Packing Christmas away for another year

I don’t know about you but I love putting up the Christmas tree, arranging all of the cards and decorating my home with lovely, twinkling Christmas lights, when the holiday season comes around again. Most readers may agree but how many of you feel the same about taking the tree and decorations down at the end of the season, and packing them away for another year?

Not very many probably although sometimes we are ready to move on and away from Christmas time.

Pre-Christmas most people, especially children, are excited and looking forward to the Holiday season but once it is over many of us are looking forward to January and perhaps a poor cash flow, a return to work, freezing cold weather, never ending sales of cheap and cheerful Christmas cards and paper, and not much else. Big deal!

No wonder some people get a little depressed post-Christmas.

In this frame of mind the dismantling of the Christmas decorations is just another chore and one that is tedious and time consuming. However it does not have to be like that.

Post-Christmas treats

If you decorate your Christmas tree with a few chocolates, some Christmas crackers and the odd surprise they will add to the fun when it is dismantling time again. If you do this perhaps you could easily persuade the whole family to join in with the task of dismantling the tree. A few crackers could be pulled, chocolates scoffed and surprises opened to make the job in hand more enjoyable.

Plan of action

It is best to plan the dismantling a little beforehand rather than just begrudgingly try to hide Christmas for another year. As with most chores the work will be easier if it is organised and planned well. Make sure that you know:-
• what you are going to store the decorations in
• where you will store them until next Christmas
• just who is responsible for what.
If there a few of you allocate jobs so that perhaps one person takes the decorations down, another dusts the decorations, one wraps them carefully in tissue paper and the other packs them away. A few glasses of the remaining Christmas sherry, plonk or stronger will help keep your spirits up whilst you work.

Decide also what you are going to do first

It may be the wisest choice to take down the lights before the tree or the other way around. A lot will depend on just how many decorations you have put up, the type of decoration and your circumstances.

Timing

Think about the best time of day to start removing your Christmas decorations. Perhaps it will be as well to do the indoor decorations after the little ones have gone to bed.
Obviously it will be wise to tackle outdoor lights and decorations before it gets dark and only in decent weather, if possible.

Many people choose to do this work on the weekend, nearest to Twelfth Night, as they have more free-time.

Do not vacuum until you have finished all of the dismantling and packing away as you will be wasting your time. Whatever you do you will still leave you finding small bits of tinsel and Christmas tree way into spring.
Safety first

Do not be silly. Make sure that you follow safe working practices when you take down any decorations at home or work. If you have to reach up high or climb steps or ladders ensure that:-
• the steps or ladders are suitable and fit for purpose
• you do not overstretch
• you are not in the house or workplace alone

Take your time

Try not to rush. If you pick a free day you can take your time. This will ensure that you are safe, the decorations are undamaged and that they will be stored well for use next Christmas After all you do not want to have to buy new Christmas decorations just because you have been careless, do you?

Overall
Make sure that you have suitable storage space set aside before you start dismantling your decorations. Ensure that you have all the tools that you need out and to hand. These may be scissors, tape, packing boxes, dusters and tissue paper. Try to clean and wrap everything well ensuring that electricity leads and wires are tangle free.
If you pack well your life should be a little easier next year when you set about decorating your home again for Christmas.

Think how you will organise the storage space also. For example our decorations are stored in the loft of our home which has limited access. Because of this the heavier items are put in last, so that they are near to the trap door.

Finally label each box so that you know just where the lights are, for example. This will help if you want to change which decorations you put up each year and will also help you get items out in order.

Much as putting up the Christmas decorations each year can be enjoyable this is not usually the case if you have simply dragged all the decorations down as quickly as possible the previous year, thrown them totally disorganised into any old box and topped them off with a tangled and twisted mass of Christmas lights.

Of course you can do this if you want to but I for one prefer to keep the cheery Christmas spirit a little longer, take my time taking the decorations down and be well organised for next year. In the long run this saves time money and tempers from fraying.