How to decorate for baby's first Christmas

[Liland]

Hi all, looking for tips on how to decorate my home this winter! Christmas fever has set in, and it's my first baby's Christmas (he'll be 11 months), and I want to make it really special, but I'm a bit stuck on how (yes I know it's for me as he won't remember it)!

Due to disaster prone mobile baby, I've had to put away a lot of side tables, and give most of my massive collection of plants away, it's just been a disaster. I don't really have anywhere safe to put many seasonal plants (though I'll be getting as many as I can fit in starting this week), and I don't know how we're going to make the 6ft artificial Christmas tree work - he's going to pull it down as soon as he sees it, and over and over again.

I have ordered some new Christmas cushions, but beyond that I'm a bit lost for ideas. I have a huge amount of wall space to hang things from, and I don't know whether to just focus on the living room, or to do his (our, co-sleeping) bedroom as well somehow. I like greenery, fairy lights, nice smells, but don't like tinsel much. I'm also very strapped for time! Please give me your ideas, what are you all doing?

For mine I ordered a personalised bauble to mark the first one - they come out every year. The next year I think I got the big jigs nativity - they can play and understand the story of Christmas even if it is not something you believe in. Then I just added a little something each year - we have a big box now. We also buy a couple of Christmas theme books each year and they too come out. Our home does not resemble an insta perfect house but it represents us and our memories. Don’t worry about having loads just allow it to build that’s all and enjoy - it does move fast.

Aww that's great advice thanks! I do have a couple of books in mind this year and I plan on a bauble each year too. I do put too much pressure on myself for things to be instantly perfect and find it hard to ignore.

You can’t do “perfect” Christmas decorations with a child in the house.
Decorate as usual and teach the child not to touch anything.
We buy a new bauble each year too.

I saw pictures of people putting the tree in a playpen or behind a fire guard. Would something like that work? A friend, also with an 11 month old, swapped her tree to a collection of mini-ones put on mantlepiece and sideboards.

We also did Christmas books, I think there is a "That"s not mine" with reindeer.

We do snowflake stickers on the window or other decoration. Also on the walls in the hallway and living room.

Our bedroom is decoration-free, DD started having things in her room when she turned 6.
Start going to garden centers to see the displays and some do have real reindeers. I would avoid a proper Christmas market unless you can have your baby in a carrier on your back, they are no fun with prams.

Maybe not this year (or maybe yes - I can't remember smallies at that age), but certainly next, you could have DC "making" paper chains for decorations.

I used to cut a load of strips of different colured papers ((just A4 paper cut to the same size strips) and put them in a shoebox. DD was given the box and a roll of tape and a child-friendly scissors (when very young, I would have the strips cut and stuck to the edge of the table for her and work with her, but she did it for years as she grew and her abilities improved - when she was "bored", she would take out the box and add to the length of the chain safely stored inside, usually ending up with at least 2 or 3 decent length ones just from the odd 10-15 minutes here and there after school).

It is easy to do, and can use up lots of time, but get interesting results that can be hung from the ceiling in the hall or along a bare wall.

You can also cut out snowflakes together (fold a sheet of paper into triangles and cut out notches along the length, before unfolding - maybe have a look on youtube 1st about the folding).

If you have wooden or laminate floor, place the tree on that and duck tape it down. Or tie a loop round it securing it to something. Secure the baubles on with twisted gardening wire. Worst case scenario use play pen, baby gate, foot stalls, whatever, to make a bit of a barricade that at least slows baby down.

My 7ft tree and extensive collection of glass baubles have survived cats for 8 years and my 14 month old last year.

Just in case he does manage to reach it, you could also play safe by anchoring the tree to be untippable (a small ceiling hook screwed in directly above the tree, with strong wire attached near top of trunk).

Have a lovely first Xmas together!

When my nephew was little my sister made a big Christmas tree shape out of green felt, and cut up other pieces of felt into interesting shapes/ decorations. The felt Christmas tree was stuck onto the wall, and dn was allowed to "decorate" the tree with the felt shapes, and pull them down again, as much as he liked.
Kept him away from the real tree!
Such a good idea that I wish I had thought of it!

Teach him to handle decorations gently from the start because if you just tell him not to, he’ll drop one in a panic when he hears you coming. I told mine to put things down “quietly” as that’s easier for a child to understand than “carefully” or “gently”.

You can decorate up high- garlands on the top of windows and picture frames, paper chains on the ceiling if that’s your thing. The cushions are a great idea. A festive throw might be nice too.

Lots of led candles on high surfaces will be festive. And music adds to the ambiance.

You can get a fabric tree from Hobbycraft, I think, that a toddler can Velcro decorations to. And he could help transform the fridge into a snowman.

If you absolutely must have a tree then tie it to something so it can’t be pulled down. We had a hexagonal playpen that could be stretched out so the tree went behind that.

Thanks for the great ideas! I've ordered a felt tree, and will locate some led candles! I'm afraid LO is not too hot on the idea of no yet, so this year itll have to be keeping things out of reach or only having baby safe things. I have worked out how to still have my tree out of his reach though!

I’m having the same problem at the minute. DD will be 1 just before Christmas but is already walking and needs to touch absolutely everything new
Having baby proofed the living room so she can wonder around without me next to her every second of the day, I’m struggling with the idea of a tree.
Loving the idea of a few small trees dotted around out of reach.