Christmas Gift Ideas for Older Babies.

So… having a baby at Christmastime is the best. See, children require all these expectations… the traditions, and advent calendar, the crafts, the cookies, the matching jammies, the perfect toys, the best deals, the work, the wrapping, and the… everything that makes your head spin! But babies just are the magic. No extra glitz or glam necessary. Let them stare at the tree lights and they’re content.

I’ve had my fair share of ages during the Christmas season. I have kids born in September, then December, then November, and now March. So I’ve had a 3 month old Christmas baby, an 11 month old Christmas baby, a 1 month old Christmas baby (yes, that was amazing!), and now… a 9 month old!

I know some people argue that babies don’t know it’s Christmas so you don’t need to give them gifts. I would say that’s probably true… unless you have older kids in the house! If you have older kids… those expectations start fluttering in around Thanksgiving time and you start to think about what to get everybody. It just seems wrong to skip the littlest member of the family! Plus, the older kids expect the baby to receive presents and often want to help pick out a gift!

However, while I have a budget for each of the older kids and try to make sure I have the same amount of gifts for each of them… I don’t always follow that for the baby! I just make sure I have a few things for them to open to feel like a part of Christmas morning. So, here are a few things Walker is getting this year!

Gift Ideas for a 9 Month Old:

[I’ve linked as much as I could in my storefront]

He’s getting two books, two crinkle toys, a soft doll, a few teethers, mittens (and a hat), a snowsuit and a sled (I haven’t actually bought this yet because I swear we own it but I can’t find it…), a new cup and a new toy. What fits inside the stocking, I’ll use as a stocking stuffer (along with some favorite snacks!) but everything else will be wrapped and under the tree.

But here’s another idea…

He’s my fourth and my basement is full of toys and gear for babies and kids! Sean likes to joke that we could open our own little store. I’m not above wrapping toys we already own! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that in my opinion… as long as they’re gifts from us and not from Santa (since we do Santa around here!)

So here are some of our favorite baby items that we already own that have been making their way out of the basement and into the living room. Some of these will be wrapped and under the tree Christmas morning and some of these we’ve already integrated into our lives because we’re inpatient and couldn’t wait…

Admittedly these are larger gift items! So let’s do a little run down:

Object Permanence Box: This is one of our oldest toys! I bought this for Javi when he was about 9 months old and it’s been used by each child since. The one I linked in my storefront is the exact one I bought but… it did end up breaking and I had to use hot glue to fix one of the sides. I also do not use the ball it comes with because it’s SO small and I think a choking hazard. I use those practice golf balls that are white with a bunch of holes in them?

Ball Drop + Sliding Box Top: These two are from Lovevery and while they aren’t necessarily expensive… they do require a subscription kit. So they aren’t that easy to purchase as a one-off gift. But they are so so so good! Eva got them when she was a baby and they are tried and true, and in perfect condition still. I do have an affiliate link for Lovevery so if you’re interested in signing up, you can! You won’t be disappointed… I recently counted and we own 13 out of their 22 playkits!

Radio Flyer Wagon: I bought this for Lola when she was learning to walk and it very quickly became a favorite around here. It’s used as a learning to walk tool, but also as a vessel to move their favorite items all around the house… and yard! When I brought it up from the basement (or when Sean did since it had some cobwebs on it…) all the kids became a bit nostaglic!

Pikler Triangle: This is the exact one we have though I purchased it from Etsy a few years ago. We have the triangle, the arch and the slide/rock wall and I will say it’s a favorite, but gosh it makes me realize how much space we don’t have! Luckily it folds up for easy storage and it’s really very simple to set up and breakdown but while it’s up… you need space. I will say that all the kids love it, but it’s only tested for kids up to age 8 (I think) so I don’t actually allow my oldest two on it anymore. But if I did… they would be all over it.

Sprout Weaning Table: This is another thing that I got Eva as a baby and it was just the best purchase. It is expensive but it does come with three sizes for legs so it will grow with your child (the chair grows with your child, too.) Once Eva stopped using it as a weaning table, it became Javi’s table in his room up until he was six! It’s super versatile and I love that babies can sit safely at a table their size to eat and do activities.

Good luck finding some things for the babies in your life! 🙂