The GreatGiftedGlorious Grahams: O Christmas Tree

The words "timely manner" have no place in our house. I'm actually pretty sure they don't belong in any house with a toddler. With that said, it took us 3 days to put up our Christmas tree. The first day we drug the stupid thing out of the attic and set it up. The next day I sorted through all of our ornaments and decorations to select the ones that were "baby proof," meaning they didn't have small pieces, pokey sharp edges and were not breakable or glittery. On the third day I fluffed out the branches and hung the ornaments.

Samuel the artist seems to view our tree as a work in progress since he constantly takes ornaments off the tree, carries them around the house and then leaves them strewn about for me to pick up and re-hang. Since I can never figure out where the ornament was originally I just pick a new place. The tree we had on day 3 looks much different than today. After a few days of this routine I finally came up with a solution. I fold the tip of the branch over essentially locking the ornament tie in place. Voila! No more musical ornaments. We did lose a few decorations during the learning process when Samuel yanked so hard that the tie broke. Thank goodness for super glue!

I'm a big fan of themed trees and will devote quite a bit of time to choosing a theme and then selecting just the right ornaments that fit within said theme. Since 90% of our ornaments are hazardous to my child's health I sadly had to retire our previous tree themes "Peppermint Wonderland" and "Clan Graham (Scottish)." I decided to fully embrace our need for a child-safe tree and went with the new theme "Toys & Treats." Therefore, all of our ornaments are either tasty confections or classic toys. I also have some up that were acquired during my childhood and are nostalgic favorites. My mom has been a big help too since she likes to send us a few Hallmark ornaments every year. They have a great selection of vintage toy ornaments. Currently hanging from the branches are Cookie Monster, Rudolph, a Pez dispenser, Mr. Potato Head, Superman, an Etch-a-Sketch, a Little People airplane and Raggedy Ann & Andy, along with several plastic candy canes and other sweets.

The end result is whimsical and fun. We've been enjoying the free electricity on base and keep the tree lit up most of the day. Samuel likes to stand in front and sign light over and over. I think our new tree theme will be enjoyed for many years while we have young children in the house. Now if we can just keep Samuel from slamming his Radio Flyer car into it as he rounds the corner during his laps.... Although, at least all of the ornaments are shatterproof!

The Evolution of Our Tree in Pictures

Power Cord Tug-of-War