Deck the halls

When Gogo was Zuzu’s age, we only put lights on the tree. It was tricky enough to keep her from trying to eat the lights. For the last three years, we’ve made salt dough ornaments. They are not faring well this year. For starters, I am the only one in the house who hasn’t tried to eat them. Yes, I even caught Pete trying to sneak a bite. I had to remind him that the new dental insurance doesn’t go into effect until January 1.

When we put the ornaments on the tree, they all ended up on the bottom half, as is expected with little helpers. We didn’t even have all of them on the tree before it became clear that they all needed to be on the top half. Zuzu couldn’t keep her hands off them. She is still tempted by them and has managed to pull the tree down twice. The first time, I caught it before it hit the floor. The second time, I wasn’t in the room. I heard a crash, and then I heard crying. She wasn’t hurt, just scared. She picked up the star and chewed on it while I righted the tree and collected the pieces of the half dozen ornaments that didn’t make it.

She has also managed to pull the stockings down, too. So now we have empty stocking holders on the mantel. I feel bad for not having more decorations up, but I don’t think anything else would survive.

Until last year, all we ever had was a tree (skirtless). There wasn’t really enough room for anything else. Now we have a mantle, so we have a cheap garland bunched up on top of it (and the stocking holders), but we could do better. I’ve gotten loads of inspiration from several others, but I just don’t have time to make things happen for this year. I think next year will be the year of Christmas décor crafting. If I start in January, I figure I should be able to get things done in time for Christmas. Maybe.