Parents and families basked in the joy of the holiday season at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Long Beach as babies born in time for Christmas were welcomed with a beloved, decades-long holiday tradition.
Babies born at Miller Children’s & Women’s this week – in the days leading up to Christmas – were bundled up in soft, giant red stockings and presented to their parents, creating a heartwarming memory during the Christmas season.
The holiday tradition of welcoming Christmas babies into the world with this festive photo opportunity has been a beloved one at the hospital for 63 years, according to a press release.
Fourteen babies born between Dec. 23 and Dec. 26 pose for photographs in red Christmas stockings, continuing a 63-year holiday tradition at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Long Beach on Tuesday, December 23, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Fourteen babies born between Dec. 23 and Dec. 26 prepare to pose for photographs in red Christmas stockings, continuing a 63-year holiday tradition at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Long Beach on Tuesday, December 23, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Fourteen babies born between Dec. 23 and Dec. 26 pose for photographs in red Christmas stockings, continuing a 63-year holiday tradition at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Long Beach on Tuesday, December 23, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Fourteen babies born between Dec. 23 and Dec. 26 pose for photographs in red Christmas stockings, continuing a 63-year holiday tradition at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Long Beach on Tuesday, December 23, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Fourteen babies born between Dec. 23 and Dec. 26 pose for photographs in red Christmas stockings, continuing a 63-year holiday tradition at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Long Beach on Tuesday, December 23, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Fourteen babies born between Dec. 23 and Dec. 26 pose for photographs in red Christmas stockings, continuing a 63-year holiday tradition at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Long Beach on Tuesday, December 23, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
RN Kristi Nishimori holds a baby less than twenty four hours old in a red Christmas stocking, continuing a 63-year holiday tradition at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Long Beach on Tuesday, December 23, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
RN Amy Rippon, left, holds a two-day-old baby in a red Christmas stocking, continuing a 63-year holiday tradition at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Long Beach on Tuesday, December 23, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Fourteen babies born between Dec. 23 and Dec. 26 pose for photographs in red Christmas stockings, continuing a 63-year holiday tradition at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Long Beach on Tuesday, December 23, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Fourteen babies born between Dec. 23 and Dec. 26 pose for photographs in red Christmas stockings, continuing a 63-year holiday tradition at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Long Beach on Tuesday, December 23, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Fourteen babies born between Dec. 23 and Dec. 26 pose for photographs in giant red Christmas stockings, continuing a 63-year holiday tradition at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Long Beach on Tuesday, December 23, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
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Fourteen babies born between Dec. 23 and Dec. 26 pose for photographs in red Christmas stockings, continuing a 63-year holiday tradition at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Long Beach on Tuesday, December 23, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Parents, families, and care teams came together to commemorate the tradition on Tuesday, Dec. 23. Miller Children’s & Women’s parents are always surprised and delighted at the special touch provided to their very own Christmas miracle, hospital officials said.
Nurses donning festive headbands and light-up necklaces wheeled 14 bassinets into the nursery, each newborn nestled in their red stocking. Families gathered to capture photos, holding their Christmas babies in their arms.
“For more than six decades, this sweet tradition has sprinkled extra holiday magic across our halls,” Nicole Noche, RN, assistant unit manager of the Cherese Mari Laulhere BirthCare Center at Miller Children’s & Women’s, said in a statement. “There’s nothing quite like seeing tiny newborns tucked into bright red stockings; it’s a joyful reminder of the holidays past and the new beginnings we celebrate today.”
For one family, they said this holiday experience will be one that they will never forget.
“Our daughter, Fernanda, arrived a couple of days earlier than we expected, but the care team made it such a great experience and so easy,” Fernando Hernandez, father of Fernanda, who was born on Dec. 21, said in a statement. “Their compassion, constant support and the fun holiday activity of placing the newborns in giant red stockings made her arrival even more special and truly unforgettable for our family.”