Ideas for Keeping a Christmas Tree Out of Reach of a 15 Month Old

Since I provide care for children in my home, I have a five foot tall tree that I put in the middle of a round table. I put a colorful tree skirt around the tree stand and it covers the table-top. So, the tree is about two feet off the floor. It's so handy to have the table top for smaller gifts and larger ones can sit under the table. Works very well. The toddlers can stand around the edge of the table and look up at the tree and can almost touch the lower branches of the tree.

I used to have a huge 7 foot tree and used a pen around it, which was nice...but the kids had a tendency to lean on the pen at times and would drop toys over inside it. It still worked fine for a number of years.

http://www.missbrenda.com

When my kids were that young we bought a fiber optic tree. That way if they touched the lights it would not hurt them.
As a added precaution we were very careful at what we put on our tree so that no ornaments would be hurtful if they fell off or got grabbed... We made a stuffed animal tree for the younger years. We just took all the kids stuffed animals and stuck them all over the tree. The kids enjoyed puting thier toys on the lower branches. When all said and done the tree looked cute and was safe to have around young kids.

Ok, I put one tree in the dining room, away from her 'free zone'. The other, I put in the kitchen with a really cool fence around it. It is actually a dog pen type of fence/gate. It has 5 or 7 panels connected together, and can be arranged anyway you want. It is 4 feet-ish tall, and has latches on both ends, so you can attach it to whatever is available. It is a gold tone, so it isn't too hard on the eye. I got mine at PetSmart or Petco for about $80, but I found some cheaper online. We use this A LOT for baby and dog issues. You can Google for yourself, but here is a link to point you in the right direction.

http://www.petaroo.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=159

Oh yes, it folds flat so it is so easy to store when not needed! NICE!!!

Good luck, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Tip. No presents under the tree until christmas night after the kids go to bed. If you really need something there. Wrap a few empty boxed and add a kid friendly train. Christmas is not about presents. If you start that focus you will regret it in the future.

One more. Get a small 3 foot fake tree for them to decorate. Put it in the play area. If they want to play with a tree move them to their tree. Hold firm and they will get it.

Merry Christmas

when my kids were young we did the following:
-anchored the tree to a wall
-no glass ornaments down low
-AND NO NO NO wire ornament hangers anywhere on the tree. I threw all of ours out, went to Michals and bought a few rolls of thin green ribbon to use to hang ornaments. I still use it since it actually looks nicer than the hooks.

We have went with a smaller tree placed on an end table for the last few years!

Some people put their tree in a playpen or a pack and play, but I like someone else's idea of putting a child fence/gate around it. Its' a little more attractive!

Ya I feel your pain too. I have a 3 yr old and 18 mo old, so this Christmas will be fun.

Last year my daughter was crawling and my son was 2 and walking. We have a rabbit and have a foldable gate that is octogon shape when you fold it out.

So we put the tree in the middle and the kids could see form the outside. They did try to get some of the ornaments, we put non breakable ornaments down low a few Stuffed ones around the outside of gate just for them to play with.

I was afraid of my daughter eating the lights or my son pulling the tree.

My other idea was to get a hook shaped in a circle you use to hang a flower pot or chimes outside and place it in the wall towards the botom so it could be hidden, and then take like a bunge cord or rope from the hook and around the tree and back to the hook to secure tree from falling.

J., I feel your pain times 2!! My husband and I were just discussing and laughing last night that our tree would be in shambles and we'd have to put all the presents out on Christmas Eve lest my 17 month old twin boys tear EVERYTHING apart! Can't wait to see all your good advice - LOL

First of all what is SAHM? haha and we have an 9 yr old autistic child who like to "flick" the string on the lights, so unfortunately, we either put up at tree that looks really bad or no tree at all just a pile of gifts...But it would be hard for the 3 year old to understand why there is no christmas tree. maybe you could get a prelit tree. they are more expensive and just get a small one, the smallest you can find. hey its still a tree and the bigger they get, the bigger the tree you can get. good luck.

Years ago I use a wood gate that went all the way around the tree. It was for infants to play in. I don't know if they still sell them but it worked great.

My daughter (who is now 2) was about 14 months too last Christmas, and we did put up a Christmas tree. We just made sure not to put any of the breakable ornaments at the bottom (just in case she did go for it), and we made sure to make it clear to her (by telling her no very firmly and swatting her hand if necessary) that she was not allowed to EVER touch the Christmas tree. We didn't let her see us touch it either. She quickly learned that she wasn't supposed to touch it, and she got used to it being there. I know some people may disagree with swatting her hand, but there are some things in this world that we have to protect our children from, and sometimes it takes a little swat to avoid a child getting a much more serious injury, such as from a Christmas tree falling on them or a hot stove, etc. Hope that helps.

This sounds nuts, but a "high end" trend these past couple of years has been to hang your Christmas tree upside down from the ceiling. See here:

http://interiordec.about.com/od/cmasartificial/a/upsidedo...

http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2005-11-07-christm...

We've had an artificial tree with just lights (no ornaments) when our first was about 17 months. We'll do it again this year since the second is 19 months. It was actually quite pretty and twinkly and tons less trouble than unpacking all the ornaments!
This way we have all able to enjoy the tree rather than spending the whole month telling them NO or being worried about them touching it.

Hello, J., darlin'! :-) Add me to the end-table list; I went to Home Depot last year when Janey was 13 mos and they cut down a larger tree for me, to about 3.5 feet tall. We put it on our end table in the corner farthest away from everything. By the time we got the base under it and all that, it was far enough off the ground and back into the corner far enough that it was never a problem.

We do, however, have one of those massive plastic bases that, as long as the tree's securely screwed in, no one's going to be able to pull the tree off balance. I just wrap a Christmasy blanket around the base so you can't see it. This year I will be attempting the same setup. We'll see how it goes. :-)