My Pet-Friendly Christmas Décor Tips

*Today’s post was made possible by Nolan Interior, and features gifted product for the purposes of a candid review. All opinions are my own.

When I sat down to think through how I wanted to decorate for Christmas this year, it quickly occurred to me that I was going to have to get extra creative because of our two kittens. They are just as off-the-wall-rambunctious as you’d imagine a 7-month-old and 5-month-old kitten would be, and it took very little time for my imagination to draw up visions of them climbing the tree, breaking ornaments, and wreaking havoc with drapey garland. My regular holiday décor just wasn’t going to cut it around Marlo and Joe, so I set out to come up with more pet-friendly ideas to keep them safe but that still allowed us to enjoy the magic of Christmas.

First of all, I made sure to get our everyday couch covers in tip top shape for the season. These from Nolan Interior are still our very favorite, and we use them constantly. I love that they protect our sectional sofas from wild kitten claws, and also Joe’s lack of litter training (more on that debacle coming in the new year…). I also love the idea of having fresh couch covers on our sofa for Christmas since we’re drinking more hot cocoa and eating lots more holiday treats on the couch these days. The covers give me peace of mind when imagining food/drink spills, and they look great doing it, too.

You can read more of my couch cover review here if you’d like more information. That post includes details about what we actually chose for the gray sectional in our sunroom, pictured in today’s post. The short story, though, is that we have their Magic Sofa Covers in the “Chrome Grey” “Wheat” style.

As for the rest of the space, my goal was to use as many non-breakable holiday accents as possible. I filled a simple low bowl (one that’s hard to topple) with plastic ornaments, used faux flickering candles in place of real flames, and also used lightweight artificial tabletop trees like these in a couple of places. Even if the kittens bat the trees off the tables, they can’t hurt themselves or the soft faux trees. A stack of hand-me-down Christmas books on the coffee table finished off my collection of holiday tabletop accents.

I also focused on getting the Christmas vibe across using lots of soft holiday-themed textiles—things like a throw pillow with a tree on it (similar option here), another that had a plaid pattern across the front, and one with metallic threads running throughout. An ultra fuzzy faux fur blanket has been my personal favorite addition here. That blanket is one of the softest things I’ve ever snuggled into, and it looks very wintery thanks to all of that plush snow-white texture.

I was really determined to get our tree worked into the mix (it doesn’t feel quite like Christmas without it, after all), but I knew that I would have to sacrifice ornaments if I used it. The kittens would have an absolute heyday batting at dangly, sparkly ornaments, so, instead, we are embracing more of a minimalist look this year. We just set the pre-lit tree up inside our woven tree collar (similar option here), and that was that.

I clearly really love greenery when it comes to Christmas decorating, but I knew that draped garland wasn’t going to work this year. It would be far enticing for our pets. So, instead, I wrapped the curtain rod with two simple faux garlands, making sure there weren’t any dangling bits, and then I used Command hooks to temporarily hang three miniature wreaths up in the windows. Battery-powered string lights finished off my holiday window installation just perfectly, and looks so charming after dark.

I feel as though I have to be honest here at the close of today’s post, though, and admit that we have ultimately still had to keep the kittens away from this Christmas-themed living room—even despite all of my hard work to create a safe space for them. Both Marlo and Joe bee-line for the tree every time I let them into the room, where they immediately start chewing on the wired lights and plastic branches. I’m worried about them biting into live electricity, so we usually keep the doors closed to this room. Happily, the entryway to this space is outfitted with clear French doors, so we can all still enjoy the scenery safely from a distance. Maybe next year the kittens will be less interested in chewing on electrical wires…Here’s hoping!

*I earn a small percentage from purchases made using the affiliate links above. Affiliate links are not sponsored. Rest assured that I never recommend products we wouldn’t use or don’t already love ourselves.