STORY | AMSTERDAM

A Baby’s First Christmas Among Amsterdam’s Lights

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Updated 8 November 2026

Parents holding their baby in front of a tall Christmas tree hung with colorful rings and stars on a brick square in December

Camille and Thijs, one from France and one from the Netherlands, wanted photos of a December they would never get back: their baby’s first Christmas. Lou was almost one. So on a gray afternoon in mid-December, we walked from a big Christmas tree to the canals near the Westerkerk, until the first lamps came on.

They booked the Family Photoshoot, one of my family photoshoots in Amsterdam. I chose a short route with places where a baby can sit, look around and be carried. Lou only had to be herself, and her parents stayed close to her all the way.

A Tree Full of Rings and Stars

We started at a square with a tall Christmas tree, hung with bright rings, stars and ribbons. Lou wore a camel coat with a fluffy white trim and an orange hat with little bear ears. Camille had a rust-colored teddy coat, and Thijs a dark jacket with a fleece collar.

Close in front of the Christmas tree, the dad holds the baby in a bear-ear hat while the mom in a rust teddy coat smiles

Dad kisses his little daughter's cheek by a tree full of bright rings and ribbons, the mom hugging them both in her orange coat

Then Thijs kissed Lou’s cheek, and Camille wrapped her arms around them both. Those few seconds were all we needed by the tree.

Baby’s First Christmas Along the Canal

From the square, we walked to the canal. Lou watched the bikes go by, and Camille clapped her hands to make her laugh. I chose the spots and gave Lou time to look around, while her parents kept her smiling with a song, a tickle or a kiss on her hand.

Family on a canal-side street in winter, the mom clapping for the little girl on her dad's arm, gabled houses and lit shops behind

Mom gently touches her daughter's cheek as the dad holds her, a canal railing and tall gabled houses behind on a gray afternoon

With a baby, the best moments come between the plans. Camille touched Lou’s cheek, Lou watched her mother’s hand, and Thijs simply stood there grinning. That is how a baby’s first Christmas often looks in photos: one small face, two proud parents and a city in winter behind them.

A Little Chair Among the Christmas Trees

In front of a café, small Christmas trees with lights stood around a white folding chair. For a few seconds, they set Lou down on it, a hand always close. Lou took her seat very seriously.

Mom lifts her laughing baby from a white folding chair among small Christmas trees with lights, a lit shop front blurred behind

A little girl in a camel coat with white trim and an orange bear hat sits on a white chair, her dad's hand steadying her

Baby on a white folding chair between her crouching dad and her smiling mom, little Christmas trees with lights around them

Then Thijs crouched next to her, and Camille held her little boots. Short moments like this are all the posing a baby needs, and with her parents right beside her, they come easily.

At the café door, under its small tree, Lou was back in her mother’s arms, and Thijs bent in to talk to her.

Mom holds her baby at a café door under a small Christmas tree with lights, the dad in a gray beanie leaning in close — A café door in December, small trees full of lights

Teddy Bears in the Window

A few streets on, we passed house fronts framed with green garlands. One shop window held big teddy bears, so we stopped there.

Family standing in a narrow brick street by a white house front wrapped in green garlands and lights, the girl on mom's hip

Parents and their little one in front of a shop window with big teddy bears, framed by a green garland with small lights

Thijs lifted Lou high in front of the bears, and Camille reached up to her. That frame, Lou in her bear hat next to the bears, became their favorite.

Dad lifts the baby high in front of a window of teddy bears while the mom reaches up to her, a first Christmas outing in Amsterdam

At the next corner, between rows of bikes, they pulled her in for a hug.

Close family hug by rows of parked bikes, the mom's face close to her daughter's, lit trees along the street behind them

Parents kiss with their baby between them on a busy corner, bikes all around and trees with Christmas lights along the street

Along that street, the lights in the trees were already on. Camille and Thijs kissed, while Lou, right between them, looked around at everything.

A First Christmas at Dusk

On the Prinsengracht, the tower of the Westerkerk rose over the water. A little later, strings of lights came on above a shopping street, and Thijs lifted Lou once more.

Family on a canal bridge between two bikes, the Westerkerk tower rising over the water behind them on a gray winter day

Dad lifts the baby toward the mom on a shopping street, strings of Christmas lights glowing above the bikes and passers-by

By then, Lou had a snack in her hand, and nobody minded at all.

Dad grins as his daughter holds a snack, the mom smiling beside them, a red-brick building and street lights blurred behind

As it got dark, we ended by the water, under an old street lamp. They kissed her cheeks from both sides while the canal behind them filled with lights. Later, Camille printed that photo on the cards for their baby’s first Christmas.

Mom holds the little girl by the canal at dusk, the dad beside them, lit trees and a church with two spires across the water

Last frame of the baby's first Christmas walk: parents kiss her cheeks under a lit old street lamp by the canal at dusk — The canal at dusk, the street lamps just lit

Thinking about winter photos of your own? My guide to a Christmas photoshoot in Amsterdam explains when the city’s lights are up and what to wear.

Planning photos with your little one? Discover how my family photoshoots in Amsterdam work.