ideas on how to protect the christmas tree from a 1 yr old

[tylablue]

I hope this doesn't seem like a stupid question. I just can't picture how to have a nice large tree in the family living area with a 1 yr old. I don't have enough room to put a gate around it. Do I just get a small one and put it up on a table?

What does everyone else do?

Any input/advice much appreciated as we're hosting Christmas Day this year and I'd like the house to feel festive!

Cheers,
Lisa (mom to Kelsey 12/6/03)

[Momof3Labs]

We had a big tree last Christmas, and just put on baby-friendly ornaments (ones that wouldn't shatter if the tree fell, and non-breakable ones on lower branches). Colin loooooved the tree last year, and loved hunting for his favorite ornament of the day. We did the same thing this year, and he loves the tree again!

We had no problems with the tree falling over last year, and so far so good this year.

[vdrake71]

DH and I were just talking about this. We decided that we would put a small one on a table, but there is another solution. Someone at work told me that when their children were small they bought a prickly Christmas Tree and their child stuck their hand in it and never tried again. Just an idea.

[MichelleL]

I have been worrying about the same thing. I have a 2yr. old & a 9 month old who is crawling, cruising & pulling himself up on everything!!!:o Last year I had a table top tree but this year, like you, we're hosting Christmas for the whole family (8 house guests at once)and I am freaking out about this tree situation!! Between the 2 children, I think once the tree is up I will never get anything done because I will have to be on them both like a hawk! I sure hope someone responds with some good advice for us both.

Okay, I just got a little bit of helpful info from the Parent's Place message boards. Here's the link... http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/...g=5106.1&ctx=0

This idea was the best I read, now I just have to figure out what it is... "Use thin guy-wires to secure a large tree to walls or ceiling. These wires are almost invisible."


Obviously I don't think your question is stupid & I bet there's a lot of other people out there that will agree with us! :)

Good Luck!

[sdjeppa]

I have a 7 foot tree, and I ended up putting it on an end table - I have tall ceilings, so it looks like we just have a really tall tree :) This way, DS (14 mo) can walk around it, and reach the lower branches, but not get into it too much. so far its working.

[iujen94]

This is definitely not a stupid question - we had the same dilemma! We ended up going with a "playyard gate" - the kind that is basically like 6 gates end to end that you can turn into a circle or pretty much any other shape. We bought the Superyard XT at Target.com for $60 (there is also a 10% off coupon code right now -- TCAMAZNBBCPN, plus Target.com does Upromise). I think they may also carry them at BRU. Because you can make it into any shape, it doesn't take up as much room as you might think:



http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/18568.jpg


http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/18569.jpg

In this picture I tried to show how close the gate is to the tree, but I'm not sure it's very helpful:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/18570.jpg



The instruction book actually tells you to set the gate up this way because it makes it more stable -- the nice thing is it takes up lots less room. Added benefit with the gate is that you can put your wrapped presents down inside the gate so DC can't get to those either!

I will say that DS was able to reach over the gate, so we did have to clear a swath of ornaments from the top of the gate to about 6 inches up, but I don't think you can really tell. Hope that helps!