There’s something so magical about baby’s first Christmas — a holiday season filled with wonder and awe. Curious eyes gaze at twinkling lights. Carols sung softly drift into baby’s sweet ears. Christmas card photos proudly capture that perfect moment and new family traditions are just taking shape. It’s a holiday worth celebrating through the eyes of a child.
As they reflect on a year filled with happiness for already receiving the greatest gift of all, several groups of Elfster moms all over the world are sharing the love with one another, and their new bundles of joy.
Just imagine welcoming not only one new family member, but three at once in 2014! One Elfster gift exchange organizer–and lots of her friends—did just that!
We are a Facebook group of 491 triplet moms,” explains Erica White, organizer of the Triplet Moms Secret Santa gift exchange. “Members are from all over the United States and some from other countries. The name of our group is ‘Triplets Born/Due in 2014’ so our babies are mostly under 1 year and some moms are still pregnant. We have some first time moms and some with other children. I have a 3 year old son and 8 month old triplets.”
“I prepare for Christmas like anyone else with kids,” Erica says. “The holidays are extra special since we we have three more reasons to celebrate. Like many moms here, we suffered multiple miscarriages and were joyfully overwhelmed with the surprise news that we were expecting triplets.” 
Many of these families are celebrating the holidays in a new way this year. As one mom in the exchange explains, “We decorate for the kiddos–all unbreakable and toddler friendly. Because we have 7 kiddos we do the something to read, something to wear, something you need, and something you want. For us, the memories are important. We do Christmas cookies that we take to our neighbors and go caroling also. Right now, my boy triplets are 2 and my girl triplets are 10 months, so they are more along for the ride, but they do help decorate and enjoy the season.” Now that’s a houseful of joy!
“This is our first Christmas with triplets, but we are preparing like we would any other year with our singleton,” explains another mom in the group. “This year we just had to save more money in order to buy presents for all of them. The holidays are special because Christmas is more for the kids and we have more kids that we can celebrate with. We spend the holidays with both our families so that everyone gets to celebrate with our children.”
“We started a new tradition last year that we wrap a book for the 25 days leading up to Christmas and each night, starting on December 1st we unwrap a book and read leading up to Christmas,” she added. “Our son enjoys it and we hope the babies do, too!” What a great idea for some snuggle time!
This year, the group is using Elfster for the first time to celebrate being new moms and participants are expected to exchange well-deserved gifts for each other of $15-20 before Christmas. “This is the first time I have used the site, but I must say that I really like it! It’s a really neat way of organizing a gift exchange for a nationwide group like ourselves! Definitely makes it more fun in my opinion!” Erica says.
What’s next for these sleep-deprived moms? “We are planning on using Elfster beginning in 2015 to organize a Secret Sister exchange. This will be a gift exchange through the entire year of 2015. Can’t wait to get that started!”
We hope Santa is good to these amazing moms and babies!
Another group of Elfster moms are also celebrating their sweet new baby’s first holiday season, although not in such numbers.
“We are a group of 140 women from all over the world that have had our babies due the last week in July 2014,” explains exchange organizer Charmaine Lacock. “I created the group on Facebook and invited women due the same week as myself to join the group. Our group is called ‘The Sisterhood of the Travelling Onesie.’ We try to be as active as we can with small babies. We do fun things to keep the group interesting.”
“We don’t judge each other. We are there to support. We share the deepest, darkest information. We have been through childbirth together, we can conquer the world,” she adds. This holiday season they are sharing the joys of being new moms with a chocolate exchange, enjoying treats from secret friends all over the world — yum!
And what’s the best part of an Elfster exchange for these moms? “The fun behind secret shopping for each other and to get a surprise in the post not knowing who from and what is in the parcel,” Charmaine explains. And the elves at Elfster are all about surprises!
Over the holidays, Charmaine plans to travel to London, England from her home in Scotland to introduce her family to its newest member. Sounds like a great family tradition in the making.
So here’s to the babies of 2014. May their days be merry and bright and may all their dreams come true this magical season! And Happy Holidays to mom and dad, too! We’ll be sure to put in a good word with Santa to deliver some well-deserved sleep…
Are you looking for that special something for the new bundle of joy in your life this holiday season? Be sure to check out Elfster’s Gift Guide for Baby for the perfect gift for any new baby or mom on your list.
We would love to hear how your group celebrates the holiday season with your friends and family and how you are using Elfster, too. You can reach us via Facebook here. Tweet us @elfster or catch us on Instagram at #elfstergram.
photo credit: Katie Welsh Photography Blog
