A baby-proof Christmas

Despite my best intentions to post about some of the things we have been doing to celebrate the Christmas holiday, life this month has blitzed by and somehow I never got to it.  So I thought that before we take the Christmas tree down, which is slated for later today, I should tell you about it.  Mostly, I just wanted to remember how much fun Wyatt has had playing with the lowest branches and how we came up with a fairly kid-friendly solution to decorations this year.

As is our tradition, we ventured out with friends Ryan, Darcy, and Arlo to get the tree the day after Thanksgiving. We took home a noble fir that smells great, even now.  In an effort to keep the tree from being a child hazard and to eliminate one more "no zone" for Wyatt, we opted for simple decorations -- white lights and a felted wool garland.

Here's what I did: I recycled leftover half-inch-thick wool carpet padding for the garland.  My friend Carrie and her daughter, Mia, and I spent a good part of the day cutting the material into squares and little bird shapes and stringing them onto wool yarn.  Wy and Will crawled around amid the piles of felted wool, enjoying the tastes and textures.  We made garlands for both families.  Now that the garland is on the tree, I see Wy touching it periodically.  It's a bit rustic looking, but I don't mind.  It's also soft, non toxic, and easy to repair if it comes apart.

As for the lights,  I used cool-to-the-touch LED white lights this year (in a warm white color) so that when Wyatt touched them they wouldn't be hot.  Inevitably, he put them in his mouth a few times but we taught him not to fairly quickly.  Now he swings the branches, lights, and garland every time ambles by.

Will and Wy amid the garland making.

Will and his mom, Carrie

Wyatt tangling himself up in the felt

Wyatt, Decemeber 8, 2011, with our tree.