Babies and toddlers love things that sparkle, jingle, make noise; the description of pretty much every Christmas decoration. How you decorate your home will depend a lot on the type of child you have. You may not know how your baby or toddler will react to all the beautiful, enticing decorations until they are up. Some little ones may just admire the Christmas tree from afar, others will not really pay it much attention at all, but others will be all over it.

Safety is the word of the day when it comes to decorating for Christmas. Think of it as another part of your baby proofing. Make the necessary changes to ensure your child can enjoy all the lights and ornaments but stay safe at the same time.

Here are a few helpful tips to baby proofing your Christmas decorating.

• When putting the ornaments on the tree try to keep the child-friendly ornaments on the bottom of the tree (the area within their reach). Things that are unbreakable, soft, plastic, and don’t have small pieces they could swallow.
• Skip the tinsle this year. If you have to add some sparkle consider a garland or extra lights.
• If your little one shows an interest in pulling on the tree consider securing it to the wall so he or she cannot pull it over.
• Don’t let your child touch the lights if possible. They can contain lead.
• Keep cords hidden.
• Consider putting a few decorations that are fun and interactive (and safe) down at their level. We have a plush penguin and polar bear decoration that will sing, dance and light up if you push a button. Our daughter just loves it so we have it on a small table where she can play with it.
• If your child just will not leave the Christmas tree alone and you are worried they may hurt themselves consider putting a gate up around the tree.

The best thing to do may be to decorate with a little baby proofing and then see what happens. If your child goes after something you didn’t think they would you can make some changes. If you will be visiting grandparents or other family members over the holidays consider talking to them about baby proofing their Christmas decorations as well.

What changes have you made to your Christmas decorations to accommodate your little one? What did your child find the most intriguing about all the decorations?