We have two grandchildren that we love like crazy. The oldest never paid any attention to the Christmas tree until last year and that was because I had two Barbie ornaments on it. Once I surrendered those to her, we were fine. Our youngest is destined to climb Mt. Everest or rival Houdini’s records. He climbs, jumps, scales and squeezes into every place you can imagine.
Some people have a gated yard but we have a gated great room. (see arrows) Sadly he has learned how to move some of those gates around. With Christmas decorations being added to the mix, we set out to learn the art of How to Toddle Proof a Christmas Tree.
I sought advice from all my Facebook friends and on the internet. Here’s a list I gathered.
- Tell them not to touch.
- Put the tree in a Playpen.
- Don’t have a tree.
- Fill boxes with bricks, wrap them and create a fence of present look alikes.
- Tether the tree to staircase.
- Don’t decorate the bottom third with anything you like.
- Encase the tree in a play yard, don’t let them near it while barefoot.
- Buy a tree that hangs from wall or ceiling.
We decided to implement the last three. We bought a multi colored play yard on Amazon, not the colors we would want full time but fine for the season. It was a breeze to put up.
We also ordered a super cheap hanging tree. This is actually plan B but we implemented it simultaneously. Should the barricades be breached, the tree gets put away and we are still set.
To be super safe I put all the ornaments I like on the top 2/3 of the tree, nothing breakable. On the bottom third I put sacrificial lambs. If Zara grabs them, so be it.
Then the moment of truth approached. Henry came over and at first he couldn’t be bothered to look at the tree. Later on in the day I caught him casing the joint.
He checked out both sides. He tried to see if he could move it. He sneered at it and moved on. Phew, are we safe?
Or is he at home coming up with invasion plans?
Sew happy!
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I have tried not to use wrapping paper that is why we did not implement number four. Read here how I wrap with fabric.
