Eight Fantastic Gift Ideas to Commemorate Baby's First Christmas

A baby's first Christmas is thrilling for the entire family. The birth of a baby is to be cherished and remembered. Personalized gifts allow you to keep those precious times in a tangible form. Here are some wonderful commemorative gifts ideas, both ready-made and personalized baby gifts that you can give for baby's first Christmas.

Any baby will be delighted with the gift of a snow globe

Musical snow globes are pleasing to baby's senses. Babies find them attractive and are soothed by the music. Specialty shops carry many snow globes with a Christmas theme. It is also a good idea to write what year your baby received their snow globe on the underside, along with his or her name.

Give an ornament for their Christmas tree

You'll enjoy placing baby's first Christmas ornament on the tree as well as subsequent years as time goes by! Many ornaments commemorating baby's first Christmas are available to choose from. Perhaps you'd be interested in ordering a personalized tree bauble with a miniature Santa or angel inside it, or maybe a Christmas ribbon-bedecked baby rattle. Perhaps you might also try hanging a cute little pair of baby booties complete with a commemorative dedication from you, indicating the year of the first Christmas celebration.

Design and make a gift set of your own

Personalized baby gifts are another memorable way to create a very unique present for the baby's first Christmas. Gift sets can be created by combining a number of commemorative photo frames, plush toys and other Christmas themed items. Wrap it in a basket and bring out the creativity in you to make your gift more special.

Have the baby's name embroidered on a Christmas stocking

Christmas stockings have tradition stamped all over them, and even babyhood isn't too soon to get started. You may make your own Christmas stocking, or order an embroidered stocking with the baby's name and year of the first Christmas. When making one, make the socks attractive to the baby with ribbons and bells, but do not overdo it.

Either a hand or a foot print is another option to think about.

An imprint of the new baby's hand or foot would be a creative personalized gift. You can use an ink and mark baby's print on a shirt for mom, dad, or himself; choose to print it on a piece of watercolor paper and have it framed; make clay hand or foot prints; or purchase hand and foot print casts.

Personalize a Christmas plate.

Another way to memorialize Baby's first Christmas is through a personalized Christmas plate. Many stores specialize in items for you to customize with your choice of pattern and inscription. You can put this plate on the top of a shelf in your dining area or in your reception area.

Buy a figurine watch.

One other wonderful holiday or Christmastime gift to mark an infant's first Christmas is a watch including a figurine. If you're looking for elegant, an angel is perfect. More fun for the youngsters are reindeer, Santa, and snowman designs.

Consider choosing a necklace with an image of an angel.

At last, an elegant and truly unique gift you can give for an infant's first Christmas: an angel necklace. Your baby will enjoy the pendant during the Christmas holidays for years to come. A beautifully crafted pendant that is cherished and well-kept will likely become a family heirloom.

There are in fact a number of different gifts you can give an infant to help commemorate his or her first Christmas, including personalized apparel like socks, bodysuits and shirts, or more fun things like music box Christmas CDs, Christmas baby books, personalized Christmas blankets or even Christmas-oriented stuffed animals.

Baby Handprint & Footprint Crafting Ideas Make Fantastic Personalized Gifts

These days more and more people are looking for personalized gifts to give that someone special, no longer content with the mass produced junk, thrust at us with every piece of junk mail, catalogue or advert.

Today people want to give gifts that have a little of them attached to it. A gift that will invoke fond memories, thoughts of happy times.
Now there is nothing more personal and thought provoking than a perfect 3 dimensional replica of a baby handprint footprint casting.

Follow these easy steps and you to can make the perfect personalized gift.

Prepare the alginate as directed by the manufacture when the alginate mixture is ready for molding it should be of a smooth and creamy constancy.
Immediately pour into the molding container. The material sets within about 1-2 minutes so you need to work quickly during this step.

Once the material has been poured into the container, immediately insert the hand or foot into the mold. Wiggle around for the first 5-10 seconds to allow the material to penetrate all areas. Babies and small children usually do this with out help.

Keep the hand or foot in the mold until the material sets and starts to separate from the wrist. The material sets from top to bottom, so just when you think it is ready wait another 15-20 seconds before removing the hand or foot to be on the safe side.

Wriggle the hand or foot to break the suction and then slowly and carefully ease it from the mold. There is no need to rush this step as the mold will not get hard for hour or two, so take as much time as you need to complete this step. Next, drain any excess water from the mold. You may do this by turning it upside down give it a gentle shake and then leave it to drain while you go on with the next step.

Prepare the casting plaster as directed by the manufacture. It should be thin enough to easily run off the spoon in one continuous pour. It should not fall off the spoon in clumps. If it is not thin enough, it will not fill all the tiny fingers & toes, etc.
Fill the mold about 1/3 full with casting plaster. Rotate the container to line all areas of the inside of the mold.

One of the most effective ways to prevent air bubbles and to fill all the tiny fingertips or toes is to rotate the container upside down and allow the plaster to run back out of the container.
You may even use a small paintbrush to brush along the inside of the mold to break up any surface air bubbles. Then begin refilling the mold little by little. Stop and tap and tilt the mold to release air pockets with each pour. Keep adding the plaster a little at a time being sure to stop between pours tilting and tapping the container as you go.

If you would like to, you can also keep pouring plaster up and over the mold to form a base about ½ inch thick. Once the plaster has hardened, you may begin removing the plaster cast from the mold. Normally, the mold and cast will slide right out of the container, but in the case of an integrated base you will need to break the container away from the top section where it meets the plaster base.

Begin tearing away the mold being very careful around fingers or toes. Tear away the mold in small pieces. Don't hold the casting by the delicate fingers or toes.
Now you just need to do a little sanding on the base (once the casting has completely dried out) to give it a more professional look.