Your Baby's First Christmas Ornament: The Ultimate Creation

Your baby’s first Christmas is a delightful time to make original memories, start new traditions, and enfold your little one in long-standing family traditions. Of course, if this is your baby’s first Christmas, there will be a lot of other firsts too: first Christmas photo, first Christmas stocking, and the first visit with Santa!

Like many new parents, the first year with your baby may already feel like a blur, so one memorable way to commemorate this special holiday season is by making a holiday keepsake or Christmas tree ornament to cherish for years to come. DIY ornaments also make great holiday gifts to grandparents and other close relatives.

If you’re looking for a unique way to honor your baby’s first Christmas, look no further than our list of creative ways to make an adorable baby Christmas ornament.

1. Baby Story Book 

If you’re a book lover, creating a storybook ornament for your baby is the ideal way to honor their first Christmas! Of course, there are plenty of ways to tackle this project, but we love this unpainted ‘reader’ ornament available online at Walmart. 

First, use a close-up baby photo for the face. Then, draw or paint your favorite holiday classic on the cover. Or, if artistic skills aren’t your strong suit, measure and print a color picture of your favorite storybook’s cover and use Modge Podge to secure it and give it a shiny, finished appearance. Finally, finish it by writing your baby’s name and the year on the backside with a permanent marker. 

2. Memory Christmas Ball 

DIY Christmas balls have been trending for years, making them accessible and inexpensive. A memory Christmas ball is a lovely way to involve the whole family in creating your keepsake ornament.

Add some shiny tinsel or confetti to a large, fillable Christmas ball. Then have each family member write their favorite memory about your baby’s first year on a thin slip of paper. Fill the ornament with these slips and seal the Christmas ball. This ornament will serve as a time capsule of sorts, and one day when your baby is older, they can open the ornament and read all the memories their loved ones wrote about their first year. 

Another option is to type up each person’s memory that is written inside the ball on a sheet of paper to keep stored with the ornament; then, each year, when you pull out your tree decorations, you can read the list together without opening the ornament. 

3. Individualized Picture Ornaments 

This unique photo ornament idea takes some planning but is a wonderful way to make a personalized ornament for everyone in your baby boy's or baby girl’s life. 

To make this one-of-a-kind keepsake Christmas ornament, you will need a picture of each loved one with your baby for whom you wish to make an ornament. You can purchase wooden picture frame ornaments, make them from craft sticks, or purchase an ornament craft kit in shapes like snowflakes, teddy bears, and snowmen.

4. Wishing Ornaments 

We love this unique idea because it is a gift that keeps on giving year after year! You can use a pre-made kit like this on Amazon or design them on your own, but the idea is that each year you write a wish for your child, place it inside the ornament and then open it the following year to remember the past year’s wish. 

Wishing ornaments are a lovely way to save memories of a new baby’s first Christmas who won’t be able to remember them themselves. Use a small recipe box or photo book to save each year’s previous wish so your child can read each year’s wishes as they grow. 

5. Handprint & Footprint Keepsakes 

Baby handprint and footprint crafts have been around for quite some time, and it can be challenging to find a new take on the theme, but we love this new trend on Etsy to make a hangable Christmas gift using a photo frame.

This first option uses remarkable hand-drawn images to which you add your child’s footprints. Another adorable choice is to purchase a DIY digital download that you can print and frame yourself. 

A third design we loved is this adorable Winnie the Pooh design, to which you can add any personalized message you wish. 

6. Hand-Painted Ornaments 

Depending on how old your baby is, by the time Christmas comes around, they may be old enough to help create their first ornament! Finger painting is an excellent fine motor development activity for babies. Most babies approaching their first birthday can grip a thick paintbrush (although they may prefer to use their hands!)

Handmade gifts are among the best gifts for loved ones, especially grandparents, so consider letting your little ones create the gifts they hand out this first holiday!

First, secure a large piece of finger paint paper to the table or floor and allow them to paint by adding a few drops of complementary colors. 

Once the paper dries, you can use these wood slice ornaments to trace circles, cut them out and affix them to the wood with glue and a layer of Modge Podge. Each ornament will be unique and one of a kind. Write your baby’s name, the year, and “My First Christmas” on the back side with a permanent marker. 

7. Time Capsule Ornament 

A time capsule ornament is an opportunity to save precious items from your baby’s first year and ensure they always stay treasured and cherished. You can fill clear, DIY plastic bulbs with anything important from your baby’s first year.

A copy of their sonogram picture, hospital cap, bracelet, first pair of booties and pacifier, or a lock of their baby hair tied with a ribbon are all ways to freeze the first precious year in time.