‘They have most fun with the wrapping!'

…And other home truths. Because the expectations surrounding Baby’s first Christmas are so high, even Santa would struggle to live up to the hype says, Bryony Gordon

- Bryony Gordon

TRUE story: I spent my first Christmas Eve as a parent in A&E, tending to my then seven-month-old child, who had fallen from the bed to the floor as I sat wrapping her father’s presents. After several hours sitting in the less-than-festive surroundings of St Thomas’ Hospital, we discovered that she was, thankfully, fine. But as a result, the fun-packed evening we had planned of champagne and charades was a definite no-go. But I learnt an invaluable lesson that night: you may have loads of exciting plans for your baby’s first Christmas, but your baby most certainly doesn’t. To the infant child, it’s just another day of the calendar year. So how do you make sure you and your baby get the most out of the festive season? Let me offer you some of my best tips…

DON’T LET THE PLANNING GET YOU DOWN

Whereas pre-baby you were just another mouth to feed and present to buy for, post-baby everyone is going to want a piece of you and your child. Potentially, this can be problematic.

My husband and I were so torn – did we go to his parents, or mine? We ended up trying to get round the issue by inviting everyone to ours. Ours being a tiny two bedroom flat… Everyone was overjoyed by this generous gesture – until they arrived and realised they had to sleep on blow-up beds in the living room. In trying to please everyone, we ended up pleasing nobody at all.