Nursery decoration

Christmas and Nursery Decoration

Christmas is a very special time and its great to make your home look Christmassy; but how do you do it safely? If you have pre-school kids you will understand how even the simplest of things can be very dangerous to a baby or toddler.

I love preparing the house for Christmas, but I will never forget the first Christmas with a child – I looked at everything I possessed by way of Christmas decorations and they were all lethal to my baby. I now have a very different attitude to Christmas and my home looks better than ever.

The first thing I did was to remove all the baubles off the Christmas tree. There are three basic problems with these. Firstly, the small ones are a choking hazard. Secondly, if they break thay are really sharp. And finally, the loop is usually held in place with a metal collar – these are quite easy to pull off to reveal the sharp ends of the loop, the sharp edge of the bauble and the sharp edge of the collar! Basically, Christmas baubles and babies don’t mix well.

I guess you are probably wondering how on earth I actually decorated a Christmas tree? Simple, and really good fun at the same time.

Paper Stars
I invested in these really cool Froebel stars. They are three dimensional stars and you can buy them online. The great thing is that they are paper – and totally harmless; even if they are chewed.  This is the link to where I get these from.  I used to just email her – but she has just set up an online shop – she still says just to message her with the number and size of what you think you may want and she will give you a quote – works out cheaper than buying what is in her store!!! (I’m giving away all my secrets …..)

Paper Snowflakes
I loved making snowflakes as a child, and I rediscovered this when I had a my first child. They can be absolutely amazing, they can be as complex or as simple as you like, so use your imagination and you are bound to end up with something rather special.

Oranges
I made two decorations from oranges. Initially I sliced some up and put them in a low oven to dry them out and then I made a small hole with a knife and threaded pretty ribbons through them, made a bow and a loop and hung them on the Christmas tree. The second decoration I made was to take whole oranges, and tie ribbon around them. I used whole cloves to hold the ribbon in place and simply hung them on the tree (make sure that you get small oranges or they get rather heavy).

So that’s your Christmas tree decorations, but how do you make the nursery look special? Answer: use all the same things.

First, I get lots of Froebel stars and with a piece of sewing cotton I string them together. Underneath each star you will need to make a little knot to stop the stars from all slipping to the end of the cotton. Then I stick them (with scotch tape) to the walls and I also hang a couple of the light shade in the nursery.

Secondly, I make lots of snowflakes, and I string these together and hang them infront of the window. It makes wonderful patterns on the other walls when the sun comes through, and helps make the room look really special.

So all in you can have an amazingly Christmassy home with great nursery decorations which are also safe for your family.

Baby Safe Ornaments

Buy Baby Safe Christmas Ornaments

 

You may have already read my post about Christmas decorations (here it is if you missed it), and now you may be wondering how on earth you are going to have a paper decorated tree.  Here are two answers to that question:

 

1. Make them.  Making Christmas decorations is fun, they may not be perfect, but do they really have to be?  There are loads of instructions and video guides online to help you find out how to produce some of these works of art.  There are even projects which have been simplified so the kids can get involved as well.  Here are some ideas to get you inspired.
2. You can buy them.  Technically this should be the easier option – and for you it will be.  The problem which many people have is finding good quality decorations which are safe.  So I am going to help you out and give you the link to a little shop I have found.  They have only just opened online, so be patient and keep checking back for new products – be sure to book mark their page to make sure that you can find them again (they have just created a facebook page – but sure to like it to let them know that you are interested – and this way you will be able to see when new products are added).  I am sure with a bit of hunting around you can more places like this one, but I know that these people really do care and have kids, so they know all the problems you face.

 

Please message me back with any other ideas you have – I am always interested in new discoveries and sites.

Christmas Ornaments

How To Decorate Your Home And Still Have It Safe For Baby

Christmas with babies and infants is a wonderful time, but it can also be a worrying time. All children put things in their mouths, its normal. However, at Christmas, there is so much more for them to grab and stick in their mouths, so how do you make your home safe at Christmas?

There are two areas you need to look at. The first is the decorations you are going to put up. The second is how you put these up.

We all want a pretty Christmas tree and an attractive and festive home for the holidays, but when you have kids you have to change how you achieve this.

Small baubles are the first danger to consider. You can still use these, but they must be at the top of the tree, well out of reach. In fact, the top of the tree is for all the really shiny and sparkling things. Think of your tree decorations as being in two sections; one which works down from the top and one which works up from the bottom. The top is for the more adult (aka ‘dangerous to baby’ Christmas ornaments) while the bottom half of the tree is all about color and texture.

I think that every tree should have some paperchains. These are a great way to define the lower branches of the tree. Be sure to use lots of short ones rather than one long one, as you toddler is likely to try to pull these off, and you don’t want them to end up pulling the tree down; so lots of short paperchains of a foot or so each is ideal.

I only use paper ornaments on the lower half of the tree. I get lots of colored paper stars in different sizes. I have a high density of them at the bottom of the try and these sort of petter out as you go up the tree. I also use larger stars at the bottom and smaller ones at the top. This stops the tree looking like it has been cut in half! The other way to create a great effect is to have bright colors which your baby will like at the bottom such as purples, blues, pinks, greens, and then as you progress up the tree start to reduce these colors and increase the orange, yellow, gold and silver stars.

It is important that you keep an eye out for dribble or teeth marks on your paper ornaments as this is a good way to constantly remind baby that they should not put the stuff in their mouth. Of course, putting paper in their mouth will not hurt them, but they will start to learn important lessons while being completely safe.

A safe Christmas with your baby or toddler does not mean that you have to give things up, but it does mean that you have to adapt and adjust for new and different concerns.

Finally make sure that you tree is placed near a plug socket so that you don’t have any trailing wires for your lights which your baby or toddler could access.