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[quote=Anonymous]OP, I went to Catholic school all my life, and I vividly remember my third grade teacher's lessons about different religions.  Yeah, she favored Judaism over others because they are "God's special people", but we learned all about Hanukkah, and played with dreidels and sung the song.  We learned about the menorah, and listened to a story about Jewish children lighting the candles each night.  And then I demanded that my parents get a menorah because I wanted to light the candles, too, just like in the book.  My parents got one and we learned about it, and it was in the same room as the Christmas tree.

It was fine.  It didn't confuse me.  I understood that Jesus was Jewish (of the House of David, and that's why we had a Star of David ornament on the tree), and that Judaism was a religion. It made me a more open-minded person because I saw that my parents and teachers treated other religions with respect and didn't forbid me from learning about them.

So my advice is to just get the tree.  Then, teach your child the significance of the tree to Christians, and explain your religion's stance.  You can teach your child that you are Jewish and explain your religion's teachings, but also teach what other people believe, and have fun learning about their traditions, too.

You could get some books about the winter holidays of various religions while you are at it.  Christmas, Diwali, Eid, Kwanzaa, etc.  And do some little crafts as you explore each one.  This won't make your kid less Jewish, but will make her a tolerant, respectful global citizen.

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