Cute babes we met today at the Marconi (photos)

SooToday.com followed Santa to the Marconi Hall today.

And found a room full of babies.

Along with 17 infants enjoying their first Christmas, we found about 80 other moms, dads, sisters, brothers, aunties, uncles and grandparents belonging to the babies.

The Babies of 2007 Christmas party was the brainchild of Giacomo's mom, Stephanie Francella-Stephen (shown) and 16 other proud new mommies.

"The moms all met during the summer through various programs like swimming, massage and Algoma Public Health," said Francella-Stephen. "We've been hanging around with each other since August and still meet at each others' house once a week, even though we don't have any formal group we belong to."

The idea was conceived about four weeks ago and the group decided to run with it.

"We thought it would be something nice to remember this time with," Franchella-Stephen said. "Especially knowing that a lot of these kids will end up going through school together."

The plan started with the 17 babies and their moms and dads, then expanded to include older siblings, grandparents and even cousins with their families.

And it isn't going to end here, said Francella-Stephen.

"We planned to do it again if we got some good feedback out of it," she said. "It came together very well, everyone is having a lot of fun and we are already starting to plan next year's Christmas party."

This year's party included a group photo, visit from Santa, cookie decorating for the older kids and a buffet for everyone.