Sanity Saving Tips: Christmas Tree With A Toddler

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How to have a Christmas tree with a toddler and not want to scream 24/7 for an entire month

I knew Christmas this year would be interesting with Collins being a year and a half old with curious hands.

What I didn’t know is that this girl would be absolute hell on wheels.

Fun, but holy moly

So I knew when yuletide season rolled around, I would need to get creative with our tree situation and here’s what I’ve learned after having 3 toddlers around Christmas.

Tips for Christmas Trees with Toddlers

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Elevate the tree if possible

Doubling as a tree skirt, I was able to snag this large black outdoor planter from West Elm on clearance and it’s perfect.

When you’re working around a toddler and still want to try to keep your tree in tact, if possible getting it off the floor will help with tiny hands.

Rethink your tree skirt

Most years, we opt for a Christmas tree collar instead of a skirt.

While I loooove the look of a fluffy, cozy Christmas tree skirt, it doesn’t make sense when you have kids who will be wanting to use it as a blanket or have something else for them to grab on to.

This year, our fabulous black planter is doubling as a way to get the tree off the ground and its tree skirt!

Minimize ornaments on the bottom

It’s a bit hard to tell here, but you can see that the ornaments on the bottom are few and far between.

But don’t be fooled.

I like to call this series a progression of toddlers doing whatever the heck they wanna do anyway.

Then they’ll be cute and lay with you and admire their handywork.

Shatterproof ornaments

This should go without saying, but it is imperative that under no circumstances should you have glass ornaments on your Christmas tree with a toddler present.

I’m sure Granny Mildred will understand if you have to leave those ornaments off a year or 2 until you can get things under control and train the tot a bit better.

I say this because even if you put them closer to the top, there is a chance they could pull the tree over or at least knock it around.

Toddlers are W I L D, y’all.

It used to be that shatterproof ornaments were boring, but over the years, these ornaments have come a long way and there are some REALLY cute shatterproof ornaments available now.

This is awesome news for those of us with wandering handed toddlers still trying to have some semblance of a pretty Christmas tree.

Snacks and toys and toys and snacks

There will always be crumbs around your tree.

Let’s face it – if you’ve seen our annual scary house tour there are typically crumbs everywhere anyway, but especially around the tree.

Because we have a boy who loves garbage trucks in this house, he also likes to park them at the base of the tree every night.

Be prepared to say no (A LOT)

You’re gonna just have to deal with this one.

You will be saying no a LOT. And only a 12% chance they’ll listen.

Hence the 2 ornaments on the ground I said not to touch that have….been touched.