How to Celebrate Your Newborn’s First Noel

If the best gift likely – your new baby -- arrived just weeks before Christmas, you’re most likely too tired to even think about holiday celebrations. But you needn’t let the enthusiasm sap your spirit. Instead, you and your newborn can enjoy yourself her first Noel in one of these ways that won’t wear you out.

Baby’s first tree. Okay, so maybe you won’t be trekking into the backwoods to cut a fresh tree this year. Baby’s first Christmas tree can still be distinctive, and this one won’t break the bank or your back.

Select an artificial, table-top tree and beautify with baby items. Dazzlingly colored rattles, binkies, and teething rings give a cheerful touch and can be put to good use later. Top it off with a napkin angel. To make, take a cloth diaper, stuff with a small handful of cotton balls for the head, collect cloth together beneath the head, and tie with a festive bow of green and red curled ribbon. Using a yellow pipe cleaner for the halo, shape a four- to five-inch piece into a circle and poke the left over straight section through top of diaper fabric, securing to angel.

Once the celebration is over this year, the tiny tree can be the basis for a lifelong family tradition. Put the tree up every year and, as your child grows, let her decide how to beautify it.