The Best Present? Your Presence!

The holidays can be a time of joy, thankfulness, and wonderment for you and your baby. It’s also a fun — and sometimes stressful! — time when we try to find the best gifts for our children to enjoy. We’ll let you in on a secret: the best gift to give your baby is quality time with you! 

There's no better toy to grow your baby's brain for listening and talking than your engaging interactions. Here are five activities to try this holiday season! They’ll make magical memories while building those listening and talking skills.  

1. Baby in a Blanket: Try laying your baby on a blanket. With you and a partner holding opposite ends, lift the blanket and swing them gently back and forth. Coo, smile, or sing a song to your baby, such as ‘Rock-a-bye Baby.’ Pause the swinging and the singing. What do you observe? Does your little one kick their legs, smile, or coo? That’s their way of “telling” you they want more! Respond and say: “Oh you want more? Ok baby, let’s keep swinging!” and continue the song. 

2. Shake, Rattle, and Roll: A fun, little DIY project! You can make your rattles using items around the house. Take an empty water bottle, spice jar, gum canister, or another plastic container with a lid. Then, fill it with sand, dried beans, pebbles, uncooked small noodles or rice, or any other small objects. Secure that lid tightly! (hint: try non-toxic glue if you need to!) 

Once your rattle is ready, tell your baby to “Listen!” and shake the rattle behind your back. Watch for their response. Then shake it again and say “Listen! I hear a rattle! It goes shake - shake - shake. It’s a rattle.” Show them the rattle and act very excited when you reveal it. Ask them “Do you want the rattle?” and pause to wait for a response. 

After you practice talking about the rattle, turn on some festive holiday tunes and dance with the rattle while you shake-shake-shake. 

3. Baby’s Favorite Book: Turn your baby’s favorite book into a book all about them! Imagine their surprise when they hear you reading and you say their name instead of a character’s. This will capture their attention so they’re listening to hear what happens next. You can also include other family members’ names as well. For example, when you read a book like Bill Martin's "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" try to change the words to make it personal. "Penny, Penny, what do you see? I see Grandma looking at me. Grandma, Grandma what do you see? I see Pa-Pa looking at me."

4. Makeshift Musical Instruments: Is your baby a musician in the making? Of course they are! Set up bowls and boxes on the kitchen floor. Give your baby a wooden spoon to bang on their new set of drums. At first, they may just hit them accidentally. Soon, they’ll learn to hit the “drum” on purpose so they can make music of their own! Hearing the different sounds the “drums” make will spark their curiosity. Dance along and see if they sway with you. Remember to encourage them along the way “Wow! I hear your music! You hit that drum! I like your dance moves!”  

5. Material Magic Trick: Hide a scarf or colorful fabric in an empty paper towel tube. Try having your baby pull it out of the end. As they pull, make fun sounds of wonder, like “ooooohhhh” or “aaaaaahhh!” Don’t be shy! Being a drama mama or dramatic daddy makes it more fun for your little one — and helps spark those language and listening skills. 

Looking for more magic? You can also use empty tissue or baby wipe boxes. Push scarves or colorful pieces of scrap material inside and ask “Oh! Where did it go? Where’s the scarf?” Then pull them out again, “Here it is! You found the scarf! Let’s pull-pull-pull it out!” 

This holiday season, remember your presence is the best present. Those meaningful interactions help build your baby’s brain and spark joy! Just ask young Molly Wright and she’ll tell you how important those special moments together can be.