Deck the Halls, Adaptive-Style: Taking Back the Tree (and Beyond)

If your tree currently looks like this one — beautifully decorated from the middle down and tragically naked up top — keep reading. This one’s for you.

In the last newsletter, we reclaimed the kitchen — adaptive tools, one-handed techniques, and zero apologies. This month? We’re moving into the living room. The holiday decorations don’t get to stay off-limits just because the top shelf or the high branches feel out of reach. We’ve got this.

The combination that works every time: a good trigger-style reacher (the $15–20 kind with rubber cups and a lock) plus ornaments, dreidel garlands, or snowflakes that have big loops or magnets. Roll up, grab, lift, place — top of the tree, center of the mantel, wherever. Need the star, angel, or giant glitter snowflake at the very top? Same reacher, same motion, no standing required. Bonus hack: clamp an over-the-door wreath hanger sideways onto your armrest or tray for a mini crane arm. Slide the decoration on, wheel in, lift, release.

And it’s not just Christmas trees. You can use the exact same setup for Hanukkah: stringing blue-and-white garlands across doorways, hanging a big magnetic dreidel from the ceiling fixture, or placing the menorah on a high shelf without needing extra help. Others are doing winter-solstice vibes — snowflakes, pinecones, and white fairy lights — anywhere they want them. Same tools, different holidays, zero limits.

So go make the space yours, from the lowest branch to the highest hook. Send us a photo of your fully decorated tree, menorah setup, or winter wonderland — best one earns bragging rights in January.

What are you hanging this year? Send us an email and let us know!