Then I came up with a brilliant idea, one involving the oak tree that fell into our backyard (and is still resting on the eaves of our place and the one next door). I cut off a bunch of small, leafy branches, trimmed them, and bundled them together. A visit to the bushes outside our complex resulted in several bundles of red berries. Then I had my husband bring home a vase from his classroom. I also grabbed the brown packing paper that had been in the box my mom sent. Although I have never taken a flower arranging class before, I think I did a pretty good job of putting it all together. This little "tree" now sits on our dining table where we can enjoy it for the rest of the year. And I even had a little gift for Goen to put under it.
Do you have any toddler-friendly, out-of-the-way tree ideas that work for you? How do you handle keeping small hands out of the gifts under your tree?