Small present to mother: The First Noel, a symbol of Christmas (7)
I believe the answer is:
snowman
'a symbol of christmas' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'small present to mother the first noel' is the wordplay.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'present' becomes 'now' (both can mean the current period).
'to mother' becomes 'ma' (ma can mean mother).
'the first noel' becomes 'n' (1st letter of 'noel').
's'+'now'+'ma'+'n'='SNOWMAN'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for snowman that I've seen before include "Figure of a person made of ice crystals" , "Frosty for example" , "Winter figure" , "Frozen article child makes" , "Male figure of ice crystals" .)