Reuben's first Christmas with St Enoch

I genuinely still can't believe I have an almost 10 month old baby boy, and that less in three weeks time we will be celebrating our first Christmas with him. We'll be spending this Christmas in our first family home together,  and although Reuben will have no idea who Santa is or how this day is any different from the rest of the year, we would still like it to be special without breaking the bank! Plus he'll be one in February so I don't think going overboard on gifts is necessary. As long as this boy has warm clothes, lots of milk in his belly, unconditional love and a roof over his head then I think that's truly all that matters.

Christmas Jumper - Mothercare // Jeans - F&F (old) // Teddy - Hamleys // Sulley - Disney Store

This is another reason why I'm not doing any gift guides this year. Since buying a house and becoming a Mum, my priorities have changed and I've really stripped down on what we are buying for Christmas this year. I'm getting some small but thoughtful gifts for family members, and for the first time in forever I'm not buying for any friends (I used to spend over £30 per person for around 10 friends and their kids, so it really does add up and that's not even including family, where I have around another 15 people to buy for and used to spend around £50 on each person) I love seeing other peoples gift guides and shopping hauls, no doubt about that! But taking a simpler approach this year has really taken the pressure off financially, and mentally too. I heard a great rhyme recently on the Punky Moms UK facebook group which has inspired how I shopped for Reuben, and you could easily apply it to bigger kids and adults too...

Something they want,
Something they need,
Something to wear,
Something to read.

And that's it, simple! Of course you can spend as little or as much as you like, but it's helped me be more mindful when shopping for christmas gifts. Rather than just buying pointless rubbish for the sake of it. This year I have teamed up with St Enoch to shop for Reuben's first Christmas all under the one roof, and here's how the rhyme played out:

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Something they want:

Okay, so it's hard to know what a 10 month old wants apart from cuddles and snacks and Hey Duggee on repeat, but since Reuben has become more mobile he constantly reaches for Pete's Xbox controllers sitting under the TV. I spied this cute Fisher Price Game & Learn controller at Boots and thought it would be cute for Reuben to have his own version of the real thing (where he can batter it off the coffee table and squish all the buttons with his sticky fingers as much as he pleases haha) I love Boots for Christmas Gifts and their 3 for 2 offers always save you a lot of money, so it's well worth a look as the deal includes everything from toys, to food gifts, and beauty/grooming/pamper products too.

Something they need:

Although Reuben isn't walking yet, I have a feeling it might happen in the next few months, so we wanted to pick him up his first pair of hard soled walking shoes in preparation for the new year. There's a Schuh Kids store in St Enoch, and they had the cutest selection of brands for little ones, I was torn between the baby Doc Martens and the Vans, but I knew the latter would be more comfy for him. Plus look how sweet they are! This boy has a cooler wardrobe than me and Pete combined.

Something to wear:

New pj's for Christmas Eve/Christmas Morning is a tradition between me and Pete, so we knew we had to bring Reuben into the mix too of course. We picked up this adorable christmas sleep suit from The Disney Store, and some comfy fluffy penguin slippers from Mothercare. Not gonna lie, if they did this combo in adult sizes then I'd want to be matching!

Something to read:

Reuben's library is growing by the month (I'm jealous, quite frankly) and when we spied this festive read in Hamleys I knew it would be the perfect addition for Christmas. There are some gorgeous illustrations of Glasgow inside, and I'm super excited to cosy up in front of our fire on Christmas eve (with christmas pj's and mulled wine on the go) to read this lovely book to Reuben. We almost picked up a beautiful box set of Roald Dahl books which Pete found, but they were too nice and I feel like they'd be better for when Roo is a bit bigger (most books still end up in his mouth right now!)

So there you have it! I'll wrap all of the above for Reuben to open on Christmas morning (minus the pj's and slippers) and he'll maybe have a few additions on the run up to then but it will only be something which fits into the rhyme above. There's loads going on at St Enoch on the run up to Christmas, including Santa's grotto (with dedicated quiet sessions, designed for children with Autism or with sensory or learning disabilities or vulnerabilities) and their easy access parking is my go to in Glasgow city centre all year round - so it makes for the perfect place to start your festive shopping in Glasgow. The final person I have left to buy for now is Pete, but I'll not be making a peep about it on here in case he is having a read!

If you've never heard that little rhyme before, I hope you find it helpful and can maybe apply it to little kids (or bigger kids) who you're buying for this year. You don't need to get yourself into debt or make yourself sick with stress when it comes to Christmas, it's just not worth it. A fancy and stupidly expensive candle might be a 'stocking filler' to some, but in reality it's a couple days worth of wages to others, and this sort of pressure is something I'm trying to avoid like the plague when reading christmas shopping guides on the internet this year. A simple approach with lots of thought and love behind it is worth its weight in gold, and don't let anyone tell you or make you feel any different ♥


This post was written in collaboration with St Enoch, but all thoughts are my own, as always!