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Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

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Original poster

Keeping toddlers away from the tree

115 replies

TwinsandTrifle · 16/10/2021 23:37

We have 20mth old DTwins. The age that they have zero understanding of being careful around a Christmas Tree, combined with being fabulously dexterous and mobile.

What do we do about the tree? A cage isn't an option. To me, it removes all the prettiness and presence of the tree.

DTwins will have all the baubles off every time my back is turned. Even if I ensure everything is hardy and non-smash plastic, they'll still yank them off and probably twiddle with the lights. Maybe even tug the whole thing over/along. (Prelit BH I think about 7ft if that makes any difference?)

What do you do to stop small children wrecking the tree? We have other DC, so we kind of need a tree, and with twins, it's not as simple as just keeping an eye, boy twin is like Houdini. There will be times when I'm in the vicinity but not watching like a hawk...and this is when they'll strike . Our house is pretty open plan too (bar the kitchen), and we usually have several trees, and I'm already limiting it to one.

Any suggestions very gratefully received.

OP posts:

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Avarua · 16/10/2021 23:39

I got a wooden playpen and wrapped tinsel round the top bar. It keeps them away. Quite useful.

Original poster

TwinsandTrifle · 16/10/2021 23:42

Ah, we don't want a pen/cage. I can't think of any other way around it though.

Hoping for some genius inspiration...

OP posts:

RustyBear · 16/10/2021 23:43

I used a wooden playpen too

RustyBear · 16/10/2021 23:46

Something like this?

foxgoosefinch · 16/10/2021 23:46

We had a prelit twiggy tree with only soft felt Scandi style ornaments when DD was small. It looked really nice to be honest! Actually she was surprisingly careful with the tree, despite being a rampaging force of nature the rest of the time. She seemed to regard it as something really quite special and not to be touched.

It was much worse when she was older, about 4, and we used to come down and find she’d tied all her soft toys to the tree by their tails with bits of string, so that it looked like the christmas pixies had blood sacrificed a bunch of woodland creatures to the pagan tree gods.

LizzieSiddal · 16/10/2021 23:48

My Dds must have been angels because they did as they were told and didn’t touch the tree.

However we now have a granddaughter who turns one soon and there is no way she won’t touch it, she will want to climb it. so place marking for ideas.

Original poster

TwinsandTrifle · 16/10/2021 23:52

Yeahhhhh. Girl twin might be a little in awe and respectful of the tree like your DD. Boy twin will want to carry it, and hurl all the baubles, or failing that, eat them.

OP posts:

Jaffacake007 · 16/10/2021 23:56

Following with interest - my DD will be 18 months in Dec and she loves to climb on every piece of furniture possible at the moment. Can't figure out what on earth to do with the tree this year because she's into everything!

Original poster

TwinsandTrifle · 16/10/2021 23:58

DS wasn't a problem, as there was only one of him, and quite clingy, so he was never anywhere I wasn't.

DTwins are off like a whirlwind together all day. Which is lovely and far less demanding of my entertaining skills, but they are definitely (as DS calls them) free range children.

OP posts:

Lillibettina · 17/10/2021 00:08

I don't suppose you have a big open plan room with patio doors?

If so, the tree goes in the garden just in front of the patio doors. Visible to all. Scalable by none.

Dellit · 17/10/2021 00:15

We had to use a playpen too. We happened to have quite a big one though so it was less like a cage and more like a little fenced field (well that's what I tried to convince myself of anyway!)

My friend ditched having a 'proper' tree for a few years and got a kid-proof stylised wooden one, and only put unbreakable ornaments on it, and pretty much just left them to it - so it was a play-tree instead of a don't-play tree. It clearly doesn't look the same as a regular tree, but much less stressful.

Atla · 17/10/2021 00:23

My youngest is 5 and she still buggers about and rearranges the baubles. You can't avoid it really, just make sure everything is unbreakable. I left my nice ornaments off my tree for years. DS 2 was a Houdini baby and we gated off the tree for his toddler years.

My aunty (as a toddler) once chomped a glass ornament thinking it was chocolate & lived to tell the tale!

HopelessSinking · 17/10/2021 00:23

We've never had the space for a tree but my friend used to decorate the top half of her tree and just do the bottom half with non-breakable or disposable ornaments like pine cones or paper stars and snow flakes. Worked great with her toddler.

Atla · 17/10/2021 00:23

Obviously to be avoided

fallhappy1 · 17/10/2021 00:42

Could you maybe purchase a smaller tree and place it on higher ground such as a table or side board so it's completely out of reach of your twins? My friend did this with her twin DC when they were toddlers.

Gingerish · 17/10/2021 00:49

We put a bench in front of ours to discourage too much fiddling. The stand we had was also pretty sturdy.

AutumnalLeaves38 · 17/10/2021 02:58

This may or may not work:

[source]
www.mykidstime.com/lifestyle/tips-from-parents-for-how-to-have-a-toddler-proof-christmas-tree/

AutumnalLeaves38 · 17/10/2021 03:11

@foxgoosefinch,

"...and find she’d tied all her soft toys to the tree by their tails with bits of string, so that it looked like the christmas pixies had blood sacrificed a bunch of woodland creatures to the pagan tree gods"

Your 4 yr old evidently decided Yule was more her thing, then...

Caspianberg · 17/10/2021 06:12

I’m going for a large real tree as usual, with 18 month. He’s a nightmare climber and Houdini also.
My plan is:

Live tree in bucket, heavier then
tied tree to off radiator behind it. Can’t be dangerously pulled over then. Did same last year for our cats!
non breakable decorations on it.

We shall see. Worse case it will get moved into garden and viewed through door as mentioned above

flashpaper · 17/10/2021 06:35

I have got a lot of bells on my tree. When my DC were younger, if they ever touched the tree, the bells would ring and I'd be able to catch them before they removed anything!

chocolatethunder · 17/10/2021 06:37

I just let it be. When they went near I said no no. They did pull it over a few times an pull some balls of but.... it's part of Christmas having little ones !!!! X

ThirdElephant · 17/10/2021 06:42

Cage the tree. Either by blocking it off with a room divider or arranging furniture so no one can get to it.

RichTeaRichTea · 17/10/2021 06:50

@fallhappy1

This is what we do. It’s still a real one, just very small! With a fake one it would be very easy

Swearwolf · 17/10/2021 06:50

When mine were that age I bought one of the little 2ft trees in a pot and stood it on a table in the corner of the room, kind of boxed in by the end of the sofa. Still beautiful and Christmassy but up where they couldn't reach. And as a bonus, we were able to plant them in the garden afterwards.

Swearwolf · 17/10/2021 06:53

Oh! And lots of soft or plastic decorations. It was fine!

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