happy holi-beige

The Internet Is Raging Over This Mom’s “Sad Beige” Christmas Tree Toy Makeover

The tree is pretty sad, but the comments are... colorful.

by Katie Garrity
A TikTok mom was blasted after she went viral for making over her toddler’s Christmas tree toy in an...
@nattiejopo / TikTok

What surely was supposed to be an innocent DIY craft video soon turned ugly for TikTok mom and content creator Nattie Jo Powell. She went viral for making over her toddler’s Step 2 My First Christmas Tree toy in an attempt to “neutralize” the tree (Is that a threat?!) to a more realistic-looking tree for her kid.

Soon, it was the Beige Christmas camp against the world in the comments section.

Although before she even got into the details of how she channeled her inner-Pinterest mom, she knew that she was going to get flak for this “organic modern” makeover.

“Call me ‘crazy’ or ‘a sad beige mom’ for what I’m about to do,” she begins. “I can already hear you thinking that I’m going to ruin my toddler’s Christmas by painting over these colors. Let’s be real — my toddler’s favorite toys are brown cardboard boxes and clear plastic water bottles, so I really think that she’s a neutral girlie at heart.”

Powell headed to her local hardware store, picked out a neutral color palette of spray paints, and went to town on the tree, changing up the bright green shade of the tree to something duller, as well as toning down the base of the toy. The brightly colored ornaments of yellow, red, blue and purple were soon sprayed brown.

“They’re definitely giving organic modern vibes,” she said.

After showing off her now-neutral Christmas tree toy for her daughter, she prompted her audience to weigh in with their thoughts, and let’s just say those comments were a bit more colorful than her newly spray-painted tree.

“Whose tree is it really??” one user questioned.

“Exactly. She even says ‘my tree’ during the green spray painting lol,” one user replied.

“‘My’ tree, it’s the kids tree!!” another commented.

Several other TikTok users noted that Powell’s decision to remove the vibrant color from the tree ornaments is actually doing a disservice to her child’s development.

Another wrote, “Colors are so beneficial to development 😭.”

“I work in children’s developmental research and they need color so bad 😭,” one user echoed.

One more user chimed in and wrote, “Early education professional here children being able to explore different vibrant colors is so important for their development.”

Some questioned her use of spray paint, noting that kids put stuff in their mouths and this kind of exposure could be dangerous.

Powell quickly shut that down and replied, “This spray paint is not toxic if it’s not ingested, and my daughter is not eating or putting any of it in her mouth.”

Other couldn’t believe that Powell painted the bright yellow star topper a matted gray tone.

“The gray star on top is crazy,” one user said.

“Who doesn’t love a gray star?” another wrote.

Other moms stitched and duetted the viral TikTok video, questioning why in the world this is something that a mom would take the time to do.

After receiving some serious backlash, Powell responded with a follow-up video. Powell reiterated that she doesn’t not give a rip if you think she’s a “sad beige” mom. However, she did take into account the comments about how colors are necessary for a kid’s development as well as the toxicity issues from the spray paint.

She gave an alternative option to the spray-painted ornaments by demonstrating how she DIYed her own decor with some shatterproof ornaments and acrylic paint (in pink and purple!).

“And there are two things that I did to make sure that they’re a little bit more toddler- and baby-proof. The first thing is I got rid of the ornament hook. I know my child, and I know that she would grab that hook off almost immediately. Another option is to glue it on so your child doesn’t pull it off. The second thing is I got rid of any of the paint that was right in the lip of the ornament,” she explained.

“I’m a little scared to ask what you guys think, but I’m going to do it anyways. I think they’re pretty cute,” she concluded.

Though she did add some bright colors to the tree, TikTok users were still salty.

“I love the look and you are so creative. I just think none of this would be safe. All I can think of it going in the mouth. ❤️,” one user wrote.

“I feel like the safest thing was the original ones, these can break, also the hole just is waiting for a finger or something to get stuck in it,” another wrote.

“toddler safe would have been the original ornaments that came with the toddler tree 💁‍♀️,” another said.

Despite the negativity, Powell did receive some support after her second attempt on the makeover.

“Hooray some COLOUR,” one user said.

“Yes! fun ornaments! cant wait to see the improved star :p. Don’t let the haters get to you, you’re experimenting live,” another said.

Another commented, “Everyone needs to stop with the hateful comments, she’s a great mommy & amazing at crafting! I love the pink ornaments.”

Happy Holi-Beige, everyone!