Tips for Storing Christmas Decorations

This is it, the time has arrived to take down all of those lovely Christmas decorations to package them away lovingly so they are ready to open again next holiday season.  Today I am bringing you all kinds of ideas for storing Christmas decorations of all kinds.  There are as many different ideas and ways of storing Christmas decorations as there are kinds of Christmas decorations .

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience.  Click here to read my full disclosure policy..

1.   For wreaths, I like to hang them up somewhere.  I hang my wreaths in lightweight garment bags so that they stay dust free.  I usually remove my ribbons and bows and replace them with new ones the next year.  If you want to save your bows, stuff the loops with tissue paper so they don’t get crushed.I am storing this wreath on a hanger.  I simply used a heavy duty hanger and a chenille stem to hang the wreath on the hanger.  I could stop with this and leave it as is, I could cover it with a dry cleaning bag.  I keep a couple of inexpensive garment bags.  I will hang this one in the garment bag and I can still add another wreath below this one by hanging it from the hanger with a ribbon so that it hangs beneath the top wreath.

2.   I keep my boxes for my artificial Christmas trees and store them in them.  There are all kinds of Christmas tree storage bags.  An alternative is to buy a roll of shrink wrap and take your tree into pieces and wrap the pieces tightly.

3.   You can’t beat clear storage boxes for your holiday decorations.  When you back them away, you might want to label the boxes so you know what is in them.  It is also a good idea to stack them with the items you usually bring out first for next year.

4.   To store Christmas lights you might have some of these fancy reels to roll up your lights.  I don’t have one of those, so I use a piece of cardboard that I have cut small enough to fit inside a 2.5 gallon zip top bag.  I use a sharpie to mark each bag identifying what color lights I have put in each bag.Before storing your lights, check each strand to make sure they still work.  There is no point in storing that string of lights that went out this year!I cut a piece of cardboard to fit inside a gallon resealable bag.  Cut a slit in the corner of the cardboard.Pull the end of the cord through the slit in the cardboard.Wrap your Christmas lights around the piece of cardboard.  When you get to the end, cut another slit in the cardboard and tuck the other end of the lights into the slit to secure them. Put the cardboard with the lights wrapped around it into a resealable bag and you are ready to store them in a clear box for next year.

5.  I roll garlands in loose circles and tuck them into one of those large clear boxes.  I always label each box so I know how many garlands are in each one.

6.   When it comes to glass and delicate ornaments, I like to use as many precautions as possible.  I love using this new bubble wrap that clings to itself.  If you have small pieces of wrapping paper, you can run that through a shredder and use the shred to make a next for those treasured ornaments.Unique glass ornaments are treasures and I don’t hesitate to use shredded paper or bubble wrap to protect them.  I was so excited this year to find this self-clinging bubble wrap.  I love that there is no tape required to wrap my ornaments.

7.   All of those shatterproof ornaments are a different story.  The best method I have found for storing shatterproof ornaments is to use those same large bags and sort my ornaments by color and size.  This might not be necessary for you, but I sometimes want just tiny ornaments for a project and don’t want to have to dig through all of the sizes.  I sort by color, because I never know for sure which colors I will want to use the coming year.  Once I have them sorted in bags, I can put those bags into one of my big clear storage containers.

8.   A great tip for Christmas candles is for you to slip a knee high hosiery or stocking over your candle and then nestle them into a box with adequate padding.  Make sure you store these someplace where they will not get too hot.  The hosiery should keep them from getting nicked or scratched.

9.  If you have an artificial tree that has each branch separate and color coded, after years of use those colors can fade.  Consider picking up some colored duct tape and re-identify them with the duct tape.

10.  Mark a box with “OPEN THIS FIRST”.  Do you wait to do your decorating until December but want to get out your advent calendar or advent wreath out to have it ready for the first Sunday in Advent?  Make sure you label the box storing the items you are always ready to put out first.

11.    If you decorate the same area of your home, mantel, staircase, anything, make sure you store those items all in one box and label the box for the area that you use those items on.

12.  To store leftover ribbon, untie bows and wrap the ribbon around empty spools or pieces of cardboard and secure with a rubber band.  

Although this might take a little bit of extra time in putting everything away, you will appreciate it when it comes time to take things out and begin decorating next year.