I LOVE decorating for Christmas. I long for a touch of Christmas cheer in every room of the house. The Bear’s room is a special challenge because he is now 18 months old and into EVERYTHING. He can reach to grab things off his shelves and has a special gift for taking things apart. I decided the answer was a toddler friendly mini tree, but my budget was only $5.
I looked at mini tree ornaments at Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, and Target, but most of what I found was either breakable or a choking hazard. Yikes. I remembered seeing a fun idea using plastic animals on Young House Love last year, but I couldn’t find the post and got frustrated. After strolling the aisles of Hobby Lobby I came across a big container of large red jingle bells on sale for $3.50. Jingle bells are festive, give a pop of color on my little silver tree, aren’t breakable, and are too big to be a choking hazard. Hooray! I bought white grosgrain ribbon on sale for $1 and pieces through each bell.
The Bear had a fabulous time playing with the bells and was able to help me decorate his tree. Hello, fine motor skill development! I love the simplicity and festiveness of his tree, and the fact that he can’t break it or hurt himself on it. Let’s call it a Christmas Mini Tree Miracle.
precious tree. great idea with the jingle bells. great job momma!
Noah and Noelle always have their own tree. Last year I used felt and stuffed felt ornaments bought the year before at the 99 cent store 1/2 off sale. This year they picked their ornaments from some nom breakables. Noah also wanted birds so I gay him some at 70% off clearance at gardenridge last year.