1. Make it interactive. Now that we don’t currently have any kids in the toddler phase I am able to redirect our kids and enjoy putting decorations on the bottom half of our tree again. We purchased a small artificial tree for the kids so they have a tree they can hang their colourful character ornaments on and rearrange as many times as they’d like while the big tree stays in tact and looking its best throughout the holidays. I also added twine and clothes pins to our garland on our stairs to pin cards we receive from family and friends. The cards that I don’t mind the kids taking down I hang lower on the string.
2. Go soft. This one is a no brainer. Find Christmas decor that is plush and soft to incorporate into your holiday theme. Its also great to hand these pieces over to the kids and let them decide where they’d like them to go.
3. Put it behind glass. Mike HATES sparkles. It is actually a phobia of his. I have learned over the years that instead of fighting him on it, to try to keep potential sparkle bombs from exploding in our house. This being said, we have adorable and very sparkly snowmen that I keep safely enclosed behind a glass cupboard door. This way we can still enjoy them but the sparkles stay put. You can also take those beautiful glass ornaments that you used to be able to put on your tree pre-kid era and pile them in an apothecary jar placed on your counter or table.
4. Swap it out. When creating this birch tree bucket piece I used battery powered lights and skipped the plug ins. I also used a white felt piece of fabric to act as snow, much tidier than if you were constantly cleaning up dirt from a poinsettia.
5. Find Precious looking plastic. Finally the retail stores seem to be getting the hint. I am seeing more and more beautiful looking plastic ornaments that you would think are glass. These are great substitutes for those beautiful vintage glass ornaments you had to pack away when junior started motoring.