Celebrating Christmas with a baby
Published:Monday | December 10, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Petrina Francis, Assistant Editor-News
IT'S THE most wonderful time of the year! Yes the Yuletide season is here and many parents will be celebrating Christmas with their new bundle of joy and their toddlers.
But some are clueless how to observe this festive season with a baby on hand.
Here's how Nardia Gordon, mother of an 18-month-old son Ajani Moulton spent Christmas last year and her plans for this year.
Christmas 2011 was Ajani's first holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, so Gordon took the decision to spend it with family in New York.
She notes that although Ajani was only nine months at the time and oblivious of what was going on around him, photographs were taken to capture the memories for years to come.
For Gordon, the Christmas joy with baby Ajani will forever be etched in her mind.
"All I can remember is the happy look on his face when he saw the lights, the oversized white and red candies and presents under the tree. He was so fascinated by them, the colours and the excitement of children playing in the house," Gordon reminisced.
She adds: "Unfortunately then, he couldn't walk on his own, so he scurried behind them on his knees trying to keep up. All that stood out in my memory is the watery drools, the big smile with two rabbit teeth signalling the happy child. Oh, the joys of Christmas with baby," Gordon said with a broad grin.
This year will be a relatively quiet one for Gordon and her son.
"I want him to experience Christmas as I can remember it from my childhood experience. Christmas tree, lights, beautiful decorations. The excitement of waiting until midnight to burst open the unexpected," Gordon tells POSITIVE Parenting.
The proud mother adds: "I will get him involved in assisting me to decorate the tree. Christmas will be celebrated with family and close friends with lots of food. The famous stockings will be hung with presents just, for him," she tells POSITIVE Parenting of her plans.
"It's just one look I crave that would seal the deal, the lovely big smile he gives to represent the happiness he feels. The tear-jerker moment."
Gordon says her challenge this year is to find cost-effective gifts for her son. She plans to buy Christmas gifts which include learning material ... "ones that he can relate to, by sound, or something that appeals to him visually."
Camille Mighty-Atkinson is so excited about Christmas. She has her own little family to celebrate the period with.
Last Christmas, the family didn't do anything special because Joelle was three months at the time and finances were tight.
"We didn't do anything special as she didn't understand much and we were caught up in enjoying her."
This year, however, Mighty-Atkinson plans to do some shopping for baby Joelle. She notes that her challenge this Christmas is to stay within the budget.
And her Christmas joy of having a baby? "I'm looking forward to seeing the excitement on her face when she gets her presents, especially the toys."
Joelle can expect educational toys, book and clothing this festive season.
Mighty-Atkinson really wants to put up a tree. "But she will tear it down or take off the decorations," the mother said as she laughed out loud.