Toddler Proof Christmas Tree Make Over

So it's that time of year again.  Most of us dig into our storage, pull out the totes upon totes of delicate Christmas heirlooms and treasures and proudly display them around our home for the holiday season.  We put up tinsel or sparkly garland, and string our teetering tree with lights and "shatterproof" ornaments.  Family photo's and books are traded in for a nutcracker and a Christmas village.  Except for those of us with toddlers... especially 1 year old toddlers who are still learning.

That elite group of us who still consider braving the over decorated stores with our tots in tow cringe.  Cringe at the things to break.  Look out for the tinsel, lights, and garland decorated windows and trees which attract tiny hands like a month to the flame...inevitably bringing it to its demise.  And the thought of bringing such items into our home?  Are you kidding?  I cherish the fact I can now turn my back on my child while she plays from her toy bin and I manage to unload and load the dishwasher without her "help."  If I brought a tree in and trimmed it with such bait, I'd never be able to leave my daughters side for fear she'd pull the entire thing crashing down on herself in an attempt to further explore the newness and attractiveness of it all.



So, this year I set out in search of a solution.  One that would allow the family to participate fully in the excitement of Christmas, that wouldn't make me feel like my daughter was missing out on the fun of the holiday's the first year she really gets to experience it.  And one that wouldn't make my entire house a hazard again.

I first considered hanging my tree from the ceiling.  I've seen them here and there, that has to work, right?  Sure...until I continually smack my head into it.

I saw that people strung their ornaments on fishing line and hung that to the ceiling in the corner, with a hoop of sorts in the center so that it came down in a tree shape.  Not a bad idea, but now there are balls floating in thin air that I need to look out for since fishing line is invisible to an unsuspecting eye, which is what I am right now.  I need to get from where I'm at to where I want to be in my house without any additional tripping hazards or nooses.  I have enough of those strewn about my floor as my daughter's goldfish like attention span keeps her digging out toy after toy, and discarding it in any walking area in my home.

And then I saw a card on Pinterest.  A perfect, adorable, cute little card.  A card that had some green ribbon tacked in a triangle/Christmas tree shape and a little star on top.  "What a cute home made Christmas card idea," I thought.  Followed by "Oh goodness, I am not making 40 something of those to send out."

But then, I got an idea.  An awful idea.  The Grinch got a wonderful, awful idea...  Sorry, wrong story.

Anyway, an idea.

To take this little card strategy and blow it up huge, on my wall.  Well, lucky me Michael's was having a sale and so I bought myself some green ribbon.  I got home, and then stared at my wall.  And hated the idea.  At least with ribbon.

But...some green garland?  Well, now we're talking.  We had some fake evergreen garland that we used outside on our porch the previous year in a house we were renting.  However, it wasn't quite enough.  So, we went to our local Big Lots and got two 80 foot strings of fake ever green garland for 8 bucks a piece.  Not too shabby, right?  And, here's what came out of it!

So, things you'll need? 

A box of hook screws

Something to measure with

A drill makes life easier but isn't completely necessary

I would say 60-120 ft of garland (depending on the thickness and size you want your tree to be.  Ours is 4 ft wide at the bottom by 5 ish feet tall and we would have needed 60 feet to go top to bottom, because we used thin garland from big lots we doubled up, so 120 feet)

 And your usually Christmas decorations

Disclaimer, these first few photo's were with our thicker outdoor stuff...before we realized we didn't have enough and couldn't find some matching stuff to finish it.

First, find where you want your tree to start, and end.  I would have preferred mine to start a little lower, and end at about the top of the couch but...you live and learn.  You will want to start it lower if you're going to want to hang a star or angel or something on the top.

So, find your top and bottom.  Now, find the center.  For us, we used the arm of the couch as our center.  My husband measured 2 feet to the left of the arm, and 2 feet of the right.  Then, in pencil lightly drew a triangle.  Put a hook screw at the very top, and then at 4 inch intervals going down either side of the "tree" until you reach your bottom.

For our tree we used 2 pieces of garland, strung 1, and then strung the other.  So, you'll want to make a loop (without tying it).  The best way I can think to explain how to do this is by doing the following.  We're going to start going to the right.  Take the end of your garland and hold it near your first left side hook, bring the garland up and over the top hook, and down to the right hook, string it to the left and around that hook, down to the 2nd hook on the right, over to the 2nd hook on the left and continue on until the end.

There, this is with our cheaper garland.  So, once you've strung your 1st strand all the way down, take and tuck that little end piece around where your tree starts to the right, so it looks like above.

Next, you're going to add in some lights.  We did 1 strand and followed it down in the same pattern, and decided that 1 strand wasn't enough, so we did 2.  However, because the bottom is wider than the top there feel to be more lights, and thus the top seems not as bright as the bottom.  So, when we did the 2nd set we strung them the other way (So, starting going left and then right.)  We strung loosely up top so there would be more lights, and as we got about 2/3 or so of the way down, we skipped every other row so there weren't as much lights on bottom, and it all evened out.  Does that make sense?  Oh I hope so.

Anyway, so, get your lights done.  And then, put on your "2nd coat" of garland.  Like your 2nd set of lights, string them starting at the left hook and then over to your right.  When you get to the end string it back over to your left so your "tail's" end at the same place. You could cut your tails if you want, however we left ours because I think we'll do this again, and we'll probably do it bigger!

See the progress?  Cute little triangle on top, tails on your left, pretty twinkly lights?  Yep, we're on track!

Now, hang your ornaments.  Honestly, stick with your light weight stuff.  I'm not sure heavy ornaments will do well as you're hanging it on the garland and I would hate for it to make your tree sag in places.

Tree skirt anyone?  So, a couple different ways you can go with this.  If you have no tree skirt, and want your ends hidden, I suggest a couple options.  Put your tree near your couch, and stop it at the top of your couch so you just tuck the ends behind.  No issues.  Do it behind a table and take the same approach, and then you can even put your gifts on the table so they appear to be "under a tree."

However, if you don't think ahead, like I do.  Or, you have a tree skirt, then you have another option!!!  (And I promise just as soon as I get the chance to fill in the how to of that option, I will!  But, I bet you people are crafty enough to figure something out if you're really desperate for it!)