Scared of the Christmas tree

[1980cat]

Dd has just woken up (fell asleep in the car at 6 so will now have a fight to get her to sleep again)and she has seen the Christmas tree i have just put up. Her recaction was one of sheer terror just cuddled into me and said 'go outside'. She will only now stay in the livinvg room as when she turned away from the tree she saw the chocolate advent calander which it rather cute watching her jump to try and reach.
I thought this year might be easier last year she wouldn't let us go into shops with decorations in them, cried when I took her to see santa and took at least three weeks to get used to the tree being in our living room.

oh dear. Hope she gets used to it soon. Would shew feel better if she had helped to decorate it, or would she still have become upset at a bare tree?

She's just turned three. By the time she went back to bed she was just giving it a funny look. The tree is in a really difficult place to get to and she wouldn't really have be able to help much tonigh but I've got lots of tinsel and things left for her to do tomorrow. Hoping she is just having a bad day today, she was terrifed going into Toys r us because of the dr who display but normaly loves it and runs round pretending to be a dalek.

Poor thing. Maybe falling asleep in the car hasn;t helped and she'll be better in the morning

Hope she was just too tired tonight might see if I can find her a little tree that she can decorate for her room.
The Christmas books are good idea and will hopefully help with the santa phobia although sometimes I can see her point, a man with a big beard and funny clothes is not something you see often.
Don't know what she will think of the 6 foot inflatable robin that I'm going to put in the garden tomorrow though.

Oh poor little thing. Get her some ornaments that look like toys maybe?

That reminds me there were some winnie the pooh decorations she liked last year that I haven't come accross yet hopefully they are still in the box.
There may not be any decorations left on the tree by the morning, the kitten has just spotted one she likes and is trying to pull it off. Oh shes given up and that idea and is now eating pine needles.

This morning was better she came down an looked at the tree and said 'look mummy it's the Christmas tree' then proceeded to try and get more chocolate from the calander.
So she is much happier than last year where it took her a few days to get used to it. She has spent today trying to dress her dad in tinsel so seems much more relaxed. (and the clanader is now hiding in the kitchen cupboard)

I wouldn't worry too much about the Santa phobia. It's really common.

(whispers - I was still terrified of department store Santas until I was nearly a teenager.)

Hope she gets used to the Christmas tree.

DS (also 3) was really petrified of our tree yesterday when we brought it into the house, however once we started decorating it he was fine. I wonder what is scary about them??

Does it have anything to do with all those books about the Big Bad Wolf that lives in the forest. Forests/woods are almost always scary in kids' books. Maybe a think, dense, undecorated evergreen tree raises the same sort of fears?

Dd doesn't mind them outside and quite like hiding behind trees when were out walking.
Just don't think she expected to find one in her living room covered in flashing lights and it is quite big.
It is nice to know she isn't the only child who doesn't like them, she does also hate the displays that shops put up with moving figures but that I understand, they are really weird.