First Christmas Married: Personal Gift Ideas for Newlyweds

Somewhere on your phone there might be a wedding photo the couple have never seen. Perhaps you caught them laughing outside the registry office or sharing chips after the dancing. Print it, write the story on the back and you already have the beginnings of a lovely first Christmas present. The same idea works with a keepsake or a card. Pick one detail from the year that belongs to the two of them.

Choose a wedding keepsake they can bring out each December

If they enjoy getting the decorations out, give them something they can unwrap again next year. The Personalised Mr and Mrs Wedding Keepsake Heart comes in a gift box, so there’s somewhere to tuck the heart and your note when the decorations come down.

The white heart measures 7cm across and hangs from a black cord. The design says “Mr & Mrs”, with space for a surname and wedding date. Choose it for a couple who use those titles and share that name. Check capitals, hyphens and the date before ordering, especially if the legal ceremony and the wedding party took place on different days. A quick message asking which date they celebrate can save a guess.

Give it to them when they put the tree up if they’d enjoy displaying it all December. If you usually exchange gifts on Christmas Day, keep to that tradition. The heart can hang on a decorative hook after the tree comes down. For a couple who go by their first names or use different titles, look for wording that suits them in the keepsake collection.

Give a memory only you could write

Think about where you were on the wedding day. A sibling getting ready with the bride saw a different wedding from the friend sitting beside the dance floor. Little details from either viewpoint make good presents because the couple couldn’t be everywhere at once. Write down what happened, then add why you’re still smiling about it.

For a bride who would love a memory of getting ready, the message in a bottle with a wedding dress charm holds your words on a printed scroll. The clear glass bottle is 7cm tall, with a cork stopper and a silver-coloured dress charm. A sentence or two about the morning gives her a miniature letter to keep with her wedding photographs.

If you’re giving a present to both partners, choose a moment that includes them both. Didn’t attend the wedding? Write about the first time you met them as a couple, or slip a family recipe into their card with a note about the Christmas you first made it together.

What to write in a first Christmas married card

A wedding card looks towards the future. By December, you can write about something the couple have already shared. Start with one of these lines and change the detail to fit the people opening the envelope.

From a wedding guest. “I’m still smiling at the memory of you two leading the last dance. Wishing you a very happy first Christmas married, with room for one more dance in the kitchen.”

From a parent. “Seeing you both at our kitchen table the morning after the wedding is a memory I’ll keep. There’ll always be two places for you here. Happy Christmas, with love.”

From one partner to the other. “My favourite photo from this year is the blurry one where we’re laughing too much to stand still. Here’s to a mantelpiece full of those. Happy first Christmas married.”

Add something for this Christmas, too

Alongside the wedding memory, leave room for the couple to make a new one. Put a blank photo mount in with your print and write “Our first married Christmas” beneath the opening. Or, if you’re one half of the couple, tuck a handwritten breakfast menu into the card and take your turn in the kitchen. By next December, the story might be about the wedding dance, the Boxing Day pancakes, or both.