20 Adorable Baby’s First Christmas Photo Ideas 2025

If you live in an area that is expecting a white Christmas, use all of that early winter snow as a beautiful backdrop for your newborn photoshoot. Bundle everyone up in your warmest and most festive outfits, and get outside for a snowglobe-style birth announcement. Pair a snowy image with a caption like “Baby, it’s cold outside!”

Newborn photoshoots typically see your baby placed into a beautiful bassinet and swaddled in soft fabrics. Swapping out classic neutral fabrics for those with a festive vibe (think a red and green tartan, or even solid red or green linens) and adding in a few holiday touches like Christmas cookies, ornaments, or even boughs of holly are super easy ways to make the photos feel on-theme for a Christmas announcement.

Find a set of holiday pajamas that come in sizes that can fit everyone in your family, from big to small. Then, hold the baby while you gather everyone else on your bed, the couch, or somewhere cozy in your home and snap a few festive photos of your growing family.

A new baby is truly a gift, so why not wrap yours up in a bow for your birth announcement? You could do this a few ways — go for a bow headband if you have a little girl, wrap a little boy in a swaddle and then tie it off with a bow, or, if your baby is a little older, you could give them a bow to play with in their hands while you snap a few photos of them.

If you’d had a Christmas onesie ready to go since the moment you found out you were pregnant, now is the perfect time for it to make its debut. Dress the baby in a Christmas-themed onesie, or if they are still in newborn clothes, give them a red or green beanie to wear for your photos.

Similarly, you could swap out your baby’s newborn beanie for a teeny-tiny Santa hat. It doesn’t get much cuter than that!

Dress the baby in a cozy reindeer onesie complete with antlers and photograph them "pulling" a tiny sleigh filled with presents. This adorable setup works best if your baby is doing tummy time or can sit independently. Pair the photo with a caption like "Santa's newest helper!" for extra charm.

If your baby is small enough, swap out their swaddle for a soft knit stocking for your birth announcement photo. If your baby is slightly bigger (or even old enough to sit up on their own), you could place them inside Santa’s big red sack of gifts for a super cute way to share the greatest gift you’ll ever receive!

Every moment with a new baby is something special — so turn this year’s trip to the Christmas tree farm into one you’ll remember forever by snapping a few special photos of your newborn while you’re there. You could pose them resting on one of your forearms in front of a tree or get the whole family into the shot.

Place the baby in or beside a decorative vintage sled filled with wrapped presents and evergreen branches for a classic winter scene. This timeless photo idea captures the nostalgic charm of old-fashioned Christmases and makes for a beautiful keepsake. Drape a cozy blanket over the baby to keep them warm and add to the cozy winter aesthetic.

Life with a newborn means spending a lot of time cuddled up in bed as they snuggle with you or feed, which can make for some super sweet family photos. Change into a clean pair of cozy clothes and get everyone in your family snuggled up together (pets included!) for a warm birth announcement that is full of love.

If your pet is every bit as in love with your baby as you are, include them in your birth announcement photo! This could look like them snuggled up together, your pet giving your newborn’s head a sweet sniff, or a heartwarming picture of your newborn resting in their fur.

There are so many fun ways to incorporate ornaments into your Christmas baby announcement photo. If your baby is a newborn, arrange a few ornaments around them while they’re sleeping and take a shot from above. If your baby is a little bit older, you could give them a plastic or traditional felt ornament to play with in the photos. And, if your baby is old enough to crawl, you could play with perspective by taking a picture of them crawling or enjoying tummy time and holding an ornament closer to the camera to make it look like they’re wearing a festive diaper.

Your baby is cute enough to eat, so why not turn them into a Christmas cookie? You can do this in a few ways. If your baby is small enough, you could dress them in a gingerbread onesie and place them on a baking sheet to make it look like they just came out of the oven. Or, you can again play with perspective by laying your baby on their back and standing above them holding a snowman or gingerbread cookie that you’ve bitten the head off of close to the camera — this will make their sweet face look like it belongs to the cookie!

Create a miniature gingerbread village setup and photograph the baby appearing to peek out from behind a gingerbread house door or window. This whimsical photo idea works especially well if your baby is old enough to do tummy time or sit up on their own. Use royal icing "snow" and candy decorations to complete the magical scene.

While many of the baby announcement photo ideas on this list are elaborate, keeping it simple can be just as beautiful. If you’d like to feature the rest of your family (even if it is just yourself!) in your birth announcement photo, swap out the classic newborn cap for a cute beanie that is available in sizes that everyone can wear.

Photograph the baby next to an oversized "Letter to Santa" that says something like "Dear Santa, I'm already here! Love, Baby [Name]." You can create the letter on a poster board or a large chalkboard for an eye-catching prop. This sweet idea also works beautifully paired with a caption about being the best gift of all.

The day your baby was born, they became the light of your life, which is why we love this sweet idea so much. Arrange Christmas lights around your sleeping baby to give newborn photos a beautiful glow, or if your baby is old enough to safely interact with them, give them a strand to play with as you snap photos of them.

Because newborn photos are often taken from overhead, there are tons of fun opportunities to play with perspective. A fun and festive way to do so is to nestle your baby into a large wreath (be sure to set them on something soft, like a small faux-fur blanket or sheepskin, to avoid them being poked by the foliage). Tie a bow at the top and arrange the tails to look like they are trailing downward to give the illusion that the wreath is actually hanging from a wall or door.

Turn bedtime into a photo opportunity by capturing your baby with a favorite holiday book. Choose classic titles like The Night Before Christmas or How the Grinch Stole Christmas that you'll want to read together for years to come. Set up a cozy scene with soft blankets, dim lighting from your Christmas tree, and maybe some matching pajamas for the whole family.

Need more inspiration? Check out our newborn photography tips for guidance on lighting, poses, and timing to capture the perfect shot.