Have a newborn baby on your Christmas shopping list this year? Trying to come up with ideas for what to buy a newborn for Christmas can be hard! This list of newborn Christmas gifts can help! Christmas gift ideas for babies 0 to 4 months.
Disclosure: I was compensated to write this post. Lovevery invited me to write a post mentioning Lovevery product(s) of my choice in exchange for monetary compensation. I purchased the Lovevery Play Kits, Play Gym and other Lovevery products mentioned in this article myself, and did not receive a discount on the products listed. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.
Newborns are tricky little people…when it comes to taking care of them AND shopping for them.
And if you have a tiny new bundle of joy on your Christmas shopping list this year, you might be wondering what to buy a newborn for Christmas…and find yourself coming up short of ideas.
I get it! On the surface, newborn babies are like cozy warm slugs that like to snuggle, sleep, poop…and not much else.
But in reality?
The newborn period is developmentally rich, and ripe for a newborn Christmas gift that will support their development, help them see how fun it is to be a person, and maybe even give their parents or caregivers a little break on Christmas morning…and beyond.
Below, I’ve put together a list of the best baby Christmas gifts for newborns, based on my experience as a mom and aunt.
I hope it inspires you to find the perfect Christmas gift for baby’s first Christmas.
What Do I Mean by Newborn Christmas Gifts?
When I say “newborn Christmas gifts” I’m talking about gifts for babies who are zero to four months old. I’ve tried to pick Christmas gifts and holiday gifts that the baby will be able to use right now, during the holiday season, and won’t have to wait to grow into. That said, many of these gifts (maybe all of them?) are great for older babies, too.
My Favorite Christmas Gifts for Newborns: A Quick Summary
- Play Kits by Lovevery: The Looker is for babies up to 3 months, followed by The Charmer (months 3 and 4) and The Senser (months 5 and 6).
- Baby Play Gym by Lovevery or Finn + Emma
- Baby Play Mat by Wee Gallery or Little Bot
- High Contrast Black and White Toys by Wee Gallery, Manhattan Toy Co., or in some Lovevery Play Kits
- Bath Toys by Hevea, CaaOcho, PipSquigz, and GreenToys
- Board Books such as Dear Zoo, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Goodnight Moon and anything by Sandra Boynton.
- The Yoto Player or Yoto Mini audio player for kids
- Cause and Effect Toys such as Crinkle Paper, Wrist Rattles, or a Soft Fabric Book with Squeaker
- A Christmas tree ornament that can become an annual tradition
- Car seat and Stroller Travel Toys
- Seasonal Gear for winter or vacation gear for babies heading somewhere warm
- Teething and mouthing toys such as Dr. Brown’s Teething Toys or the toys found in Lovevery’s The Charmer play kit.
- An Oball for baby’s first ball!
The 13 Best Baby Christmas Gifts for a Newborn Celebrating Their First Holiday Season
#1: Lovevery Play Kit
Put Christmas on Easy Mode with Lovevery Play Kits: my Favorite Newborn Christmas Gift Ideas
Top Pick
When it comes to finding a special gift for an infant (0 to 3 months old), Lovevery’s “The Looker” play kit is the one you want.
(For slightly older babies, check out The Charmer (for 3- and 4-month-olds), and The Senser (for 5- and 6-month-olds)).
All of Lovevery’s Play Kits are packed full of developmental and educational toys developed by child development experts.
I own all 6 of Lovevery’s “first year” play kits, and one thing I love about them is the toys last well beyond what the “Lovevery age range” set out on the box.
My 4-year-old still likes to play with some of the toys in the first year boxes! And this past weekend, I let a friend’s 13-month-old run wild playing with all 6 “First Year” play kits, and she found fun things to do in every single one.
The Looker play kit in particular is tailored to the first three months of life (weeks 0 to 12), and includes:
- A double sided mobile, including both a high contrast black and white side, and a side with dots in different bright colors.
- High contrast black and white cards to support eyesight and brain development. The kit includes both simple black and white cards for those first few weeks, and more complex patterns as their eyes start to focus better.
- A standing card holder, which you can use to display the high contrast cards in front of your baby during tummy time.
- A durable wooden baby book with high contrast black and white images. At first, it’s fun to look at with an adults’ help, but as they get older, babies can flip through it themselves and use it to make a clapping noise, when the “pages” bang together. It’s the perfect size for little fingers, too.
- High contrast black and white mittens for their little hands. They are designed to support eyesight development and key age-based milestones, such as tracking moving objects and moving their heads.
- A high contrast black and white silicone rattle with removable cotton ball.
- Sensory Links for use with the Lovevery Play gym, on the stroller, or to keep little fingers busy whenever their caregiver needs.
- The Lovevery Play Guide.
Before I bought our own Play Kits, the Lovevery Play Guides honestly seemed like a simple, “no value add” addition. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. They’re a great help to new parents who aren’t exactly sure how they should be playing with their new baby, supporting their development, and keeping everyone entertained.
If you’re interested in putting a Lovevery Play Kit under the Christmas tree for baby’s first Christmas, you can order them as one-off kits, or save by buying a bundle of either 3 kits (which includes developmental toys from 0 to 6 months) or 6 kits (which takes you from 0 to 12 months). There’s also an option to upgrade each kit with a Book Bundle. Go to their Play Kit page, click on the “Get Started” button, and enter your child’s age information to get details about bundles.
INSERT PHOTO HERE OF ALL 6 PLAY KITS
Lovevery offers free shipping on their play kits throughout the contiguous US and Canada.
Check Prices on Lovevery Play Kits: The Looker, The Charmer, and the Senser
#2 and #3: Baby Play Gym or Play Mat
Somewhere Safe and Fun for Baby to Lie Down…So New Parents Can Get Something Done.
Best Newborn Baby Gear to Gift
Two play gyms I love are the Lovevery Play Gym and the Finn and Emma.
The Lovevery Gym is another product I’ve owned myself, and can speak to with personal experience (you can read my full review here).
It’s very developmentally focused, and has been thoughtfully designed to last beyond infancy into toddlerhood, going from play mat, to play gym, to “cozy fort” mode.
I have a Finn and Emma play gym arch, but not their toys, so I can only speak to this product with limited experience. The play gym arch is extremely well made, and very sturdy, which is a safety consideration. You can buy a bare arch, or bundle it with toys. Finn + Emma also offers a bundle to get their Baby Play Matt and Play Gym together.
If a play gym isn’t what you’re looking for, a play mat is another great option. Other than the Lovevery Play Gym, the Wee Gallery brand play mat is my favorite play mat for infants. It’s high contrast, super soft and padded, and is thoughfully made to be safe for babies: organic cotton outer cover, Oeko-tex certified poly-fill, and non-toxic dyes, and free from nasty stuff like flame retardants.
If you want to gift a play mat that’s going to last a bit longer, the Offie Mat by Little Bot is a great choice for babies, learning to crawl, and toddlers playing. Be warned though: this is more like a piece of furniture as it doesn’t really roll up well for putting it away. You might want to check with parents before purchasing this mat as a Christmas gift for a new baby!
Check Prices on my Favorite Play Gyms and Play Mats by Lovevery, Finn and Emma, Wee Gallery, and Little Bot.
#4: High Contrast, Black and White Things
Support Baby’s Brain and Eyesight Development with this Holiday Gift Idea for Infants!
Child development experts suggest high contrast black and white books, cards, and patterns for young babies to use before they develop the ability to see color, around 5 months of age.
From birth to around 4 months old, babies can only see objects that are within 10″ of their faces, and tend to be most interested in their parents’ faces and highly contrasted images.
So why not give those babies something they naturally love?
Enter, high contrast black and white stuff.
If you’d like to include some high contrast black and white toys, etc., under the Christmas tree, Wee Gallery, Manhattan Toy Company and Lovevery all make pretty good options (the Lovevery toys are sold in their Play Kits).
Wee Gallery is known for their black and white contrast toys. Choose from their stroller toys and stroller cards, sensory clutch balls, art cards, crinkle toys, and more! Maisonette has a great selection of Wee Gallery products, and so does Amazon!
Many Manhattan Toy brand toys are also high contrast. Check out their Wimmer Ferguson Learning Cube, Mind Cubes, and 3-in-1 Triangle. Available on Maisonette and Amazon.
Finally, the Lovevery Play Kits. The Looker Play Kit (which I detailed above) has a high contrast book, teether and ball, and cards. The Charmer (Months 3 and 4) comes with a high contrast interlocking disc toy, another black and white card set, and a soft book that includes some black and white patters, and can be used with the card set.
Check our Wee Gallery, Manhattan Toy Co, and Lovevery Black and White Toys
A rubber duck is a classic gift for babies. Gifting bath toys that are suitable for infants and young babies is a great way to make the bath-book-bed routine fun!
If you’re looking for bath toys for an infant Christmas gift, Hevea is my first choice. Their toys are made from non-toxic, natural latex rubber from the Hevea tree. Because it’s made from natural latex, it’s worth noting that these toys aren’t suitable for families with latex allergies.
What I love about the Hevea toys how soft they are. We have Hevea and CaaOcho bath toys, and while both are great, the Hevea ones are softer to the touch – almost silky – which is very nice for sensitive infant skin!
If you want to gift something that will last and be fun throughout their first few years, I also like Green Toys Fat Brain Toys’ PipSquigz (they can also be used on high chairs and stroller trays once baby hits that stage!) and GreenToys, although they definitely skew older.
Stacking cups are another awesome bath toy. Green Toys makes a great version made from recycled plastic water bottles.
Shop Hevea, CaaOcho, PipSquigz, and GreenToys on Amazon
It’s never too early to begin reading with a baby, and early reading has been correlated with academic readiness going into kindergarten. Research presented at the 2017 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting demonstrates “reading books with a child beginning in early infancy can boost vocabulary and reading skills four years later, before the start of elementary school.”
Beyond the academic benefits, reading in infancy is enjoyable to babies! They naturally love the sound of their parents’ voices, and it gives them a chance to practice grabbing, smiling, smacking and hitting to show their excitement about a page!
High contrast black and white books support development of focus and eyesight as discussed above. However, there’s nothing quite like a classic tale, family favorite, or beloved story book.
Choosing a board book will let the baby participate as much as possible. It’s a long while before kids are ready to turn paper pages themselves, and many of the baby books we bought for our daughter during infancy were well used through the toddler years too, as she started to “read” them herself.
Some of our family favorites at this age group include:
- Dear Zoo: We read this one over and over again, and then we read it again! A family favorite, and bonus points for being a Lift the Flap book.
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar Board Book: An Eric Carle classic, we still reach for this one occasionally 4 years after my daughter first got it as an infant.
- Goodnight Moon: This, plus Sandra Boynton’s Going to Bed Book, was our bedtime combo for a long time. As my daughter got a bit older, she loved to look for the mouse hidden on each page in Goodnight Moon (we named it Bingo, for some reason).
Classic, tried and true board books like some of the ones I’ve listed above are a great choice. However. don’t be afraid to throw in one or two Christmas books for baby, too! These often end up getting pulled out year-after-year, taking on keepsake status.
And remember babies are easy to delight. In addition to storybooks, they tend to love crinkle books or other texture books that allow sensory exploration and cause and effect play. Books with different textures on each page, for example, are usually a hit! And fabric books are fun for them to explore on on their own once they get a bit more developed in the fine motor skills department.
Shop Board Books for Babies on Amazon
# 7: Yoto Mini
Meant for toddlers and up to use it independently, this audio player is a great nursery addition for parents to operate until baby reaches 3.
Best for Screen Free Content to Enjoy
This is on my list this year to buy for my daughter, so I’ve yet to have personal experience with this, but I’ve done a ton of research in preparing to buy it for our own home.
Essentially, it’s a kid-friendly audio player and speaker that lets children choose a story or music to listen to, and then play it themselves, without help from a grown up. All the content is stored on cards, so once they hit an appropriate age, it’s a great way to give them some autonomy over what they listen to, without worrying about inappropriate content (the aren’t any screens or ads to worry about either!).
So why do I also like it for babies? Well, the Yoto Player has a ton of content that you can also use with babies…. If we had this back when our daughter was an infant, I can see us playing stories like the Hungry Caterpillar collection during tummy time, or while cooking dinner. It’s small enough to move from the nursery to the living room to the kitchen, and gives you child-friendly content without ads or screens!
Our daughter is also learning a second language (French), and has also expressed interest in Spanish. Neither my husband nor I speak either fluently enough to read stories to her in these additional languages, so I like the idea of using the Yoto player to provide rich language environments at home. On the Yoto website you can search cards (content) by English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese, currently.
Note, this toy would only be appropriate to be controlled and used by an adult until around 3 years old.
Shop the Yoto Player or Yoto Mini on Amazon
#8: Cause and Effect Toys
A critical piece of language development, infants delight in learning about cause and effect!
Things that Move, Light Up or Make a Sound When Baby Does Something
Cause and effect toys are plentiful in the kids toy section, because it’s such an important concept for babies and toddlers to grasp, and because kids tend to love them, from infancy onward.
Language wise, understanding cause and effect helps kids understand that they can take action (i.e. use language) to change their environment or situation. It’s a massively powerful concept, and believe it or not a lot of simple baby toys help teach it!
If you’d like to gift some cause and effect Christmas presents for newborns, keep it simple: rattles, squeakers, and crinkle toys are all great. When baby grabs or pushes on the toy, they cause a reaction (in all of these example toys, the toy makes some sort of sound).
Here are some of my favorite cause and effect toys for this age group – all of which would make awesome Christmas presents for newborns:
- Wrist Rattles: Pop them gently around baby’s wrists, and when they move their arms, they’ll make sound!
- Crinkle Paper: Let baby grab, scrunch and squeeze to make a delightful crunching noise.
- Soft Fabric Book with Squeaker: This Manhattan Toy Co book comes with a lot of “tried and true” baby things: squaker! mirror! tags to grab! crinkles!
The Fat Brain toys Dimpl and Galt Pop Up toy are two personal favorites in this genre, suitable for slightly older babies.
This is a tradition from my own family when I was growing up, and one we’ve started with our daughter.
Every year for Christmas, my mom would give my brother and I one Christmas ornament from the same local company. When we moved out as adults, we had a collection of beautiful, high quality Christmas ornaments for our own trees – all infused with memories from our childhood and adolescence.
In my opinion, the key is to go with classy, timeless decorations. Pottery Barn Kids has a great selection.
Shop Christmas Ornaments on Pottery Barn Kids
#10: A Stroller Travel Toy / Car Seat Toy
The best newborn Christmas gifts grow with them…and keep them busy!
Something to Clip to a Stroller or Car Seat
Stroller travel toys and car seat toys are versatile, clip on or cling-on toys that babies can watch, bat at, grasp for, or play with while on the go.
They tend to be adorable, with a variety of interesting-to-babies features:
For the very youngest babies, Manhattan Toy makes a high-contrast toy spiral for the car seat handle bar.
Other examples include:
- Skip Hop Dog Walker Rattle Stroller Toy (Available at Target and Amazon).
- Itsy Ritzy Jingle Rainbow
Shop Stroller Travel Toys on Amazon
# 11: Seasonal Gear
Seasonal gear makes a great Christmas gift for a baby in a cold climate – or heading on vacation!
Our Phil & Ted’s travel cot while we were on vacation in Greece. These days, I would recommend the Guava Lotus over the Phil & Teds.
A Baby Gift that Helps Parents Deal with the Weather
New parents are used to needing a lot of new gear, but they’ll probably always be happy to get some help with key pieces they need.
Since the dead of winter is vacation time for a lot of families, vacation gear like a UV protective swim shirt, sun hat, and sunglasses could be much appreciated it the family is planning a getaway. Great newborn Christmas gift ideas for a baby with an upcoming vacation include:
- A travel pack n’ play with a bassinet feature: Guava Lotus, Lumiere Travel Crib, and BabyBjorn Travel Cot. We’ve used the BabyBjorn and the Phil and Teds travel cribs, but I’d personally buy the Guava Lotus or Nuna Sena Aire if I had to buy one today.
- Swimming gear: Swim diapers, a UV protective swim suit, and a wide brim 360-degree hat they can wear in the water
- A pop-up beach tent to provide shade at the beach
- A stroller travel bag to protect the stroller when it’s on an airplane
Winter gear, including a stroller footmuff and winter-appropriate sleep sacks are also great ideas.
Teething toys are a great infant Christmas gift, but also a great stocking stuffer for babies. And there’s a ton of selection to choose from.
If you want to gift teethers as an add-on to an additional present, Lovevery’s The Charmer play kit comes with two teething toys: a silicone triangle teether, and a textured triple teether, along with the additional toys that come in the Play Kit.
If you’re looking for teething toys or mouthing toys only, I suggest sticking to reputable, well-known brands using safe materials like silicone, instead of plastic. When it comes to things babies are going to put in their mouth or use against their skin, I don’t like to take chances with unknown brands!
Dr. Brown’s (of baby bottle fame) makes a range of silicone teethers and teething toys, in various colors, shapes and textures. They offer cute shapes, 3-packs of beaded teether rings, and teething toys with shaker toys attached, among others.
Shop Dr. Browns Teething Toys on Amazon
Someone gave my daughter an Oball when she was a baby, and I didn’t really get what was so great about it until I saw it in action.
They are sooooo lightweight, which means even little baby arms can lift them by themselves. And there are so many easy to grip holes, which means even little baby fingers can grasp the ball in multiple places, without risking too much frustration.
We used our Oball all throughout the first year and beyond, and I suggest getting one for every new baby in your life!
Shop the Classic Oball and the Rattle Oball on Amazon
What Makes a Great Infant Christmas Gift?
Whether you found some ideas on my list above or not, it’s worth considering how I chose these infant Christmas gifts, and what you should look for when searching for the perfect gift.
Developmentally Appropriate
Developmentally appropriate can mean a range of different things, but I took it to mean: the baby can use it now, and it works within typical infant milestones for the first three months of life.
Things like high contrast toys fits this bill, as do things the baby will enjoy now (and also hopefully in the future): reading with their loved adults, for example; watching cause and effect with the help of an adult; or gazing at the mobile included in the Lovevery first three months Play Kit (The Looker).
In my experience, parents love toys that encourage babies to work on their milestones, while also giving them some fun things to do with their little ones.
Machine Washable
New babies are like constantly erupting volcanos, so it’s worth choosing items that are easy to wash and dry, where possible.
Anything that will Irritate their Skin
Babies have super sensitive skin, so stay away from anything with fragrance or rough textures that will go up against their skin or on their skin (bath products, lotions, etc). If you’re purchasing clothing or crib bedding, look for water-based and non toxic dyes, and possibly organic fabrics if you prefer.
Safe
There are lots of baby items on the market that are popular, but considered unsafe by leading organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics. I’ve left those off this list and suggest you do the same.
Likewise, I don’t recommend stuffed animals or baby blankets. While they are super cute, babies need to sleep in a bare crib on a firm mattress – with no stuffed animals and no baby blankets – for the first year.
The Best Christmas Gifts for Newborn Babies 0 to 4 Months
I hope you found some great ideas in here, and are set to have a wonderful holiday season!
