Let Them Decorate!
I can’t believe it’s December already! Last night we put up the Christmas tree and decorated the house and it’s all looking very festive!
Each year I have visions of us all decorating the tree together happily, listening to carols, laughing, enjoying each other’s company. And each year it turns out a little more stressful than I had planned! Is it just me? Kids are pulling things out of boxes in excitement before we’re ready for them, stuff is going onto the tree before we’re ready for it. We end up frazzled and saying ‘stop’, ‘no’, ‘don’t touch that!’, ‘wait!’, on repeat. Well not this year!
It was time for us to CHILL OUT, step back, and actually let everyone be involved! Usually we put the tree up, then we get the lights on. Then because we can reach the top we put the tinsel on ourselves, spread out evenly. And THEN we let them put the baubles on, reminding them not to put them all on the one branch and to spread them out so it’s even and ‘nice’. Now that is a long time for excited little kids to wait until it’s their turn to get involved isn’t it! No wonder they had trouble not touching all the shiny fun things.
This year we gave up our roles as chief tree decorating instructors! LOL. Who says we know what a good tree looks like? Maybe they know better! Who says everything has to be perfectly symmetrical and evenly placed? Not us! Not anymore! We put up the tree and wrapped around the lights while the kids looked at the baubles and spread them around the room. And then we just let them at it! We got out the step ladder so they could reach higher if they wanted too. And we had FUN! Lot’s of fun.
There is tinsel all over the place! Crisscrossed, curled, clumped, sparkly goodness!
Baubles of all colours were added.
Miss almost 2 especially liked climbing the ladder and putting as many baubles as she could on the one branch.
You’re never too young to have a go, make decisions, be creative.
And you know what? Our tree is PERFECT! It’s the best one yet! When I look at it I don’t see perfectly balanced decorations and the stress of making sure everything is just so. I see THEM. My creative, fun, crazy girls and the fun we had together. I’m not the tree police monitoring no one touches it every day. They can take things off or move them, I don’t care. I want them to feel a part of Christmas and all that comes with it! Christmas is about family and we’re all a part of this family!
Relax, let them decorate!
“In the eyes of children we find the joy of Christmas. In their hearts we find its meaning.” –
How does your family decorate the tree? Will you be doing anything differently this year?
Comments
Love this!
When I was little, we had a whole ritual around putting up the tree : dad would get the tree in the stand and balanced upright and put on the lights. (Later I helped with lights). Then we would all gather around with the box of ornaments – each one individually wrapped in tissue or newspaper the year before. And we would all take turns. Pick out one ornament, unwrap it (oh the anticipation of what it would be!), and then put it on the tree. Whoever hung the ornament had 100% dictatorship over where and how it would be, and no one else could move it afterwards. Then popcorn strands would be made and placed later. Such special memories….
Oh that sounds lovely!
thank you for the reminder 😀
No problem 🙂
We let our kids decorate the tree themselves every year. They really enjoy it and it makes such great memories for them.
Lovely!
To keep tree decorating as stress free as possible with a 2 year old in the house, I simply sorted the decorations while he was napping – decorations that we don’t want to get broken and those that don’t really matter. My little wooden figures are at the top of the tree, where he can’t reach, and everything else… Well I left that to him and his 10 year old brother. As soon as the toddler was up from his nap, the baubles were tipped everywhere, eventually finding their way to the tree in whatever fashion they fancied. He takes them off the tree everyday, but again, I don’t stress because he’s having fun, and exploring. And he loves trying to put them back on the tree as well
Sounds like a perfect solution!
Great post! And a very welcome reminder. thank you.
Thank you 🙂
We put the lights on and then let the kids decorate most of it (6,4,2) I agree that when I look at it I see them, and they can touch and move stuff as they please. This is why I buy inexpensive ornaments! Sometimes there is too much on one branch, and the tree is leaning, but I just wait until they are gone and move some around. They never notice! The look on their faces and the fun that we have, outweighs having a “perfect” tree.
It definitely does! They had so much fun.
I have 2 daughters aged 19y and 25y who never got to decorate my tree, they had their own in their bedroom. My youngest daughter is 4yrs old, she got to decorate the tree this year (the older 2 are shocked) and she did a wonderful job. Baubles have been broken and fingers have been prickled but she had so much fun and is so very proud of her achievement…..that is how it always should have been, I have chilled out with age!
Hooray for chilling out! I bet your tree looks beautiful.
Thanks so much for this timely reminder! Our three year old is not very excited about the tree yet but I after reading this I think that maybe he hasn’t been allowed enough freedom to choose what he wants to do. Your tree looks lovely, thank you!
Thank you 🙂