[robandjulie]

We put our tree up in the last few days and were debating on what to do. On one hand we want a tree (duh) but on the other we were worried about the kids destroying it/getting hurt and really just about freaking Jorge out. He got upset when we took down the halloween decorations, upset when we put out some turkey/harvest, upset when we put those away and put out some winter stuff...etc. tossing a tree in the living room and covering it with forbidden toys seemed a sure disaster.

But DD is 3.5 and it was a tough sell.

So we put the tree up without any ornaments and had the kids help. It's prelit and turned on and off throughout the day and it was interesting but not alarming to him. We left it naked for a few days and by day 2-3 he was no longer remotely interested.

Saturday we did the ornaments and I had the kids help me open them and hand them to DH who hung them all. He put all the most special and breakable at the top and the bottom are mostly sturdy. Every ornament on our tree has meaning to us--no plain balls or anything--so it would be sad if one was destroyed but DH clipped the hooks on really well and bent the tree tips up a bit so they're really really well secured.

So far almost no worrisome interest in the tree. This morning we celebrated St. Nick's day a day late and each of us got our new 2008 ornaments in our stocking. The kids each helped me carry them over and pick a hanging spot and they go back and point to them but that's it.

one thing we do and always have with DD is keep a basket of little toys near the tree on a bookshelf a few feet away. If the kids are drawn to the ornaments we hold the kids and talk about the ornament or have htem help point out something ("Can you find a bear on the tree?") for a few seconds and then distract them by offering them one of the little toy cars or whatever from the basket. These are just their usual old toys but they are fished out of the bottom of the toy bins about a month earlier and set aside so they are exciting alternatives to the tree toys.