it to something you can read out in one breath before the story starts. A few examples:
- ‘Theo, Christmas 2026. You were eight weeks old and slept through the whole dinner. One day you’ll read this to us. Love, Grandad and Grandma.’
- ‘To Ari, from your Uncle Rob in Wellington. We haven’t met yet. This book is my first hello.’
- ‘For Nell, on her first Christmas. We counted your toes this morning. Ten. We checked twice. Love, Mum and Dad.’
Leave out in-jokes only the grown-ups will get, and anything about how little sleep everyone had. Then read it out loud and check the spelling of the name twice before you order.
A worked example: More Than I Can Count
Say you’re an auntie, and your niece Rosie was born in June. By Christmas she’s six months old, sitting up with a cushion behind her and grabbing at everything within reach.
More Than I Can Count is the one we’d pick. It’s a counting adventure for ages 0 to 5 that shows a child how much they’re loved. There are numbers, colours, shapes, a few words in other languages and tyrannosaurs to tickle. You choose one of six characters, and Rosie’s name goes into the story. Teddy hides on every page.
This Christmas, someone reads it to her on their lap. In a couple of years the counting and the hunt for Teddy will be hers. Later still, so will the message at the front:
‘For Rosie. Christmas 2026, your very first. Six months old, two teeth, and you’d only nod off on your dad. We love you more than we can count. Auntie Bec x’
Names can be up to 13 characters, including hyphens and two-word names, so ‘Rosie-Mae’ fits too.
Who it’s from
Who the gift is from changes what you’d write more than what you’d buy.
- Parents. A memory box with the year on it, and a letter from you inside. You’re the ones who’ll remember the day, so write down what it was like while it’s fresh.
- Grandparents. Tell them something about their mum or dad at the same age. ‘Your dad wouldn’t sleep unless he was being walked round the kitchen either.’ Only a grandparent can write that line.
- Aunties and uncles. Sign it with the name they’ll call you. If you won’t see them every week, the book does some of the introducing for you.
- Godparents. If you plan to give them something every Christmas, start the habit now. Pick one kind of gift, like a book or a decoration, and date each one, so by the time they’re ten there’s a small set.
Making it a Christmas tradition
The easiest way to make a first Christmas gift last is to use it again next year. Read the book on Christmas Eve, every year, and it stops being a present and becomes part of Christmas. Hang the dated bauble first when the tree goes up. And if the family starts a Christmas Eve box next year, the first Christmas book can go in it.
On the day itself, take a photo of the baby with the gift (or, more likely, ignoring the gift and loving the box). Print it, write the date on the back and put it in the memory box.
How The Kids Book Company helps
You can add a personal message to any of our books, and we print it into the front of the book for free. Every book is printed to order, just for that child, so the name, the character and your words are all theirs.
Each title also has a free personalised digital edition through the Free Book Project. It’s a PDF to read on a tablet, phone or computer, made in under five minutes, with no credit card. You create an account with your email so we can send the file.
Create their free book.
Related questions
What do you say for baby’s first Christmas?
Write their name, the date and one thing about them that December, then sign it with the name they’ll call you. ‘For Theo, Christmas 2026. Eight weeks old and asleep through dinner. Love, Grandad.’ is plenty.
What’s a good first baby gift?
Something that lasts beyond the first few months, like a book with their name in it, a memory box or a blanket with their initials. Add a card with the date, so the family always knows when it arrived.
What’s the 5 gift rule for Christmas?
It’s a way of keeping children’s presents in check: something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read and, in most versions, something to do. For a first Christmas, a book with a dated message covers ‘something to read’ and doubles as the keepsake.
How can you celebrate a baby’s first Christmas?
Keep it small and start one thing you can repeat. Hang a dated decoration, take a photo of everyone together, and read a story aloud before bed. Next year, do the same again.
