Baby registry for a first Christmas, from birth to one

A baby's first Christmas brings offers from every relative, most of whom have no idea what a six-month-old does all day. Without a list you get four soft rabbits and a bodysuit in size 56 that stopped fitting in September. A registry points people to what will be used in the months after Christmas, which is what counts when the child is under one.

Put the safety items on the list first

Socket covers, cupboard locks and corner guards are dull gifts and nobody wants to buy them, which is exactly why they belong on the list. A baby who was lying still in December is pulling at the oven door by March. A video monitor is worth putting on the list as well; the cheap audio-only ones are fine in a small flat, but once the nursery is a floor away you want the screen.

The car seat is the big one. In Europe, seats sold under the i-Size rule (R129) keep a baby rear-facing until at least 15 months, and an infant carrier from Maxi-Cosi or Cybex is expensive even before the base. Choose the seat yourselves, in the shop, fitted in your own car, and then put it on the list as a contribution, so grandparents who want to help can put money towards it rather than buying the seat itself. A car seat bought blind from a list is the one gift that can go wrong in a way that matters.

Toys for the months after Christmas

A newborn sees contrast before colour, so a black-and-white cloth book is the one toy that gets used from week two. It stays useful once the baby starts grabbing and chewing at three or four months. Sophie la Girafe (modestly priced) is the classic teether for a reason: it is soft, it squeaks and it fits a small fist.

From six months the stacking ring, soft blocks and a simple shape sorter start to make sense. Fisher-Price's Rock-a-Stack is cheap and has not changed in decades, which is a recommendation. A rattle or a small xylophone covers the noise-making phase. Choose wood or food-grade silicone where possible, because everything on this list ends up in the mouth.

The supplies that run out

Nappies one or two sizes up (3 and 4 if the baby is in 2 now) are the most useful boring gift there is. A baby goes through six to eight a day, and sizes change faster than parents expect in the first year. Wipes, nappy cream and a pack of muslin cloths are in the same category. Nobody is excited to unwrap them and they are gone by February.

Weaning starts around six months, so if the baby is younger than that at Christmas, add the first spoons, a couple of bibs with a catch pocket and a high chair. A plain chair that wipes clean (the Ikea Antilop, which costs very little, or a Stokke Tripp Trapp if someone wants to spend more) beats the padded ones with a fabric seat that has to go in the washing machine every other day. Add the bath things at the end of the list: a mild wash, a few small flannels and a bath seat for once the baby sits unaided.

One or two keepsakes

Not everything has to be practical, but keep this section short or it takes over the list. A baby book for first smiles and first teeth, a hand and footprint kit, and one first-Christmas bauble that goes on the tree every year after. That is enough. A relative who wants to give something sentimental will find it here, and the rest of the list stays useful.

Gifts for the crawling and cruising months

A play gym with hanging toys covers reaching and grabbing from about three months, and later the baby pulls up on it. A wooden push walker (Janod and Brio both make one at a mid-range price) helps between nine and fifteen months, when the baby wants to walk along things but cannot let go yet. Leave the baby walker with a seat off the list; Kind en Gezin and most child health services advise against them.

A soft play tunnel looks premature on a list for a newborn and gets heavy use from ten months on. If the flat is small, put it on the list anyway. It folds flat and goes under the bed.

The list will change as the baby does, so keep it up to date and remove what has been outgrown. You can create a baby registry in a few minutes, add a contribution line for the car seat and share it with the family before the December shopping starts.