Making Child-Friendly Christmas Ornaments

My son is at an age where he needs to reach out and touch everything and inevitably put it into his mouth. I realize that this is a developmental issue and that he's just trying to learn more about his world. I don't want to stifle that learning. The thought of glass and metal ornaments in his tiny little hands - and mouth - scares the heck out of me. I've come to the conclusion that fighting what is simply instinct for him and putting up the usual Christmas ornaments on our Christmas Tree would be silly unless I planned on fencing off the Christmas Tree (and that would just take all the fun out of it). So I've decided to do something different this year.

Welcome to my edible Christmas Tree!

It started out simply enough. I planned to make gingerbread men for ornaments and use a nice fabric ribbon for a garland. Simple and possibly elegant in a homespun, Martha Stewart sort of way.

A friend of mine suggested the old favorite: a Popcorn and Cranberry garland, but it didn't pass my test. Heck, adults choke on popcorn all the time and what better thing to get lodged in a child's throat than a dried up cranberry. Perfect fit for the windpipe. No thanks.

Even the fabric garland later concerned me. If he pulls on one end, the whole tree will surely come down because the garland will be wrapped around it. So short lengths of garland it is. Something that will be decorative and yet free easily if pulled.

Then came the snowballs. I saw Rice Krispie treats and thought they'd make great ball ornaments. I could even roll them in coconut to add a little variety to the gingerbread men. I'm still working with items that my son (and dog) can eat that don't provide a choking or other hazard.

My mother suggested candy canes. Oh sure, they're attractive and edible but oddly enough, my husband and I never eat them. The last thing I need to do is give my little Tasmanian Devil a whole tree full of candy canes. That much sugar would blow every gasket the kid has! So I'm passing on the candy canes.

The garland came back to me when I was browsing through the cupboard, the other day, for a snack for my son. Cheerios. A Cheerios garland? My first thought was color. After all, we want the tree to be pleasing to the eye as well as the tummy, right? Then it occurred to me that there are many different types of Cheerios. I even saw some yogurt frosted Cheerios in the store last week. Those might make a nice garland!

The most recent brainstorm I had was while I was reading Martha Stewart's Living magazine. I was reading an article about how you can make lovely candle decorations by using cookie cutters and sheets of beeswax. I like candles, so I read the instructions. Then it hit me! Fruit Roll Ups! I could make ornaments by flattening a Fruit Roll Up and cutting shapes with cookie cutters. But how do you hang it? The same way Martha puts the wick in the candles - you cut two identical pieces and press the string between them. Fruit Roll Ups are just sticky enough to hold it!

So this will be my edible Christmas Tree: decorated Gingerbread Men, Rice Krispie snowballs, Cheerios garlands and Fruit Roll Up shapes.

What will I do if my son doesn't try to eat the Christmas ornaments?