The holiday season is upon us, and that means we are all decking halls, trimming trees, and trying desperately to keep our kids from destroying it all.
That can’t just be me.
Christmas is one of my favorite seasons to decorate my home. But sometimes, I get asked how I can do so much decorating with kids in the house. Am I officially a mommy blogger if I’ve talked about having kids for two posts in a row? (Please say yes.)
You should talk to me in person. All I talk about is my kids. It’s annoying.
But, the truth is that having a beautiful home and raising children are not mutually exclusive.
I’ve found that my kids love decorating for the holidays as much (or more) than I do. As they get older, he helps more and more. That makes it even more special and fun for our family. Instead of just being something mom does, it’s something we can all do – making memories together. And as my daughter gets older, she loves to “help” with everything from dinner to hanging art on the walls. She’s been antsy to get involved this year.
So if you are wondering how to create a beautiful holiday home without kicking your kids out, here are a few of my best tips:
Be realistic.
It’s easy to get caught up in the beautiful images you see on Pinterest and in magazines. Perhaps you want your home to look like that. I know that I do.
But sometimes, I also have to be realistic.
For example, I love glass ornaments, but we aren’t really in a “glass ornament season of life” right now. With three kids and two dogs, fragile items can be dangerous. So our main tree is mostly made up of plastic ornaments and other non-breakable decor. And last year, I didn’t even put up ornaments on the tree. We just enjoyed the lights.
The items we use aren’t so precious that I’ll be upset if something gets broken. (And if I’m being honest, I’m more likely to break something than my kids.)
Life is far too short (and goes by too fast) to worry about broken ornaments.
I do have breakable items on display, but I try to place them in areas that are not prone to accidents. The most precious items get put up high out of reach of my kids, dogs and me. (I’m pretty clumsy, too.) That means my antique Christmas trees and Department 56 village aren’t going to be placed where anyone can reach them.
We can all admire them from afar.
Get kids involved.
I’ve found that if I try to do all the decorating myself, I end up burned out and resentful. That’s not the best way to start the holiday season. And it’s not the type of mom I want to be, either.
Instead, I get my kids involved from the start – and how this looks will vary based on the age of your kids. (My 4-month-old son is obviously way too little to be involved, but someday he’ll be part of this, too. My daughter is 2, but she has been helping in small ways.)
My seven-year-old even helped me bring all the decorations upstairs last year. (He’s way stronger than he looks.) Then, he helped me choose where to put the tree and other special decorations. And he loved decorating the tree.
We even take our decorating on the road – helping to decorate his 95-year-old great grandpa’s house.
But getting your kids involved also means that you have to be willing to really let your child help and also be willing to compromise. Because there will likely be a hundred ornaments on one branch on the tree. And your children may have ideas that are different than yours.
Also, it’s almost always going to take a lot longer when kids are involved. Just block out double the time you anticipate. And then add another week.
Set boundaries.
I think this will depend on your child and his/her age, but I think that setting boundaries is key to decorating with kids at any time of the year.
For example, my son has always known what he can and cannot touch. Does he stretch the limits? Yes. And my daughter is the ultimate limit stretcher. But knowing that they’re not supposed to use the ornaments as basketballs helps a lot. And knowing that everything they do touch has to be put back sets clear expectations.
It’s not perfect, but it’s a work in progress.
With that said, I don’t want everything in our home to be off-limits – and it’s not.
- I don’t tell them that they cannot touch the tree. I just teach them how to do it gently and ask them to put everything back when they’re done.
- I don’t tell them not to play with the nativity, because I love to see them acting it out.
- I don’t tell them that they can’t use the Christmas blankets as a fort, because everyone loves a good fort. (And I try to remember this when I’m picking up all the blankets and pillows every night.)
You see where I’m going with this. It’s just like anything in parenting. We set guidelines and boundaries and then work with our kids along the way.
Use photos.
You love your kids – so think about ways to showcase those cuties in your holiday decor.
My favorite way to do this is to have at least one holiday image printed each year to be displayed. (Sometimes I can’t choose and print more than one picture.) These get displayed every single year and are stored away with the holiday decorations. It’s a great way to relive memories and see how much your kids have grown.
Finally, don’t throw away those holiday cards. At the end of the holiday season, we punch them with a hole and use a ring to keep the whole year’s worth of cards together. Each year, we pull them out and display them again. It’s a blast to see our friends and family throughout the years. My son loves to point out his friends and family members.
Give kids their own space to make decisions.
Finally, I think it’s really important for kids to have areas in the home where they are totally in-charge of holiday decor.
In our house, that is in the bedrooms. My kids get to have their own tree and decorations in their room – and they are the bosses. Mom helps come up with ideas and execute, but they are in charge of the final decision.
Both kids love it.
This is a really fun way to let kids express their creativity. Sometimes we make ornaments together. Sometimes we search Pinterest for ideas together. Sometimes we just go for it. (Check out our finished dinosaur tree from a few years ago here.)
Last year, I did most of the decorating in my daughter’s room – but we made it fit in with all the things in her nursery.
This is such a fun experience for all of us. And when guests arrived at our house, my son drags them up to see his tree right away. I’m sure my daughter will be the same way this year.
If you don’t want to deal with a tree in your kids’ rooms, think about other areas of the home where they can be in charge. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune – in fact, I think this is a great time to go with homemade decor. Kids can string popcorn, paint pictures, or make ornaments at home.
You’ll be amazed at how proud they’ll be of their space when it’s all done.
At the end of the holiday season, I probably won’t remember every single decoration we put up in the house or how perfect everything looked. But I will remember the memories we made together. And I’ll remember how it made me feel. Even if it wasn’t perfect at every moment.
And mostly, I hope my kids remember it, too.
How do you get your kids involved in your holiday decor?
If you liked this post, here are some other past holiday decor posts you may enjoy:
And if you liked it, please pin it for later.
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