120 Christmas Captions for Babies (First Christmas Included)

Every parent takes roughly four hundred photographs of a baby's first Christmas and then sits staring at the caption box. The picture is already good — the baby is in a hat, there is a tree, the light is warm. The caption's only job is to not get in the way.

So: 120 captions below, sorted by the photo you actually took, because that's how you'll look for one. Short ones first in every section, since short is what you'll end up using.

A note before you post: if you'd rather not put a face online, most of these work just as well on the back of the head, the hands on the wrapping paper, or the feet in a stocking.

First Christmas — short

1. His first Christmas.
2. Merry first Christmas.
3. Christmas, but tiny.
4. First Christmas, in the books.
5. Our best gift, already unwrapped.
6. Baby's first tree.
7. Year one, December.
8. First Christmas, mostly asleep.
9. Small human, big December.
10. He has no idea what's happening. Perfect.
11. Christmas number one.
12. New this year.

First Christmas — a bit longer

13. His first Christmas, and he was more interested in the box.
14. First Christmas: slept through the morning, woke up for the wrapping paper.
15. We waited all year for this and he looked at a light for forty minutes.
16. Everyone else got presents. He got a cardboard box and a nap.
17. One year old at Christmas, which explains the state of the tree.
18. First Christmas, and already the most photographed person in the house.
19. He will not remember a second of this. We will remember all of it.
20. The tree is up, the baby is down, all is well.
21. Christmas morning, aged four months. A triumph of doing nothing.
22. Somewhere under all that wrapping paper there is a baby.
23. Our first Christmas as three.
24. December, and everything is different this year.

The tree

25. Tree: 1. Baby: 0.
26. He has plans for those ornaments.
27. Everything below three feet has been relocated.
28. Decorated once. Redecorated eleven times.
29. Baby-proofed tree, round two.
30. Lights on, standards down.
31. The bottom third is now empty. You understand why.
32. He is not allowed to touch it. He is currently touching it.
33. Our tree has a security problem.
34. Half a tree, twice the fun.
35. Ornaments are up high now. Ask me why.
36. Watching the lights, which is the whole holiday at this age.

Santa

37. Screamed at a stranger in a costume, as one should.
38. Santa: attempted.
39. He was not sold on the concept.
40. This is the photo we're keeping forever.
41. Zero out of ten, would not sit again.
42. The annual crying-at-Santa portrait. A tradition begins.
43. Held it together for approximately one second.
44. He has some notes for the big man.
45. Santa, briefly.
46. Deeply suspicious of the beard.
47. He liked Santa. This is the rarest photo we own.
48. Requested: everything. Delivered: a rattle.

Matching pajamas

49. Matching pajamas, non-negotiable.
50. We're one of those families now.
51. Coordinated and unbothered.
52. He didn't consent to this and never will.
53. Pajama day, all day, every December day.
54. The pajamas were my idea. I regret nothing.
55. Christmas Eve uniform.
56. Same pajamas, very different attitudes.
57. One of us is enjoying this more than the others.
58. Festive and horizontal.

Presents and wrapping paper

59. Opened the paper. Ignored the gift.
60. Best gift: the box.
61. Wrapping paper: unbeaten champion.
62. Twelve presents, one favorite ribbon.
63. He got to gift three and stopped.
64. Everything we bought is on the floor. The paper is a treasure.
65. Unwrapping, aged one. A slow process.
66. He would like the tape, please.
67. Value of gifts: high. Value of the box they came in: higher.
68. Someone had a good morning.

Snow and the cold

69. First snow, brief opinions.
70. Nineteen minutes to dress. Four minutes outside.
71. He is a very small marshmallow.
72. Bundled beyond recognition.
73. Snow day, aged one.
74. Cheeks: appropriately red.
75. He has decided against winter.
76. Out for eleven minutes. Worth it.

Christmas Eve and the night before

77. Cookies out, baby down.
78. Christmas Eve, and someone is finally asleep.
79. One more sleep. His, not ours.
80. The house is quiet and everything is ready.
81. Milk for Santa, milk for the baby.
82. Last night of being this small at Christmas.
83. Tomorrow will be chaos. Tonight is lovely.
84. Christmas Eve, year one.

Funny

85. All I want for Christmas is a full night's sleep.
86. He's on the nice list by default. He's one.
87. On the nice list, technically, by a narrow margin.
88. Merry Christmas from the reason we're late.
89. Sleigh bells and drool.
90. Ho ho ho and a small amount of screaming.
91. Deck the halls, then pick everything back up.
92. Christmas: now with 90% less sleep.
93. Fa la la la la, la la la nap.
94. Our elf is unsupervised and eating an ornament.
95. Naughty list, but adorably so.
96. He ate the tinsel. Merry Christmas.

Sweet, for the ones you'll reread

97. The best Christmas we've ever had, and he did nothing.
98. Everything looks different with him in it.
99. All the traditions, suddenly worth doing again.
100. We used to just have a tree.
101. This is the year Christmas got good again.
102. Small hands, first December.
103. He is the whole holiday.
104. Every light on the tree, and we're looking at him.
105. Christmas didn't change. We did.
106. A year ago he wasn't here. Now the room is his.
107. Our favorite gift arrived in [month].
108. Nothing under the tree comes close.

For the grandparents' group chat

109. First Christmas, and he's been passed around all day.
110. Everyone got a turn. Everyone.
111. He met the whole family and slept through most of them.
112. Four generations, one very small person.
113. Grandma has not put him down since Tuesday.
114. He is extremely well held.
115. Christmas at theirs, and he's the main event.
116. The most photographed baby in the county.

The honest ones

117. It was chaos and we loved it.
118. Nothing went to plan. Best day anyway.
119. Two naps, one meltdown, no regrets.
120. We're tired and it was worth it.

One practical note

Whichever you pick, put the year in it. Not the hashtag — the actual year, in the words. In eight years you will be scrolling back trying to work out whether he was one or two, and the caption is the only thing that will tell you.

More caption lists: 101 first birthday captions, baby milestone captions, and baby boy quotes. If you're still shopping, 22 Christmas gifts for toddler boys covers ages one to three.