This will be Johnny Mac Pippin's first Christmas and I'm tempted to bombard him with presents. Except, he'll only be seven-months-old and won't have the first clue about what the heck's going on. Then again, his parents WILL and I'd like to help them have an awesome holiday since they're so far from home. So -- bombard them with presents, I will. But what to buy, what to buy...
1. Johnny Mac Pippin will need cute Christmas clothes. He'll need at least three special holiday outfits: Christmas pajamas are a must in this family, the package that's opened on Christmas Eve. A cute Christmas onesie to roll around in after the presents are opened. And a fancy, schmancy outfit for beautiful family photos. I'm leaning toward this, I'm a sucker for a sock monkey. (Uh oh, I love this one too.
2. A special Christmas ornament. I actually bought his first ornament when I was there visiting, but I'll be sending a Hallmark ornament because all three of my big kids had a Baby's First Christmas ornament from Hallmark that's always been the very first ornament they hung on the tree each year. I think I'll buy a special ornament for our tree, too. That way he'll have special ornaments to hang on OUR tree (assuming he's ever able to visit us for Christmas... a grandmother can hope, can't she?).
3. A stocking. I'm working on a big stocking but there's no way I'll have it ready this year, which is fine because he won't need anything that big until next year. I'm going to send a stocking just as special, though. I'm sending the stocking JMP's mom used for her first Christmas -- the same stocking his uncle and aunt used for their first Christmas's too. It's almost 30-years-old and I am looking forward to passing it along to my daughter to hang every year. You can see it hanging on the wall here:
4. A holiday book is a must have. I'll be sending him one every year and this is the one I'll be sending this year: The Night Before Christmas (board book).
5. All kids should find a doll under the tree. I am going with a Raggedy Ann and Andy because I loved them when I was a child and because I'm a bit of a traditionalist, at heart.
6. I also think every child's first Christmas should include some sort of pull toy and here's where I'm having trouble deciding: A Fisher Price Chatter Phone? A Playskool block wagon? Decisions, decisions. I'm going with the Chatter Phone.
7. The reason #6 was a tough call was because I also think kids need blocks and my own children loved the block wagon. I'm going to send these awesome Haba blocks.
8. A toy that plays or makes music is special and this year JMP is getting the Laugh & Learn Love to Play Puppy I bought before he was born. I was hating him for awhile but I've grown kind of fond of him over the last few months. I think JMP is going to love him.
9. Because JMP is going to be crawling soon, I'm sending the VTech Move & Crawl Ball. I can't wait for the videos of him (and the dog) chasing this little ball around the house.
10. The boy loves his mom's iPhone and I'm pretty sure he's going to be loving the iPad pretty soon. I'm going with the Big Grips Frame; it looks the best to me.
So there you have it, my shopping list for Johnny Mac Pippin -- subject to change (or additions) depending upon what else strikes my fancy in the days ahead. Need more ideas? Check out these great infant stocking ideas from Lambert's Lately.
What's on your list of great gifts for a grandchild's first Christmas? Did I forget anything important? Have you found something super cool that your grandchild must have this year?
~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager
Life. Flow. Fluctuate.