Each year, so many of the parents in our online parenting community fret about having a Christmas tree up with curious toddlers around.

If you’re about to comment ‘just tell them no’, hold your horses!

Children develop at different paces and many toddlers won’t have the cognitive understanding that they shouldn’t touch the Christmas tree, nor will they remember actions & consequences, so for many parents toddler-proofing is the best option. To help, we’ve taken a look at the savviest toddler proofing ideas to help you to avoid incidents of the tree coming down!

Play Pen Barrier

One of the most popular suggestions we’ve spotted is the ‘play pen’ trick. All you need to do is enclose your Christmas tree, in all it’s festive glory, within a small area and surround with a playpen. It’s as simple as that and reinforces the ‘look but don’t touch rule whilst also accommodating for the fact that younger children won’t always remember actions & consequences. Win win!

Farmer’s Wife & Mummy has shared this image online to demonstrate the idea; it looks great!

Looking for a playpen? This BabyDan playpen* with wall fittings is highly rated.

‘Half’ Christmas Tree

Restricted for space? Or perhaps needing a tree that is easy to tether to the wall? A ‘half’ Christmas tree is a great solution, and it’s exactly what it sounds like – literally half a Christmas tree!

Find this pre-lit wall mounted tree here*! It’s only 3ft, so you can mount it off the ground away from fidgety fingers.

DIY 2D Christmas Tree

A 2 dimensional Christmas tree is another savvy solution, and great for saving space too. This idea by Macgyver It is bloomin’ genius and is currently going viral as parents all over the world marvel at how clever it is!

Christmas ideas

Christmas is coming

Posted by Macgyver It on Sunday, 6 October 2019

Upside Down Christmas Tree

Ok, stifle your giggles – we know this upside down tree looks bonkers but it’s much harder to unbalance and pull over than it’s standard counterparts are! It’s also a half tree so it can be wall tethered for extra safety.

Find your own upside down Christmas tree here*.

Other ideas:

Only decorate the top half of the tree.
Don’t use breakable decorations.
Get a mini tree and place out of reach.

Ultimately, it’s important to remember that small children need time and patience. Be persistent in reinforcing the tree is off limits but understand that it’ll take time for them to remember this.