Just a little bit excited – our new Disney Christmas Centrepiece just arrived today and I reckon half the joy has been had in the look on G-Man’s face when we turned it on and the little houses lit up, the trains carrying all his favourite Disney characters went round the tracks and the dancing couples pirouetted their way around in the snow. I will pop it away tonight after the kiddies are in bed and it will come out again on December 1st with all the rest of our festive decorations. Anyone would think that Santa threw up at our house on November 30th with the sheer amount of glitter clad ornaments and decorations that we seem to accumulate each year. I am lucky that Nick enjoys Christmas and likes to be surrounded by quality ornaments and centrepieces and each year we look for a new trinket to display on the mantelpiece or atop the piano.
I remember the first Christmas we had with G Man and he was 9 months – we had the playpen surrounding the tree and G had a permanent bruise on his cheek from reaching in and stretching as far as he could to see if he could reach it. The second year we tried to teach him basic self control and took the railings away. The result was not a well-disciplined toddler but a tree that was missing all the ornaments from about waist-high down. The third Christmas we decided to let G help decorate the tree which resulted in the tree being clad from just over waist-high down and not terribly much up top as he refused to let us help. I am hoping this year at the age of rising four that G may have started to appreciate the aesthetics of a well balanced Christmas Tree and let us delegate where things are to be hung and help out. 
I think I’m setting myself up for disappointment though as I have forgotten the addition this year of Master Jax who at 12 months of age, and going by Geordie’s past age-appropriate efforts, is up to the Discovery and Destruction 101 phase of having a Christmas Tree.  The playpen has seen better days and is now guarding the weber outside and our tree touches the roof when it is on the ground so what do we do?
Any suggestions on how to rebuff a very intently destructive 12 month old and a big brother who I am pretty sure will assume the role of “Protector of the Christmas Tree”?