The Christmas Tree Dilemma
11/24/2007
Over the years we have made several changes in our home in an effort to keep our guys safe as they grow and explore. Lots of little things like getting rid of the coffee table to avoid losing an eye from slamming into the corner or wrapping rubber bands around kitchen cabinet knobs to make them more difficult to get into (Luke's brilliant idea - and much more effective than all the child proofing gadgets on the market!). Really there is only so much that can be done. And most of the damage over the last few years has not been to the children, it has been to our belongings. We have lost many dishes thanks to both Luke and Wil. (James and I have certainly had our share of mishaps, too) My favorite lamp has been broken and repaired twice. My grandmother's pie crust table, which we had refinished last year has lost all of it's "crust" thanks to Wil and Timothy - they get a big kick out of tipping that thing over! Luke sprayed bleach on a brand new shower curtain and rug. Our books. Well they have seen better days. We are constantly putting the rugs back in place, moving the chairs back to the table (this is the newest fascination - using the kitchen chairs as push toys, works great on the hardwood floors), putting the books back in place, closing the shutters, putting the cd's back in the armoire drawers, and so many other things.
Which brings me to my point. The Christmas Tree. How in the world can we possibly have a Christmas tree and all that goes with it. I don't think it would last half an hour. Thing One and Thing Two here would have every ornament within reach pulled off and the tree tipped over.
The gifts beneath would be ripped open and the paper ingested. Now on a positive note it would keep them occupied. hmmm. So what to do? We are trying to figure that out. I do love having the smell of a fresh tree in the house. Maybe we will get a small Charlie Brown tree to put on top of our foyer buffet. . . it is at least out of reach of our little troublemakers. Any ideas?
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7 comments:
I usually read in google reader so I was happy to see your Reece's Rainbow button when I clicked to comment :) THANKS!!
Oh yeah, my point? A friend of mine put her whole Christmas tree in a big square playpen. YEP, the entire thing! One of those "old fashioned" kind that don't fit through the doorways that you can find at a second hand store cheap :) Might keep the boys out for a LITTLE while anyway!
Meredith
haha, now that is something I had not thought of! appreciate the idea.:) And no "thanks" necessary on the rr button. i have been following your story and pray aleksa makes it home to you soon.
He he! I like the playpen idea! We enjoyed seeing you guys today. Luke is such a sweetheart even when he's showing off :) We loved having some playtime with Will; His smile and laughter are so contagious. We only saw a little of Timothy but he's a cutie. Of course we also loved catching up with you and James. If we move to Wilmington we will be much closer and can hopefully even find a time to come visit Crossroads.
Hi Waldens!
When my kiddos were little, we used a small artificial tree on top of the corner table in our living room. It was strung with one set of tiny white lights and decorated by the kids with a theme in mind (stars, animals). The tree became their display area and they were thrilled! The presents were placed under the tree in time for opening on Christmas morning. Until then - the closet! I also know of a family that hung their small fake tree from the ceiling in a corner and decorated it there. It was out of the way of everyone, including climbing pets!
Hope this helps! Happy decorating!
Tina
mom of 5 (first 3 in 3 years)
Hey Stacy,
How about a tree scented candle?
Loved the picture of the boys.
Leah
Thanks Tina, wow - hanging the tree from the ceiling. Now that takes more enginuity than anyone in this household has! The tabletop we can do, it will be our likely choice. And Leah don't you know I have a pine scented candle burning? Though Luke asks me every ten minutes if he can blow it out.
Kristen, great to see you guys too. Hope your interview went well and that it will bring you to Wilmington!
We are going through the same problem with Grant. We are just going to put the soft ornaments on the bottom, that we don't mind him grabbing. We have a fake tree now anyway. Good luck!
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