Storing Christmas Tree decorations

My Christmas baubles are stored in strong, cardboard containers that my work uniforms used to be delivered in, with tissue type paper wrapped round them. The trees, we have two, are folded up and placed in really strong polythene bags. The candle bridges are put back in the boxes they were bought in. Same with all the lights, after carefully folding them up. Then the whole lot is transported up to the loft and put to one side until next year.

Takes ages putting it all away, but worth it. DH is brilliant at it, I’m just the (un)willing assistant.

???????

We have 2 large plastic storage boxes, one contains the tree decorations and the other,everything else.
BUT
Since DH's health problems last year, we have difficulty getting them in and out of the loft so this year we have bought 4 of those huge Christmas present bags, the kind for putting a vast quantities of presents in for children. They are around 3 foot high, 18 inches wide and 1 foot deep and will be less heavy and we can tie the handles with a rope to lower them from the loft and raise them back in afterwards.

In the bags, decorations are either kept in the boxes they came in or in carrier bags by item - bag of baubles for LR tree, bag of baubles for Kitchen tree etc .

Last Christmas I decided to unplug the Christmas tree lights, wrapped an old net curtain all around the tree - keeping all the baubles, in tact and pinned the curtain. I could just get the tree through my loft door and left it there. This year, all I had to do was get the tree down from the loft, place it in the lounge, switch on the lights and voila! Easy peasy! So much easier.

We have quite a few old pine blanket boxes around the house which are handy for that kind of thing.

Hi TillyTrotter

Our decorations are stored in a mixture of cardboard/plastic boxes, or storage bags. Every box/bag is labelled with the contents, so I know what is inside without having to open it first.

The tree decs are mostly in plastic boxes, organised by tree and colour, eg " room tree/silver", or "porch tree/gold". Don't try to squeeze in too many, you'll risk breaking them.

The larger, special baubles are wrapped in tissue and stored in gift boxes, the kind you buy for presents. Make sure the box is deep enough to take the bauble without squashing. Also, you can store special baubles in the cardboard tube gift boxes, the sort for giving a bottle of wine/spirits, as they are quite sturdy.

The door wreaths are in individual wreath bags, and hung on pegs. The garlands from the mantlepieces are in long fabric red storage bags, or shallow plastic boxes ( the sort that go under the bed).

I have made/adapted cardboard boxes for other individual items, such as the 2 traditional style Father Christmases for the tops of the trees, the pottery nativity figures, various ornaments etc. I either use an empty delivery box ( lots arriving at this time of year), or cut down a bigger box. I then cover them with Christmas paper, and label. Try to keep the things for each room together, it makes decorating next year much easier!

All the soft decor ( cushions, throws,tree skirts, tablecloths, towels etc), are stored in those large foldable bags with handles, usually sold as laundry or shopping bags. Don't forget to label with the contents, and again try to group by room.

Everything is then put up in the loft ( MrLP made me simple wooden shelving units up there) until next year.

I find that making sure everything has its own labelled box or bag is the key to both storage, and less stress next year.

Hope this helps, take care xx

Last year we bought proper boxes for decorations. They have dividers in for the baubles and I wrap each in tissue.
Other decorations are in plastic storage boxes.
We decided last year not to put them back in the lift. Luckily we have a good size under stair cupboard. So, we took the opportunity to have a good clear out and now all the decorations and the tree live in there.

I have four plastic storage boxes with lids, two for baubles stored between layers of bubble wrap with the most fragile wrapped in tissue paper, one for lights and candles and one for wreaths and artificial foliage, scarcely used this year but too pretty to throw away. I pack the things carefully and keep them in the loft; so far the only breakages occur when I drop something.

I will ask my PA later what he does each year.
#lazygran

Thanks and ? Hi to all grans who have responded.
I’ve picked up 3 tips already - I will buy a roll of bubble wrap, and some cotton laundry bags. Also some gi-normous Christmas Gift bags.
DH is able to access loft - not me - so we can store bags up there where it has been boarded (whatever that means).
I’m thinking I’ll staple the bags closed to prevent dust getting in?
Most of the tree decsorations are the Norwegian wood style but the Angel is fragile and so are baubles which each of our children have had for years.
Our door wreath is on it’s last legs; son in law came through the front door with a backpack , turned around, and took out most of the foliage (accidentally). I think a new one is called for next year!
Thanks again and a happy Christmas season to you all.

Urmstongran I am formulating a N Y’s resolution to follow your example more as I would like to learn to become a #lazygran. ?
I hope you are feeling better?

I like the divider boxes for baubles too. Otherwise they tend to rub against each other and either crack or take the surface off, (unless wrapped in bubble wrap or loads of tissue paper). The lights all get packed away in their original boxes and the wreaths get hung on nails in the loft.
It depends on the loft, but I actually like to take smaller boxes up there and then pack them into the bigger crates in situ.
LindaPat great ideas for organising.

In addition I have a list on my phone reminding me of things I will have forgotten by next Christmas. Eg put Outside lights up early. Should have taken more notice as they never did get put up this year ?
Does anyone have a good method for storing lights to prevent a terrible woven knot? Unwillingness to unravel it certainly contributed to lack of outside lights. ?

We swapped the plastic storage boxes for bags last year, so much easier. We use the plastic brightly coloured ones with a zip closure (from Dunelm), keeps it all clean and nothing can fall out. I’m careful to spread weight. Many items go back in their original boxes, the rest are wrapped in paper or bubble wrap and put in lightweight boxes inside the bags. The trees are in their original boxes. We tend to pack up the decorations in stages, so it doesn’t feel onerous. I’m the loft organiser and go up leaving Mr C to pass the bags to me. It doesn’t take long at all but does make me sad for a while until I realise the place looks a whole lot bigger without the Christmas decorations.

I use plastic crates, with lids. Around 2ft x 15 inches x10 inches high or thereabouts each. They stack really well.
All unbreakable Christmas tree decs go in the bottom of a crate, then all of the tinsel is put on top of that then all the fragile Christmas tree decs are wrapped individually in kitchen towel (most pieces of kitchen roll date back from the 1990s) they are then placed on top of the tinsel, then some of our Christmas table cloths go on top of that, no breakages ever, so far!
I have various vintage Christmas tins out at Christmas for cakes etc. most other decs fit into these. Tins then all go into crates.

Lights are all in separate smaller crate.
Crates are slightly see through and nice bright pink and blue so I can see what’s inside before I open them.
Christmas trees go back into their huge boxes and stand upright in the back of the airing cupboard and I use them to lay the bath mats on.
However, I have 7 crates, (oh dear) but this year I need to decant the stuff into fewer crates. As we have a dormer bungalow its easy for me to drag it all into the crawl space in the spare bedroom.

Baubles are stored in shoe boxes which are then packed into large plastic boxes. At the moment I store them all in the spare room wardrobe which is handy and accessible. The plan is to see if they'll fit in the loft. Nothing has ever broken from storing them this way and I have some delicate wooden German decorations too. They're stored in their boxes, inside shoe boxes inside plastic boxes!

Ours are wrapped in the same newspaper (currently dated Dec 1994) every year and put in a clearly marked cardboard box in the garage. The tree goes back into its original box (almost). We have nothing precious just ancient.
Since we moved we have pledged never to enter the loft as it is such a faff. A lot of decluttering has me at that we can keep to this.

Carenza123

Last Christmas I decided to unplug the Christmas tree lights, wrapped an old net curtain all around the tree - keeping all the baubles, in tact and pinned the curtain. I could just get the tree through my loft door and left it there. This year, all I had to do was get the tree down from the loft, place it in the lounge, switch on the lights and voila! Easy peasy! So much easier.

For my very small tree that sounds like agood idea. I’ll give it a try.

LindaPat you are very organised - I will aspire to be more like you and the other ladies on this thread. ?

Yes thank you TillyTrotter kind of you to ask. ?
Becoming a #lazygran came easily to me. I obviously have a head start on some of you owing to my natural disposition. Others amongst you will have to practice I’m afraid. But do persevere. It pays dividends as you go along.

Rule No.1 #good enough is good enough. ?

We have eight stackable plastic boxes that fit nicely on the top of our wardrobe. As long as we don’t overfill them, and nestle delicates in with the tinsel and paper chains, nothing gets broken. We’d considered finding somewhere else to store them this year so we didn’t have to get the stepladders out, but we’ve acquired a very tall son in law, so we won’t need to.

Two boxes full didn’t get used this year, so I’m going to pack those into bags, and label them ready to go to the charity shop next November.

Oh yes, I'd forgotten the charity shops don't accept Christmas decorations after Christmas. One year when we rented a house we threw everything away because we didn't have room to take them home and the charity shop wouldn't take them.

I used to store them in cardboard egg boxes but for years have used small sturdy cardboad boxes that had toiletries in, each wrapped in tissue paper or kitchen roll.
The cardboard boxes hen go into a large plastic box.

My Christmas decorations are stored in boxes, placed inside large plastic storage boxes. I have 3 large boxes, one for breakable tree decorations, and the other two for the rest.
The delicate tree decorations are put into their original packaging and placed carefully in the storage box.
Then they all go away into the crawl space along the side of the house until next year.

Purpledaffodil

In addition I have a list on my phone reminding me of things I will have forgotten by next Christmas. Eg put Outside lights up early. Should have taken more notice as they never did get put up this year ?
Does anyone have a good method for storing lights to prevent a terrible woven knot? Unwillingness to unravel it certainly contributed to lack of outside lights. ?

Years ago I bought a plastic reel specifically designed to Wray strings of lights around without tangling, I now use them every year. I also wrap lights around a shoe box if they are not too long. My outdoor lights have very thick wires between them so I can wrap them around my arm creating a ring then use string to secure it, that seems to hold them tight with no tangles.

I do not have a proper loft as my bungalow has a dormer bedroom extension so I keep my indoor decorations and tree ( only five foot) on a high shelf in a wardrobe. I just need a small step stool to reach them.