With Christmas right around the corner, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of shopping, baking, and wrapping the mounds of gifts you picked out for your little guy. But you definitely shouldn’t forget about baby’s safety in the midst of all the holiday craziness! From hanging childproof decorations on your tree, to making sure his gifts are age appropriate — watch to find out what else you shouldn’t overlook when getting ready for this seasons festivities with your lovable bundle of joy.

Plus, more from The Bump:

The hottest gifts for baby & toddlers!

First holiday with a newborn

Tips for traveling with baby this season

Though we are a nation blanketed in unbelievable mourning in the wake of the Newtown massacre, many of us are doing our best to prepare for the upcoming holiday by filling it with extra love, laughter, hugs and kisses. And for those of us who are waiting on the arrival of a baby boy or baby girl, we’ve got the best holiday names to inspire you!

Top holiday girls’ names

Noelle

January

Seraphina - Hebrew for “powerful angel”

Winter

Gloria – Latin for “glory”

Angel

Laila – Hebrew for “light”

Holly

Joy

Natalia/Natalie – Latin for Christmas day

Mary

Eve

Top holiday boys’ names

Nicholas

Kris – After Kris Kringle

Gabriel – Responsible for telling Mary she was pregnant

Fritz – Little boy in the Nutcracker

Joseph

Caleb

Moses

Felix

Shepherd

Micah – He foretold that the birth of Jesus would be in Bethlehem

Michael – One of the seven archangels

Callum – Means dove, the symbol of peace

What is your favorite holiday-inspired name?

It’s the holidays! Which means (for me) lots of cookies, time away from work, visiting family and some big meals. It also means making a holiday gift shopping list for the friends and family and neighbors in my life. This year, though, there’s someone special that I want to be sure to thank: my son’s caregiver!

In many areas of the country, it’s customary to give your day care provider a special thank you at the holiday time. After all, this is someone who your child spends significant time with. This is someone who has a big impact in your child’s lives.

This Christmas, I’m no exception (even though my sister is the one who watches my son and, as my sister, she’ll already be getting a Christmas present from me!). The way I see it, there are several great things you could give someone to say thank you. Here are some of my favorite ideas:

Something just for them
Many women have trouble finding time for themself. Why not give her an excuse to pamper herself? Find out what she really likes and let her indulge! Maybe a gift certificate to a spa for a pedicure or manicure? Maybe she’d enjoy tickets to the movies? There could also be a special jewelry item that she’d enjoy. This could be especially meaningful if your day care provider is another mom or a friend that you know well.

Something for the day care
If you have an in-home day care provider, who’s just starting out, maybe she’d really enjoy something that helps her get established. Professional stationery perhaps? Or maybe games and toys that the children would enjoy? Or does she need shelves to help organize the games she has? Listen to see if she’s dropped hints or given a clue on things she’s considering adding to her space. If you have an in-home daycare provider, it’s possible that another family or two would want to join together to get a bigger gift like a zoo or museum pass.

Something to eat
Many times, people don’t want more stuff! They have all the toys they need. They have their environment all set up. And if you don’t know them very well, it might be hard to think of a special outing that they’d enjoy. So how about something that they can eat? Ideas in this category include: gift certificates to restaurant, a freezer meal from your personal kitchen, pizza delivered to her house, or a place that delivers some wonderful treats (like Omaha Steaks, Edible Arrangements or Harry and David). This can be a great option for moms that are busy — just a few clicks on the internet and your gift can be on its way! If your child is in a day care center, you might be able to join in with a couple of other families and have breakfast or lunch brought in for the staff. Maybe bagels and cream cheese, pizza or sub sandwiches would be a bright spot in their day.

No matter what you do, it’s a good time of year to say thank you! If nothing else, a heartfelt card telling them that you appreciate them (and why!) would be much appreciated!

How are you planning to show appreciation for your day care provider or nanny?

I believe there are two types of children in this world: those who adore sitting on Santa’s lap and telling him what they want for Christmas, and those who wouldn’t go near a strange fat guy in a red suit even if he were covered in gumdrops and handing out winning lottery tickets. My kids were always the second type.

It’s not that surprising, since the whole “mall Santa” experience was not a part of my childhood. I admit, I find the concept a little creepy. “Go on, sweetie! Go sit on that bearded stranger’s lap and tell him all your deepest desires. Sure, you can take a candy cane from him!”

But there’s no denying that a picture of a sweet little cherub perched on Santa’s lap is adorable. Even if the kid is wailing. Especially then. There are entire web sites devoted to funny pictures of kids with Santa. How could I miss out on that?

There’s a mall near us with a really authentic-looking Santa Claus. A real, snow-white beard, a plush, red velvet suit, shiny black boots, the whole bit. A grandfatherly type, not creepy at all. I figured if I was going to force my precious babies to sit on a stranger’s lap for a photo opp, this would be the place.

For a couple years, neither one of my boys was having it. But last year, things changed. During a trip to the mall, they both decided they wanted to visit Santa. OK, the five-year-old decided and his little brother followed. I think they didn’t want to take any chances with their Christmas lists. Better to tell Santa directly the exact kind of remote-controlled monster truck you want, rather than risk ending up with some off-brand piece of junk under the tree.

So we waited, and waited, and waited in line for our turn with Santa. Then the little guy chickened out. He dug in his heels like I was dragging him to the doctor for shots. Even when Santa himself tried to gently coax him over, he wouldn’t go. His big brother did, though. Little brother witnessed this and went nuts.

In typical toddler fashion, he changed his mind and decided he did want to sit on Santa’s lap after all. So again, we waited. And waited. And once again, he got cold feet when he got to the front of the line. No friendly elf could persuade him to get within arm’s reach of St. Nick. He did accept a candy cane, though.

Oh, well. At least we gave one of our kids the mall Santa experience. Somewhere, the in-laws have the pictures to prove it. They weren’t as hilariously awful as I’d hoped.

Will you take your child to visit Santa this year?

Just when I thought I was done with all my Christmas and birthday shopping (Lovie turns 3 just four days after Christmas), Lovie starts telling me that she’s going to tell Santa that she wants “a new dolly with lots and lots of milk and a doggie.”

Uh, a doll was not something I bought — and for selfish reasons, I admit. I hate dolls. And the color pink. And princess crap. All of which Lovie adores. I couldn’t have a more girly girl if I asked for one. Which I didn’t. Because I hate girly stuff.

So where does she get it from? And why? Why can’t she like LEGOS and soccer and playing with trucks? Why does she have to love dolls and playing dress-up in the frilliest of dresses so much?

Because she’s my Lovie, that’s why. And while I may not like the dolls, the pink, the princess attire, I love my Lovie so much that I’m actually (dare I say it out loud) growing accustomed to the pink, the princess, the dolls. I adore watching her be girly, goofy, sweet, loveable, pink-princess-loving Lovie. And I love watching her believe in the magic of the season, so I’m putting on my mom panties and getting her “a new dolly with lots and lots of milk and a doggie” for her to open from Santa. (Just in case the real Santa forgets!)

Now I just need to figure out which one because apparently there are like 16 thousand varieties of dolls out there.

What are you getting your kids for the holidays? Is it something you hate?

A few of you ladies may know me from The Bump message boards, where I post under my TB login, PeonyPumps. Frequently, during this time of year, many boards see posts about navigating the holiday season with a new baby. Here are a few questions I’ve seen recently:

Baby is only X days/weeks/months old.  Do we even go see family?

How do I make sure baby isn’t passed from person to person all night? (Due to germs, baby’s discomfort, etc.)

How the heck do we get out of the house in one piece?

Should we plan on staying the whole time?

How are we supposed to eat?  In shifts? While feeding/holding/rocking/shushing baby?

Many of these questions are quite common — and questions I  had during my son’s first holiday season. While these concerns subside somewhat as you figure out what works for you, your baby, and your family as they grow and age through multiple holiday seasons, here are a few tips that helped me out during our first holiday seasons.

Watch your time. If you’re out visiting family, you may plan on spending less time at their home than you usually do. In my experience, it was easier for our family to plan gatherings around our son’s sleep and nap times. Yes, we pushed him a bit out of his normal range due to the holidays, but not so much that he was a huge mess the following days. If you have a very small child, stopping by somewhere for an hour or two without planning on staying for a meal can sometimes be the best option.

Wear your baby. I’m a huge fan of wearing your child in a carrier for many other reasons, but around the holidays, it can 100 percent eliminate the feeling that your child is just being handed from person to person around the room. Not many family members will try to take a sleeping baby out of a wrap or carrier on your body.

Always pack extra clothing. No matter how cute an outfit you buy for your child, it always seems they either spit up or have a diaper explosion on it just before a big event. I always keep an extra pair of khakis and either a polo or button down shirt ready for my son in case he soils his outfit prior to an event. I also always try to have a backup for myself as well, because what he gets into typically was also all over me.

Watch for overstimulation. This was a huge one for my son. We’re fairly quiet people at home, so the noise and business is kept to a minimum. However, at holiday gatherings, there are often many people, much noise and lots of commotion. Keeping an eye on your child and quietly pulling them into another room to “change a diaper” — or any other excuse — can give baby a few moments without having to process everything at once and may prevent melt-downs.

What are your favorite holiday tips with children?