Baby’s first Christmas gifts and keepsakes from UAE brands
Thirteen UAE brands for a first Christmas: soft sleepsuits, a gold bangle, named blankets, name baubles, birth plaques and a memory book.
Baby’s first Christmas gifts are, in truth, gifts for the parents: the baby will not remember the morning, but the blanket with their name on it, the bangle in the jewellery box and the ornament on the tree will still be around when they are old enough to ask about it.
This list brings together thirteen brands founded in or based in the UAE, from high-end babywear and a family of goldsmiths to small home-grown makers who personalise by hand. There are soft sleepsuits for the first winter, first Christmas keepsakes for the tree and the nursery, among them name baubles, a wooden family ornament, birth plaques and a bilingual memory book, and a few pieces that work as a first-Christmas bundle on their own.
Use it with the baby’s parents in mind. Ask what they already have, because newborn clothes tend to arrive in piles, and think about whether they would rather have something practical now or something to keep. If you are buying a personalised piece, confirm the spelling of the name, and the Arabic spelling if you choose it. Then read each brand’s own page for sizes and options before you order. We have left out prices, because they change, and we have described each piece from what the brand itself says about it.
Before you choose
Confirm the name, exactly. New parents sometimes settle on a spelling late, and some families use a different name at home. Ask before you order anything embroidered or engraved, and check whether they would like English, Arabic or both where a brand offers the choice.
Order personalised pieces early. Named gifts are made after you order and usually cannot be returned. Our guide on when to order Christmas gifts in Dubai covers the timing, which matters more when the name is still being decided. If the baby has not arrived yet, a gift card or a note promising the named piece later is a kind way round it.
Choose the size for the day. Babies change size quickly in the first months. Use the brand’s chart to choose by age or weight for the size the baby will be in at Christmas, rather than buying far ahead, and ask the parents if you are unsure. A gift receipt helps too.
Treat sleepwear and soft toys with care. For anything a baby sleeps in, follow the maker’s guidance on fit and use, and check fastenings and labels. Plush toys and blankets are lovely for cuddles and photographs, but follow safe-sleep advice and keep them out of the cot while the baby is small.
Keep ornaments out of reach. Glass baubles belong high on the tree. Shatterproof and wooden ornaments are easier in a house with a crawler, though ribbons, hooks and small parts still need to stay out of reach. Treat every keepsake as something to look at together, not a toy.
Think about the keepsake. A first-Christmas gift often outlives everything else from that year. A bauble spends most of the year in the decorations box, while a plaque or a memory book stays out, so ask whether the family has a tree, a nursery shelf or simply a drawer. Our guide to personalised Christmas gifts and keepsakes has more ideas, and a short dated note in the box helps the family remember who gave it.
Gift 01 · High-end
Little IA: a personalised Birdsong gift set
Little IA is a Dubai label for babies and children, with free name personalisation on many of its pieces. The Birdsong Hospital Essentials 3-piece Gift Set brings together a sleepsuit with a discreet two-way zip, a matching hat and a bib, all in GOTS-certified organic cotton with the delicate Birdsong print in pink. You can add a name of up to nine characters and choose the font, and the set comes in a box designed for gifting.
For a larger gift, the Birdsong Quilted Sleeping Nest is a lightly padded nest for supervised rest or playtime that can also line a pram, with a detachable hood and the same free personalisation. It suits parents who like things to match. Read the brand’s safety notes on the page before use; they are clear about when to stop using the nest.
Gift 02 · High-end
BABICLO: a boxed newborn set in TENCEL
BABICLO is a Dubai company that designs in the UAE and manufactures in Portugal. Its Newborn Baby Gift Set with Receiving Swaddle holds three pieces in the brand’s BabiCloud fabric, mostly TENCEL Micro Modal: a large swaddle, a sleepsuit with a two-way zip, fold-over cuffs and a tagless neckline, and a hat with a knotted top.
It comes in sage green, or in a beige print with a plain beige swaddle, and it arrives in the brand’s own gift box, so there is nothing to wrap. Newborn sizing makes it a good fit for a December baby, or for a family expecting over the holidays. The soft, plain colours suit a first-Christmas portrait too, as they sit quietly beside whatever the rest of the family is wearing.
Gift 03 · High-end
J.H Jewellers: a gold baby bangle to keep
J.H Jewellers is a three-generation family business of jewellers and goldsmiths that has worked in the UAE for more than fifty years, beginning in the Sharjah Gold Souq in 1975. Its Baby Bangles collection is in 21K and 18K yellow gold, in traditional styles including Au Finja, Bahraini designs with enamel flower motifs, and pieces set with pearls.
The 21K Yellow Gold AU Finja Rhodium Milgrain Baby Bangle has circular rhodium motifs and a beaded milgrain border, and the listing describes it as suited to girls from about eighteen months to ten years. For a young baby, ask the shop which size suits, or choose bangles to put away until they fit. It is a gift for grandparents who want to give something lasting, and for families where a first gold bangle is already a tradition.
Gift 04 · Small, home-grown
The Happy Tribe: a dimple blanket and a bunny with the baby’s name
The Happy Tribe began in 2022 and now has a studio in Dubai, where it personalises gifts by hand. Its Personalised Dimple Baby Blanket is a lightweight, dimple-textured blanket in pink or baby blue, with the baby’s name embroidered at the bottom centre in the thread colour you choose.
The Personalised Bunny Keepsake is a soft plush bunny with long floppy ears, about thirty centimetres tall, in pink, baby blue or white, personalised with a name at no extra cost. Together they make a small, gentle first-Christmas gift that looks lovely under the tree and in photographs. The blanket works for the pram, the play mat or a cuddle on the sofa, and the bunny may well become a favourite.
Gift 05 · Small, home-grown
Anvi Baby: bamboo sleepsuits for the first winter
Anvi Baby is a Dubai babywear brand working in organic cotton and bamboo. Its Set of 3 Bamboo Spandex Zipper Sleepsuits comes in green, white and blue, with a two-way zip that has a safety fold, plus fold-over mittens and soles, for day or night. The brand describes the bamboo as soft, breathable and temperature regulating, which suits a baby in an air-conditioned home.
The Organic Zipper Romper in Soft Sage is a single piece in the same spirit, in sizes from preemie up to twelve months. A set of three is the practical choice for new parents, who go through sleepsuits faster than anyone warns them, and the sage romper is the one to keep for Christmas Day. Both suit a family who prefers plain, gentle colours to festive prints.
Gift 06 · Small, home-grown
Little Luxe: a birth stat plushie and a named ornament
Little Luxe is a Dubai shop for personalised baby gifts and the home of the original Birth Stat Bunny in the UAE. Its Personalised Birth Stat Plushie is handmade in Dubai and comes as a white or grey bunny, an elephant or a sheep, carrying the baby’s name, date and time of birth, weight and height, in baby blue or baby pink with silver.
The Personalised Christmas Ornament is ceramic, about three inches across, with a choice of vintage watercolour designs such as snowflakes and winter scenes, and the baby’s name added. Together they make a ready-made first-Christmas bundle: one for the nursery shelf, and one for the tree every year after. The ornament also suits grandparents, who may like a second one for their own tree.
Gift 07 · Small, home-grown
Share the Love: a 1st Christmas bauble with the baby’s name
Share the Love is a Dubai maker of personalised gifts, and it makes a bauble for exactly this occasion. The 1st Christmas Bauble has a shatterproof plastic shell, a red satin ribbon and bow, and a filling of feathers or snow beads. The baby’s name goes on in red, white, gold or black lettering, and you add it at checkout.
Shatterproof matters more than it sounds once the baby starts pulling themselves up on the furniture. If you are buying for the whole household, The Family Bauble is made the same way with the family name instead. Hang the two side by side, and the first bauble becomes the start of a row that grows with the family.
Gift 08 · Small, home-grown
The UAE Christmas Store: a glass bauble and a named stocking
The UAE Christmas Store is a small, home-grown business founded in 2016 that calls itself the UAE’s oldest Christmas brand. Its Personalised Name Glass Bauble is handcrafted glass with a name or short phrase in the font and colour you choose, in several sizes. Because each one is made by hand, no two are quite the same.
Glass suits a keepsake that hangs high on the tree, well out of reach. Pair it with one of the Luxury Velvet Stockings, handmade in velvet with a name in glitter and a choice of small designs, among them a camel and a reindeer. A stocking with the baby’s name is the sort of thing that goes up every year until they are taller than you.
Gift 09 · Small, home-grown
Crafty Dust: a wooden ornament shaped like your family
Crafty Dust is a Sharjah studio whose founder, Hana’a, designs and makes its wooden pieces by hand in the UAE. The Family Heart Ornament is a solid wood heart with a cut-out of your family inside it. It can show up to six members, and that can include the new baby, a bump or the dog. You describe each person when you order.
It suits a family marking its first Christmas as three or four, and wood is kinder than glass to a house with a crawler. For later, the First Smile Keepsake Box is a wooden box with a rotating lid, an engraved face and the child’s name inside, sized to hold all the milk teeth. It is a gift for a few years from now, but grandparents who plan ahead may like to know it exists.
Gift 10 · Small, home-grown
Mlawan: a wooden name sign for the nursery
Mlawan is a UAE maker of personalised gifts, including nursery decor with Arabic options. Its Personalised Name Sign for Nursery is wooden letter art spelling out the baby’s name, with a choice of colours and fonts to suit the room, and there is a separate Arabic version of the sign.
For the front door, the baby name door sign welcomes a newborn by name, in gold or silver, with your choice of fonts and decorative details. A name sign stays up long after the decorations come down, and it suits parents who are still finishing the nursery. In a first-Christmas photograph at home, a name on the wall behind the cot tells the story without a caption.
Gift 11 · Small, home-grown
Forjolie: a 3D printed birth sign in your own colours
Forjolie is a Dubai studio that designs and 3D prints its pieces here in the city. The Personalised Baby Birth Sign shows an elephant on a moon with a cloud and stars, and carries the baby’s name, birth date, time, weight and height. You choose the colour of each part from eleven shades, so it can match the nursery rather than the catalogue.
For something that keeps to the name alone, the Personalised Stacked Name Board builds it from separate stacked letters, with Arabic names available, for a desk, shelf or nursery. Both suit parents who like something modern and graphic rather than wood or glass. Neither is a Christmas design, so think of them as first-year keepsakes given at Christmas.
Gift 12 · Small, home-grown
Mommy’s Charms: a named blanket, a welcome bundle or a birth plaque
Mommy’s Charms personalises baby gifts by hand in the UAE, with names in Arabic or English. The Personalised Baby Blanket is a combed cotton knit, OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified, for newborns to two years, with the baby’s name embroidered and a bunny comforter included, all in the brand’s gift packaging.
For a bigger gift, The Royal Welcome Bundle combines a cotton terry towel with the baby’s name and silicone bath toys, the knitted blanket and bunny comforter, and a pacifier box with two FRIGG pacifiers, a personalised clip, a case and a ring teether. It arrives in a white rigid box with no invoice inside, and you can add a message card. It suits grandparents, or a group of friends giving one gift together.
The Personalised Birth Stats Plaque is beech wood, engraved by hand with the baby’s name, date and time of birth, weight and height, in Arabic or English, to hang on a nursery wall or stand on a shelf. It is not a Christmas piece, and that is rather the point: a first Christmas is often the first time the wider family meets the baby, and a plaque with the birth details stays out all year.
Gift 13 · Small, home-grown
Mersam Designs: a bilingual baby memory book
Mersam Designs is a UAE-based online gift store with a small range of baby keepsakes. The Arabic & English Baby Memory Book is a hardcover book with the two languages side by side, and illustrated pages that run from pregnancy to the first birthday, with room for photographs, monthly growth and firsts.
The first Christmas earns a page of its own if you give it one, and the book suits families who speak both languages at home. For a fuller present, the Personalised Baby Memory Gift Set adds wooden milestone cards, a pacifier clip with the baby’s name and a wooden brush set engraved in Arabic or English, all in a gift box. Give it early in the first year, while most of the pages are still empty.
A first-Christmas portrait
A baby’s first Christmas passes quickly, and the photograph is often the gift the family returns to. Many of the pieces on this list belong in it: the named blanket, the plush bunny in the corner, the sleepsuit kept for the day. Our Christmas Morning room is a dreamy children’s room made for play and cuddles, and the Christmas Room, with its tree, is our hero setup for family portraits. If you would like that photograph this year, with grandparents in it too, you can book a Christmas session online.
Let’s sum up
Baby’s first Christmas gifts tend to be either soft and practical or made to be kept. From this list, that might be a Birdsong set from Little IA, a boxed TENCEL set from BABICLO or bamboo sleepsuits from Anvi Baby. For the tree, there is a named bauble from Share the Love or The UAE Christmas Store, a ceramic ornament from Little Luxe or a wooden family heart from Crafty Dust. To keep, there is a gold bangle from J.H Jewellers, a birth stat plushie, a name sign from Mlawan, a birth sign from Forjolie, a plaque or named blanket from Mommy’s Charms or The Happy Tribe, and a bilingual memory book from Mersam Designs. Confirm the name, order early, keep glass high on the tree and add a dated note.
Questions about baby’s first Christmas gifts
Something soft and practical, such as a sleepsuit or a gift set in a breathable fabric, or something to keep, such as a gold bangle, a named blanket, a name bauble or a birth plaque. Ask the parents what they already have, and choose clothes in the size the baby will be in on the day. One thoughtful keepsake is plenty.
Several UAE brands personalise baby gifts, often by hand. Little IA adds names free to many pieces, The Happy Tribe and Mommy’s Charms embroider blankets and keepsakes, Little Luxe makes birth stat plushies and named ornaments, and Mlawan makes nursery name signs. Share the Love and The UAE Christmas Store make named baubles, and Crafty Dust makes a wooden family ornament by hand in Sharjah. Several of them offer Arabic as well as English.
A Christmas ornament with the baby’s name is the classic choice, because it comes out every December. A named blanket, a birth stat plushie or a wooden name sign for the nursery also last well beyond the season. Check the spelling with the parents and order early, as personalised pieces are made to order and usually cannot be returned.
Wooden and shatterproof ornaments are the easier choice in a house with small children, and glass baubles belong higher up. Even sturdy ornaments come with ribbons and hooks, so keep any keepsake out of a baby’s reach and treat it as something to look at together.
As early as you can, once the parents have confirmed the name and its spelling. Personalised pieces are made after you order, and embroidered or engraved items usually cannot be returned or changed later. Some makers send a proof to approve first, so leave time for the piece to arrive, and for a second look at the name before it is wrapped.
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The Setup Collective builds three Christmas rooms in Dubai each season, the Christmas Room, the Christmas Kitchen and Christmas Morning, then photographs families in them. Candidly: nobody gets told to tuck their chin in. Who we are
