Tag Archives: Christmas tree

How to Recycle After Christmas is Over

Many families enjoy decorating for Christmas. This includes both indoor and outdoor decorations. After Christmas, families begin storing their Christmas decorations. What can you do with items that cannot be re-used? It might be possible to recycle them! Real Christmas trees can be recycled. The first thing to do is call your local recycling center, or your local waste management authority. Ask if they will recycle Christmas trees before bringing your tree to the facility. Your local zoo may be collecting recycled Christmas trees to be used as treats for their animals. Before you go – be sure to remove … Continue reading →

The Toddler and the Tree

One thing that may be on your mind at this time of year is whether or not to have a Christmas tree. Christmas trees are irresistible to toddlers, with all of the shiny ornaments and twinkling lights just begging to be touched. Toddlers can easily knock a tree over, break ornaments and get cut, or get tangled in cords from the lights. Since Christmas trees can pose a danger to your toddler, you are wise to consider whether or not to have one in your home. For Dylan’s first Christmas, he was a month old. He was always either asleep … Continue reading →

Watch Out for Christmas Related Allergens

Parents of children who have severe allergies are always on the lookout for the things that can make their child have an allergic reaction. The Christmas season brings us all some allergens that we don’t have to worry about at other times of the year. Here’s a few things to watch out for and avoid. Live Christmas trees The American Christmas Tree Association has this to say about live Christmas trees: “…live Christmas trees are known to often carry microscopic mold spores that can trigger allergy symptoms including sneezing, watery eyes, and an itchy nose.” They point out a study … Continue reading →

Family History in the Christmas Tree

For some families, decorating the Christmas tree is a trip down family history lane. While I do not yet have a tree for my home, and I am not sure whether my parents have theirs yet, I do have many memories of decorating Christmas trees with them. Some of the memories even involve the event of choosing a tree and bringing it home. When I was growing up, we did not have a specific plan regarding where we got our Christmas tree. Sometimes, my dad would come home with one on top of the car. Other times, we would go … Continue reading →

Reasons to Take Good Care of Your Christmas Tree

When does your family put up the Christmas tree? Some families decorate the tree before Thanksgiving, and others wait until a few days before Christmas to do it. The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety wants to remind you to take good care of your Christmas tree. There is the potential that a Christmas tree could catch fire. Many families have made a tradition of picking out a Christmas tree, and decorating it together. The tree is a big part of the season. What else would you put all those presents under? People have a tendency to think of … Continue reading →

Turn Tree Trimming Into a Learning Experience

Do you have your Christmas tree up? I know there are many people who set-up their trees on Black Friday, but I just can’t motivate myself to decorate a tree when I am still stuffing myself with Thanksgiving leftovers. A string of Christmas lights in one hand, a fork filled with pumpkin pie in the other.  I stink at being ambidextrous. That and I don’t think I would be able to keep a tree alive until Christmas if I were to put it up on November 23rd. Still, tree trimming is an exciting undertaking in our family.  My 8-year-old delights … Continue reading →

Caring for Evergreen Trees

Now is a perfect time to plant some evergreen trees. These trees go dormant in the late fall in preparation for winter. This means that they will require less sunlight and other care. Because of the dormancy of the trees, planting them now will be less stressful than planting these trees during the summer or late spring. Plentiful fall rains will also help the newly planted evergreen trees. Once your trees are already planted, you’ll want to take proper care of them. Fertilizing may or may not be necessary in subsequent years after planting. This will depend on your soil. … Continue reading →

Keeping Your Kids Safe During the Holidays

So, yesterday my friend calls to ask me if our Christmas tree was up and decorated. (It is.) Then, she proceeded to tell me that after spending three hours trimming her family’s 7-foot Douglas fir the entire thing came crashing down… on her 16-month-old son. Fortunately, he didn’t suffer any major injuries, but since the fall the tree has been banished to the corner of the living room and is trapped behind a wall of child safety gates. Not that it really needs the protection given that her son is now deathly afraid of the fir. My pal’s anecdote serves … Continue reading →

Ideas for Your Child’s Christmas Tree

There is something so magical about seeing a baby next to a Christmas tree. One nice idea is to create a small tree that is just for baby. You can place this tree in baby’s room or in a playroom, keeping it out of reach of course, especially if you add any lights or breakable ornaments to the tree. Baby-friendly tress can be explored by your baby under supervision. I suggest that you get a small table top tree for this project. Artificial trees work best, as there are many different sizes to choose from, and you won’t have to … Continue reading →

Home Blog Week in Review: December 1st Through December 7th

Today we finally made some real progress with decorating our home for Christmas. The holidays are here! You can expect many more posts about the holidays at home. Meanwhile, check out last week’s blog posts. December 1st Home Week in Review: November 24th Through November 30th After last week’s running around for the holiday, I am looking forward to a quiet week at home. How was your week? If you missed any posts, check them out here. December 2nd Home Month in Review: November 2008 Is your home ready for the holidays and winter? Now that November is over, it … Continue reading →