What Christmas decorations will you have if you have a toddler?! No tree?

[PurpleTreeFrog]

I have an active, curious and "naughty" 18 month old. Naughty in the sense that there's nothing he finds more hilarious than testing my boundaries by touching and pushing all the things in the house he's not supposed to touch.

I have basically got to the point now where our living room is devoid of anything he can break or hurt himself on. However, what about Christmas?!

We love a big, real tree with lovely decorations. But he would just wreck it, I'm sure. The glass baubles would be especially dangerous... Should we just not bother with a tree this year? Or get a tiny one and put it on a table?

You can get wall hanging half trees, but they are expensive. I think a small artificial tree on a table would be a better idea, with non breakable decorations. You can keep the little tree, and he can have it and decorate it himself when older. To make up for a little tree, you could have a pre lit artificial fir garland on a mantlepiece or across the top of a bookcase. Some are battery powered which means you don't need to worry about trailing flex or proximity to powerpoints.

If you love a big real tree, you could 'fence' it off with a playpen type barrier, but still only use non glass decs.

Last year we had a small real tree. We put it on the sideboard so my DS couldn't reach it and we only put fabric decorations on it incase they fell of etc. I'm doing the same again this year

What about putting a playpen/room divider round the tree?

Get the spikiest tree you can find then he won't want to touch it we've always had a real tree and the dc are 5&3 now the only annoying thing they've ever done is jingle the bells constantly, might not put those on this year!

We always put the tree in a playpen

sometimes, they do surprise you, my toddler didn;t touch ours last year in fact hardly noticed it!

We didn't put the tree up. I know it's not the answer you want to hear.

Also DD1 is 4yo and with a baby last year, we had the tree up but no glass baubles. It's all unbreakble things here. You can't trust them as even a 4yo, she's very sensible one moment and then absolutely stupid the next.

When mine were little, we had a hook, screwed into th window frame, and tied the Christmas tree to that, so the boys couldn't pull it over.

If you did that, and used plastic or wooden ornaments, might that work?

We've always had a real tree. Most of the baubles you buy now are shatterproof - and I think it is possible that we ended up with no baubles on the lower branches - but it was fine. The tree was in the corner - so blocked on 2 sides anyway. Think it could be worse on a table as may try to grab at it and pull it over.

I can't believe I am reading that people do not put a tree up because they have children. I never once considered this with my children and do not know anyone who has.
You tell them not to touch, you reinforce if they attempt to touch, they learn not to touch.
How do they learn boundaries if they are not set and reinforced?

We have a little tree up on the sideboard. She can reach it but it won't kill her if she pulls it down!

We've always had a tree. Alternated between real and artificial. We just made sure it was very stable and put anything precious or breakable high up.

The bottom few ornaments did end up beinf taken on & off a lot, but no damage was ever done (and my DC would count in the "spirited" category at times).

I did see a lovely idea of a felt wall hanging in the shape of a tree that the child could play with & put decorations on. But my DD2 was the incredible non-sleeping toddler so I never got around to actually making it.

Of course, then they get older and persuade their Dad that they should decorate the tree and you end up with a pink and purple tinsel monstrosity instead of the lovely gold and red you had planned

It has never occurred to me to not have a tree either or keeping out of reach. I have also never told them not to touch the tree.
Made sure it was secured and couldn't be pulled over and put baubles at their level that weren't breakable and didn't mind if the moved about and tbh they rarely bothered after the first day or two. It just becomes something else in the room.
Tbh they probably fiddle with it more now at 5,9 and 12 than they ever did as toddlers. I am a firm believer in learning young. If they don't experience it now it will always be attractive to them even in a few years when you do put one up because it's a novelty.

We still have a huge tree. We, like others secure ours to the wall to stop it being pulled over. Also decorate it with non breakable decorations. Last year we could tell how tall the dc were by looking at where the decorations started (they very slowly undecorated the tree, either throwing baubles for the dog or decorating their toys).
We have very inexpensive decorations so it was fine, all a learning curve for everyone.

DD was 16 months last year. I wrapped lots of big boxes to match the room and created a barrier around the tree, she didn't even try to touch it.
Agree with the other posters, constant reinforcement of not touching and nothing breakable within reach.

I've always had a tree (except the year we moved in on 23rd December). It's not ds that's the issue,its the bloody cat.
Could he put the star or fairy on the tree & tell him it's a very important job,that it's the only one he can touch. Don't put anything precious on or you'll be very anxious.

Never crossed my mind to secure the tree or some such and I have 2 toddlers.

Bet my mum wished she'd secured it the year I fell into it drunk at 3am after the young farmers Christmas night out.

Last year ds was 16mo and we had a smaller tree on a table.
This year well be trying to "Fence it in" to a corner using an armchair and table.

We don't have real glass baubles either. I'm surprised people still do.

I just put non breakable things on the bottom branches last year and didn't leave him in the room with it he was 11 months at the time. I'm not sacrificing my Christmas tree for nothing after initial curiosity he couldn't care less anyway. Only thing I had issues with was he would try and unwrap the presents so they had to be shifted

Poor op, somewhat getting it in the neck! (Meanwhile, somewhere else on mumsnet, posters are no doubt berating thoughtless PILs for not toddler proofing their homes ahead of Christmas visits.)

We bought a lovely white artificial tree ( from Heals, vair posh) and have bought more and more bonkers neon, pink, bright green and blue furry, fabric, felt and sequin baubles each year since dc1. It's really nice, even if I say so myself... And if it all came crashing on their heads, i doubt they'd come to much harm. Habitat have some great wool decorations at the moment.

We put our tree in the playpen and just put things like pine cones and fabric decorations at the bottom. It also protected the presents underneath from early opening😊

I go proper tree and then nag kids not to touch. I have lots and lots of small nephews so my lovely friend has made me a felt tree with felts decs that the monkeys can mess with and rearrange all they like. I am not sure it will be as appealing as messing with the real one but it was a sweet gesture anyway and another nice game for them.

Christmas trees just make me feel uncomfortable now. They never used to, but years ago something very, very traumatic happened to me at Christmas time, and they just bring it all back.

I do have a felt tree shape that goes on my wall, a bit like vvviola describes. It started life as a fabric advent calendar, and I have seen them on sale, this year, in Home Bargains for £4.99, if you fancy making something similar.

I just didn't want my dc to resent me for not putting a tree up, like other people. It's a compromise I am happy with.