by Emily Tuuk

Created on: August 29, 2008

When the holidays roll around each year, we start unpacking boxes of Christmas ornaments, manger scenes, wrapping paper, and tinsel. The hustle and bustle of the seasons come, and we get caught up in decorating, gift wrapping, shopping, and baking.
There's usually a lot more going on around the house than normal, and sometimes it seems hard to keep baby away from the wrapping paper we left on the floor during a rush to send off a package, or from eating those pine needles that dropped from the tree that we had meant to vacuum up earlier.

Fortunately, the holidays can be made safer, and more carefree for those with little ones to manage. There are numerous solutions to problems such as candle disasters, broken glass, the fingers that got burnt on the bright Christmas lights, those pine needles on the floor, and the chocolate smears on your couch from when your two year old decided to sample the bowl of chocolates on the coffee table.

For the Christmas tree:
Real pine trees smell lovely, but they do tend to make a mess on the floor. This would not be so much of a problem if the baby crawling on the ground didn't want to taste them as they passed by. The are also sharp on the tip, which could hurt the baby's tender skin..
Consider buying an artificial tree. True, they have no smell, but they can actually look quite like the real deal, and it eliminates the chore of having to sweep the floor every day, and you won't have to watch your baby so closely.

For the tree ornaments:
Ornaments are a lovely way to add character to your Christmas tree, but sometimes little hands may reach up and pull them off, which can result in your favorite glass balls shattering into tiny pieces. The best solution for this is to put breakable ornaments higher up on the tree, where little ones can't reach them, and put cloth or plastic ornaments on the bottom.
If you like your tree decorations to coordinate or have a specific arrangement, consider using only non-breakable ornaments. That way your tree can still be lovely, but also be a lot safer and more child-proof.

For the Christmas lights:
Christmas lights add a delightful glow to your decorating. However, they are dangerous if a baby tries to eat them, and those tiny bulbs can burn fingers badly when they are lit.
Teach your children not to play with them, even when they are unplugged. A young child usually won't notice the difference between a bulb that is lit and a bulb that is not.
Place the Christmas lights high to avoid little

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