I love the holidays and I love my pets! But sometimes, putting shiny glass decorations all over the house can be dangerous. With both cats and dogs, the Christmas tree is always a safety concern. If you have especially rambunctious animals I would suggest a safety gate, but cats have a way of getting where they want - with or without obstacles! Last year, I decided to make tree decorations that were both beautiful and durable. I found several fun, inexpensive designs that made my tree pet friendly and dazzling. I will discuss those that worked best for me and point you to sites that offer more options.

Another of my holiday pet traditions is to bake homemade dog treats for my neighbors and friends with pups! The recipes are fun and easy and dogs love them! There are also diabetic and organic options. Put the treats in a decorated snack bag, tie with a ribbon and voila! Cute puppy presents great for any animal lover! The purpose of this article is to offer several pet friendly holiday ideas - I hope you enjoy!

The following ornament ideas are from MarthaStewart.com My favorite are the Recycled Christmas Card ornaments and the Snowy Balloon Ornaments, though I added an extra coat of glue and spray glitter to the end result. The project will work with any color string - I made black, white and red. They are beautiful and don't break when dropped! Martha offers a ton more ornament ideas and the are millions available from the Internet. If you have pets, don't choose the ornaments made of cookies or peppermints - animals may be drawn to the smell and get into trouble!

For a tree topper, I chose to make a large bow. There are tons of bow patterns so look online, get extra ribbon, and be creative!

Christmas decorating is always a fun and exciting time of my holiday festivities! Cover a mantle with Christmas lights and garland for a shiny pop above your stockings.

I like to make a stocking for each of my pets each year. Stockings can be found all over the place for a few dollars. With some glitter craft paint and rhinestones, you can make precious stockings to match your decorations for the year. You can also use iron on appliques, buttons, ribbons, sequins, bells, etc to decorate your stocking. Your buddies will enjoy it on Christmas morning (and this will cost less to make and fill than the premade dog stockings found at the holidays).

Hang ornaments from light fixtures with ribbon for beautiful accents at the dining room table or any other room for a festive ambiance.

Mini ornaments made for small trees look great in a vase as a center piece or on a mantle. There are glass and plastic varieties in a ton of great colors. I add candy canes for a fun treat container, but adding flowers or feathers would work too!

With all the shiny trinkets around during the holiday season...be creative! Have fun!

I love to bake and am concerned about the ingredients in dog treats that you buy in the store, so I often bake my own dog treats. Not only does this save money (it's cheaper to buy the ingredients to make MANY more dog treats than store bought), you can make sure there isn't too much sugar, salt or preservatives.

But the holidays are an excellent time to spread the goodness of healthy, homemade dog treats to all of the dog lovers in your life! Several modifications to the recipes can be made to create an awesome variety of tasty treats. I will include the additions I've made to the recipes that my 4 legged friends liked the most!

I found bone shaped cookie cutters at the local kitchen accessory store, but there are several more varieties available online. Below are a few links to some found on amazon. The cutters I have are rather large and make cookies too big for miniature breeds. My simple fix: I roll very small balls of dough and press them like a peanut butter cookie with a tooth pick (I'm sure a shrimp fork would work) and bake them in accordance to the recipe. They are adorable! These very small treats are also great for training treats. if you have a diabetic pet, I have included a link to a diabetic recipe, though I haven't personally tried it.

Making dog treats is a fun and simple activity great for the whole family. Last Christmas, I let each child bake treats for their pet and put them in gift bags. They loved it! My friends and neighbors also enjoyed the treats (and wanted the recipe)! I hope you and your pups enjoy these treats as much as mine have!

Put the treats in a snack bag and tie with ribbon. I like to make dog bone cut-outs to use as labels. I'll write the flavor or the pups name as a gift card. You'll see them in the pictures! I think they are a cute touch!

Peanut Butter Dog Bones

2 cups whole wheat flour

1tbsp baking powder

1 cup natural peanut butter

1 cup skim milk

Preheat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheets; stir flour and baking powder.

In medium bowl, mix peanut butter and skim milk; slowly add flour mixture.

Turn onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth. If sticky, add flour until stuff enough to work with.

Roll out to 1/4 inch and cut into shape. For smaller breeds, make into mini peanut butter cookie shapes. Bake 25 - 35 minutes until lightly browned.

• You can replace the skim milk with beef or chicken broth. My dogs prefer beef.
• Use 1 cup flour and 1 cup oats for texture.
• Add 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese to recipe

Spiced Pumpkin Dog Treats
These are delicious and festive for the holidays. They are also high in fiber because of the pumpkin and are can help dogs who drag their bottoms or have problems with their anal glands. i have a pet on a prescription diet because she is overweight and my vet says these treats are healthy to give to her.

2-1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 eggs

3/4 can 100% pure pumpkin

2 tbsp peanut butter

3/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350; mix all ingredients

turn out onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth; add flour if sticky

Roll 1/4 inch thick and cut into shape; bake 40 minutes

• Many believe that dogs have no taste for cinnamon, so this ingredient can be omitted, though it does make the treats smell very festive and delicious!
• cut treats can be brushed with egg white before baking for a crunchier, shiny glaze
• oats can be added to this recipe. I generally use 3/4 cup oats and 3/4 cup flour