By Sophie Taylor

Q: My husband and I are happy to skip gift-giving with our five-month-old this year, since he already has plenty of stuff and won’t know the difference, but my Mom couldn’t believe we would even suggest such a thing. Are we being practical or terrible?

You’re absolutely right that your baby boy won’t know the difference between a gift bow and a gift on his first Christmas. And besides, I’m sure he’ll have no shortage of gifts from relatives, like Grandma, who are eager to celebrate Baby’s first Christmas with a sleigh-full of cute outfits and toys.

It may be that your Mom is just having trouble thinking outside the gift-wrapped box and can’t imagine a better way to prove one’s love than with heaps and heaps of credit card debt. Then again, she might be thinking ahead to your son’s seventh or eighth Christmas when, looking back at family photos, he might ask, “What did you get me that year?” (Awkward!) You could always keep it simple, and keep with the gesture of gift giving (which would no doubt make Mom happier), and wrap up a meaningful, but still practical, gift like a handmade blanket or a small stuffed animal, just to mark your first holiday as a family. You might also consider giving to a Toy Drive or a local charity that serves infants and children. (That should shush Mom.)

Most importantly, I hope you’ll remember that what your baby wants, more than anything in the world, is your complete and loving attention. If you can, why not take some extra vacation time off from work? Or make a conscious effort to do less of the running around we all do during the holidays, so you can sit with your baby and just play—no distractions. That’s a gift that really shows how much you care.

We polled our online readers with this question…
60% said "Yes, How could you not get a gift for your baby?"
40% chose "No." They saw nothing wrong with putting off presents until Christmas Future.