How to Toddler-Proof a Christmas Tree

Christmas is such an exciting time of year. It’s extra exciting with toddlers (especially twin toddlers) who want to break everything so child-proofing the tree is a definite necessity.

We usually have our Christmas tree up long before anyone else in our neighborhood but this year I was nervous. We’ve managed to toddler-proof the Christmas tree with one toddler before but toddler twins makes things extra challenging. I wasn’t just worried about them breaking Christmas ornaments, I was seriously worried they would knock the whole Christmas tree down and someone would get hurt.

Fortunately this isn’t our first rodeo so we had a few ideas to toddler-proof the tree and keep everyone safe.

While we were busy thinking of ways to toddler-proof our Christmas tree, my twin toddlers apparently decided to get a jump on things. These are just the ornaments they broke while we were decorating the tree. Without some serious toddler-proofing I was sure I wouldn’t have any ornaments left after the holidays.

How to Toddler-Proof a Christmas Tree

Create a Barrier Around the Christmas Tree

First, I knew I was going to have to come up with a way to keep my toddlers from reaching the tree itself. With slightly older kids, I used to put a train around the tree to distract them before they got to the tree itself. That wasn’t going to cut it with twin toddlers.

I have heard awesome things about the SuperYard from North States (Check out details about the SuperYard here). From what I had heard about it, it sounded like it would be a great solution, not only to keep my twins contained, but to keep the Christmas tree safe during the holiday season. The nice people at North States sent me a SuperYard to try out with my twins and it has honestly saved our Christmas.

We set up the SuperYard around our Christmas tree and it fit perfectly. My twins can get close enough to check out the tree but can’t reach most of the ornaments and they definitely can’t tip the Christmas tree over.

Put Breakable Ornaments Up High

This is a no-brainer with kids, but toddler’s especially. If you have any extra breakable ornaments or ones that have a lot of sentimental value you may want to just leave those ones stored away until next year.

Our Christmas tree looks a bit bare on the bottom half but I can at least relax knowing that the ornaments within the reach of my toddler’s are not ones that are likely to break (or be a bit deal if they do). Be sure that the breakable ornaments are securely attached to the tree because if they fall within reach of your toddler they probably won’t live to see another Christmas.

Use Shatterproof Ornaments

I love having a uniform look to my Christmas tree but that’s tricky if all your ornaments are on the top half of the tree. You can even out the look a bit by using shatterproof ornaments on the whole tree. You can find some great choices in shatterproof ornaments now (Amazon has some great choices). I love these multi-colored balls as a way to tie the tree together.

You could make this fun by making some cheap, homemade ornaments to fill your tree with while you are toddlers in the house. Spray paint some pinecones gold, make homemade snowflakes, or make ornaments out of felt. You can still get a uniform look on your tree without putting your nicer ornaments at risk.

Avoid Sharp Metal Hooks for Ornaments

We have always used those cheap metal hooks to hang our ornaments. Most of you probably do the same. They aren’t great with toddler’s though, are they? I’ve been finding mine embedded in my carpet (probably because my toddlers sneak off with them) and they hurt little feet (and big feet) when you step on them. You can buy plastic ornament hangers but my first choice is definitely these ribbon ornament hangers because you can use them to fit any size ornament and they aren’t going to break.

I also love the idea of these decorative metal hooks because even though they are still metal but they don’t bend and get pokey like the regular metal hooks (and they look kind of awesome). What I really like about these, though, is they are super secure so I don’t have to worry about my nicer ornaments falling off the tree and within reach of toddlers who just can’t wait to smash them to bits.

Be Aware of Lead

Lead is a huge concern in Christmas decorations. It can be found everywhere from your Christmas ornaments, Christmas lights, and even the Christmas tree itself if you are using an artificial tree. I love the look and smell of a real Christmas tree but I’ll admit that we’ve opted for an artificial tree for years simply because I don’t have the time to keep a real tree watered and I worry about that making it a fire hazard, which is especially scary with young kids in the house.

Alicia from The Soft Landing has some great tips for avoiding lead and other toxins in your holiday decorations. You can buy a home lead testing kit if you are worried about lead. I actually have one of these sitting on my desk waiting to be used that I got from ShiftCon earlier this year and I’m probably going to test out some of my holiday decorations this year.

 

Since your holiday decorations probably have some level of lead in them, it’s smart to keep them out of reach of toddlers, especially since their hands will likely go right in their mouth after touching anything. Keeping a barrier up around your tree like we mentioned above is a great start.  If you are worried about lead exposure while decorating (especially if you are pregnant) you can wear cotton gloves to protect your hands.

Have Decorations out Toddlers can Touch

Distraction is the name of the game when you want to keep your toddler away from something. If you have decorations you don’t want them to touch, set up some things they can touch. I put holiday books and stuffed animals around my tree on the outside of the SuperYard that my toddlers can play with.

We have several toddler-friendly nativity sets that my kids have all loved. Our favorite is the Little People nativity set we’ve had since my oldest was a baby (he’s 12 now). For more ideas on toddler-friendly nativity sets to put around your Christmas tree, check out this list of our favorite nativity sets for kids. 

What tips do you have for toddler-proofing your Christmas tree? Share them with us in the comments below.

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