Your baby won't remember their first Christmas. You will, though, and so will everyone who squeezed into the living room for a hold.
The trouble is that most first Christmas things are made to be outgrown. The tiny jumper fits for a fortnight and the bib goes missing by Boxing Day. So here are the keepsakes that are still worth having when they're eighteen, and a few honest tips on the ones that don't last.
1. Their handprints and footprints, the size they are this Christmas
This is the one we'd choose, and not only because it's what we make. Babies' hands and feet change so quickly in the first year, and a print is the one keepsake that shows you exactly how small they were, line for line.
Our baby hand and footprint kit takes about five minutes. You wipe their hand or foot with an inkless wipe, press it onto the special paper and the print appears, with nothing left on their skin. Then you photograph it and upload it, and our studio tidies up any smudges and foils it in gold, silver or rose gold, exactly life size.
For a first Christmas print, add your own words when you upload. Alongside their name and birth details, you can add their age when the prints were taken or a short message, such as "Baby's First Christmas 2026".
2. Start a print every Christmas
Here's a tradition worth starting this year: take their prints every Christmas Eve. Because every one of our prints is reproduced exactly life size, you can line them up over the years and see exactly how much they've grown. A row of them on the landing wall by the time they start school is really something.
It also takes the pressure off getting it perfect this year. If their hands are tightly closed, do their feet now and try their hands next year. We've got a whole guide to babies who won't open their hand if you'd like to have a go at both.
3. A personalised first Christmas bauble
A bauble with their name and the year comes out every December, which is half the joy of it. If there's an older brother or sister or a dog with a waggy tail in the house, wood or ceramic will survive a wobbly tree far better than glass.
4. A salt dough handprint ornament (with a word of warning)
Salt dough makes a lovely afternoon's craft, and plenty of families make one every year. It's worth knowing two things first. Newborns rarely open their hands flat enough for a clean print in dough, and the finished ornament is fragile and can soften if it's stored somewhere damp.
It's also full of salt, so keep it well out of reach of dogs, as eating it can make them very poorly. If you'd like the handprint part to last, take it with an inkless kit and keep the dough for the decorating fun.
5. A letter to open when they're older
Write them a letter on Christmas Day: who was there, what they wore, what made them laugh and what you're hoping for them. Seal it, and add a new one each year. It costs nothing, and it may well be the thing they treasure most.
6. The same photo, every year
Same spot, same chair or the same Christmas jumper in a bigger size each year. It's a tiny bit of effort on the day, and by the time they're ten you'll have a brilliant set of photos.
7. A copy for the grandparents
A first Christmas is a big one for grandparents too. Once you've taken your baby's prints, you don't need to take them again to make more. You can add extra copies, with or without a frame, in smaller and larger sizes, and keyrings carrying your baby's own prints, so every set of grandparents gets their own.
There are more ideas in our guide to gifts for grandparents from baby.
8. A box for the bits you'll want later
Their first Christmas card, the hospital name band, the tiny hat, their first stocking. A simple memory box keeps it all together, and it's the first place they'll look when they're grown up and curious.
Giving a keepsake kit as a Christmas present
If you're buying for new or expecting parents, a kit is a lovely present because there's nothing to decide on the day. Choose "I'm buying as a gift" when you order, and the parents add the names, colours and wording themselves when they upload their prints. The kit doesn't expire, so it works for a baby who hasn't arrived yet too.
- Premium Kit, £59.95. Comes in a presentation box, ready to give, with a keepsake affirmation card.
- Framed Foil Print Kit, £49.95. Comes with a solid wood frame in your choice of five finishes.
- Foil Print Kit, £34.95. The foil print on its own, ready for a frame of your own.
£1 from every kit we sell goes to Tommy's, the pregnancy research charity.
When to order for Christmas
We post your kit by Royal Mail the next working day after you order. Once you've uploaded your prints, we send you a free digital proof within one working day, and once you approve it, your finished keepsake is made and posted back to you free within five working days, tracked on Framed and Premium kits.
So give yourself two to three weeks from ordering your kit to having the finished keepsake in your hands, and a little longer in December, when the post is at its busiest. For Christmas, our last order date is Monday 7 December: order your kit by then, and upload your prints and approve your proof as soon as you can. The earlier you take the prints, the calmer Christmas week will be.
Ready to start? Order your kit and you could be taking their prints in a few days.
