A tree of their own.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 11:01PM Since we're spending Thanksgiving this year at my folks' new place, it feels a little strange to not be in host-mode. But I love the relaxed tempo around here this week--no rushing around trying to get ready for guests. The biggest perk was I could freely pull out our bins of Christmas items and set them out and about the house as I'll begin decorating this weekend. And one of the most anticipated holiday decor items around here is the kids' tree, something that came about out of necessity.
When our first child entered our lives, I learned pretty quickly that a lot of crafts find their way to our home. This is multiplied considerably during the month of December. I love each and every one of them--I do, truly. But there is only so much room on our Christmas tree at a certain height (because each child insists on hanging their own decorations on the tree all by themselves and they can only reach so high). What usually results is a blob-y cluster of macaroni/glitter/yarn encrusted construction paper in a mess so impossibly tangled that even the most well planned, sneaky, late-night tactics to spread them out will fail. And while it was no big deal to tilt my head and squint a little when it was just Max's creations, once Leo rolled up his little sleeves and starting creating....well, let's just say there wasn't enough tree real estate to go around.
So one year, as an early Christmas gift, they got their own tree. It is set up in the playroom and is only a few feet high so they can reach every inch of it--they are allowed to do whatever they please to it. And do they ever! But I'm not a complete mommy-grinch. We still put up each boy's favorite few ornaments on the tree in our living room, which I love because then they really stand out. But their tree downstairs holds the bulk of their creations--and when it's time to put it away, I just set it in our unfinished storage space. Here it is.
When I pull it out, I leave it to them to decide whether to edit what they did the prior year. This is the third year we've done it and so far, they're going with a "more is more" strategy.
ETA: I'm linking up to We Are THAT Family's works for me Wednesday--this tip has definitely worked for us!
Reader Comments (2)
What an awesome idea! You are a terrrific mom. The tree is super cute and I'm sure your kids are so happy. Thanks for the great post.
www.organicmotherhoodwithcoolwhip.com
We decided to to the same thing this year. Mostly because I am a "mommy grinch" and I like the tree that everyone sees to look the way I want it to look. But I still have flashbacks to my own childhood where there was actually a pattern of green and gold balls to be followed and have realized I just don't want my kids to have those memories.
So to give my kids the freedom and joy of decorating how they want, we got them their own tree for upstairs. They love nothing more than spending a whole day together whispering over the box of ornaments and figuring out where to put everything, And some of the ornaments never even make it on to the tree. They just become favorite playthings for the season.
I love how the kids tree makes everyone so very happy!
www.bylittlehands.com