Even though you have no regrets about having kids, you might miss some of the things you used to do before they came into your life. One of the biggest things that might get tossed to the side is holiday decorating.
Decorating for the holidays is something that many people look forward to all year long, but having a small child might get in the way of this. Fortunately for you, below is a list of ways to decorate for the holidays safely.
Get a Babysitter the Day You Decorate
Busting out the holiday decorations can be a challenge for you, let alone a small child just wandering around. You have to go in the attic, get down all the boxes, the trees, etc, in order to put the decorations out. We can all relate to this – it is complete chaos.
Getting a babysitter while decorating the house is almost essential if you want to prepare for Christmas with a small child. It will alleviate so much stress from your plate. Having your child outside the house so you can focus on strictly one task and get it done without having to worry about where they are at all times is so beneficial.
Child Fences & Gates
Baby fences are fantastic all year round, but especially during the holidays. If you have any train tracks or something that goes around the tree, a baby gate is necessary. There are so many little pieces and ornaments that your child can get a hold of, swallow, and possibly hurt themselves with.
Plus, some of the gates that you can find on amazon or in other retail stores are Christmas themed or green and red. So if you want to dive into the Christmas spirit and keep your kids safe, these gates are perfect for you.
Keep Breakables Packed Away
You may want to consider a child-friendly tree. Before kids, we decorated our tree with fragile glass ornaments. However, since having kids, we swapped those out with ornaments that are wood, metal, fabric, or plastic. This way, there are no concerns about the kids getting hurt. Swap out things like tabletop decorations with child-friendly ones – like small artificial trees. Remember, your little ones will outgrow this phase and will be grown up before you know it! So make a few swaps and you won’t have to worry.
Make Sure Everything is Secure
Making sure everything is screwed on tight and secure is a given, but it is often overlooked. One thing that is commonly overseen during all the chaos surrounding Christmas decorating is the mantel. You’re probably thinking, “ I decorate my mantle,” but things will often fall off the mantle and crash to the ground.
You want to make sure that the things you place on the mantle either have no chance of falling, no matter how hard you hit the wall behind it. Or you want to find a way to secure the objects on your mantle down in some way. A great way to do this is healthy and thick double-sided clear tape. This way, you don’t have to damage your mantle with nails or screws, and people still won’t be able to notice it is there.
Get in the Christmas Spirit
Despite all the preparing and struggling through the rough parts of the month, remember to take time to enjoy the holiday season. Your don’t want your kids and family being stressed out.
One way to relax is to find the perfect couch to watch holiday movies with the whole family. After all, it is the holiday season, so be sure to take some time to relax and be with your family and enjoy the holidays. People get so mixed up in the chaos and commotion that they forget what the holidays are all about.
Overall, a lot can go wrong with little kids during the holidays. The last thing you would ever want is for your child to get hurt during the most beautiful time of the year. Christmas should be the best part of the year for your kids, and your kids should be able to enjoy the entire holiday season injury free.
If your kid gets hurt during the holidays, not only does it create more chaos in a time of nothing but chaos, but it also makes Christmas miserable for your whole family. Just play it safe and put these safety measures in place. This way, your whole family can have a merry time during the holidays.
Decorating with kids in mind is definitely a challenge sometimes.
Decorating with little ones around is a whole new ballgame! Thankful for high surfaces (like the mantel) to display breakables, and for fun kid-friendly things my daughter can enjoy helping us decorate with (she’s 2 and so into it!)
These are good tips. I didn’t do any decorating with them this year because I just didn’t plan well. But will keep it in mind for next year!
so glad my kids are older and I can do more now than when they were little
Great tips! I thought I did so well this year when decorating the tree and putting everything breakable where my 2 year old couldn’t reach it. Little did I know that this egg-shaped ornament that I have had since childhood was a REAL EGG! She put her finger straight through it lol! I don’t know how it survived all the boxes I haphazardly threw it in!
These are great reminders. I am adding a few more decorations today so this is really helpful. I agree with you that it is best to play it safe and put these safety measures in place.