First Christmas with puppies

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Hi all,
Looking for tips to manage Christmas with our puppies. 11 & 6 months old. (Spaniels)

They are fairly well behaved and don’t chew to much but the excitement of a tree and presents worry me.

Also family coming over who are slightly worried about dogs. So this will be interesting…..

Any tips please?

Thanks

Don't have mince pies or fruit cake or Christmas pudding at all. Enough to occupy your mind without risk of raisin ingestion (ditto grapes). Bring them back in future years when everything is a bit calmer.

Sharply limit chocolate, and keep it out of reach in terrorist proof containers. Make sure guests really understand this. Generally keep food and drink well away.

No smashable baubles on lower branches. Have a back up plan for corralling tree and dogs separately, in case they think your present to them is an indoors urinal.

Have they learned to settle in a basket or crate? Work on that in the remaining weeks. Or out a stairgate across the entrance to a room where they can be left together for a while, to be a calm place for them (and a break for you!)

Try to walk them at much the same times as always, and tire them out with games (visiting older DC could be remarkably useful for that)

A baby gate to keep them confined to a room away from food, lots of toys to keep them occupied. This allows guests to approach the pups at their own pace.
Once everyone is comfortable and you're confident the pups can't get anything they shouldn't you can let them be free.

You can also put a play pen around a tree to keep it and presents safe.

Thanks for the tips @wetotter and @Chely.
Grape/ rasin issue fine. Will talk to everyone about chocolate although they are generally aware of the danger.
Need to work on settle for crate and basket because they don’t stay for long. We have a conservatory with doors but not keen on them being there for hours. I must plan long walks in with the day preparations!

Have same worries. My spaniel is 9 months old and also generally good but who knows what she'll think of a tree indoors?! Also wondering how I'll be able to walk her inbetween present opening in the morning with kids, getting turkey in the oven and food prep done before family arrive! It's going to be a busy day for sure!

Include them in the present opening by having plenty of presents for the puppies to open, they seem to know what's theirs, even dog toys!

We had 2 small dpuppies at Xmas. No trouble at all.
Plenty of people to keep an eye!
And cuddle them!!

@Aria20, I normally have a rough timing of food prep. I guess I will extend that to the whole day instead. Also like to get an early morning walk in.

Take care many Christmas plants are toxic, also ribbons can hazardous.

Vet practices buy in huge amounts of the emetic ready for Christmas.

Ours didn't bat an eyelid at the tree. Was expecting all kinds of chaos!

Previous experience with a very greedy lab taught me never to leave food gifts wrapped under the tree. Dispute all the packaging/wrapping he could sniff them out 100 miles away!

Ours was fine at Christmas, biggest issue was her being fed all sorts at the table. She did get a couple of new toys which helped keep her occupied and lots of walks from people keen to get out.

Santa included serous sealing Tupperware in stockings the year we had our dog - with strict instructions to keep the choc in it !