There are 3 kinds of people in this world:
- People who take their Christmas decorations down promptly on December 26th
- People who savour every moment of the holiday season and take their decorations down slightly after the new year
- People who dread taking their Christmas decorations down so much Christmas trees become ‘love’ trees well into February
I’ve always been a proud member of camp 2. My birthday is December 26th, so I’m definitely not taking my decorations down on my birthday. I savour every moment of our home filled with the magic of Christmas lights and the warmth it brings.
Whether you take your decorations down on December 26th or February 26th, there are a few easy things you can do now while taking your Christmas decorations down to make putting them up next year seamless. Here’s my top 5:
- Take pictures with detailed notes on how everything was hung up – if you like the way your decorations looked this year, take a few minutes to make yourself a quick guide for hanging next year. Trust me, you won’t remember in 11 months exactly how you got that garland to hang just right. You’ll need 2 pictures – one with each decoration hung up (visual reference for next year). The second picture should be with the physical decorations removed, but with all of the supplies/gadgets used to hang still up. Use a picture editing tool to make notes on the picture (ie 3 command hooks & 2 nails) & circle anything that may be hard to see. Save these pictures in a seperate album on your phone so you can easily locate them next year.
- Label decorations so you know exactly where it goes – every piece of garland and strand of lights will look identical in 11 months when you go to hang them back up. Label each item (I use a piece of paper / tape to keep them attached) so there’s no confusion about which piece of garland goes on the front hallway window vs. above the kitchen sink.
- Order extra supplies now – If you’re going to need more supplies next year of anything you used to make the Christmas magic happen this year, order it now. In 11 months, you may forget you need just 2 more Command hooks to make the Christmas magic happen, and you’ll be thankful you have them on hand already. We had a smaller strand of lights go out on us this year, so we’ve already got a new set on the way. Alternatively, if you don’t want to make the investment now, take a picture with detailed notes of what you need and add it to your Christmas guide album.
- Keep a small ornament box accessible year round – Adam & I love bringing back ornaments from our travels. Our family & friends also know this, so between January and November we continue to add to our ornament collection. We keep a small box (a repurposed shoe box clearly labeled works great) on top of our large Christmas storage containers so we have an easily accessible, safe (ie damage proof) place to put them year-round.
- Put your ornament hooks in that ornament box – Growing up, it was without fail the biggest question every Christmas was ‘Where are the ornament hooks?’. If your ornament hooks are at the bottom of one of your 5 boxes , you’ll also be scratching your head next Christmas asking ‘where did I put those last year?“. I’d highly recommend putting the ornament hooks in that small, easily accessible box from step 4 & making a note in your Christmas guide album that’s where they are.
I hope this helps make Christmas 2021 decorating easier for you – wishing you & your families a very Happy New Year!
Our Small Cape 