Decorating your house on Christmas is fun right? But what about packing your decorations after the holiday season is over? For many people, packing the holiday decorations could be another daunting chore, where they might be tempted to toss everything inside the moving boxes or garbage bags and finally store them at the back of the closet or in the attic.
Each year after the holidays, you must store your decorations properly and ensure they're safe enough to be used in the next year. However, if you have planned to move, we suggest you embrace the same storage approach by exercising a little more caution and implementing more protection.
Tips to protect your Christmas decorations
Don't rush through the packing process as you may face difficulties in decorating your home in the next holiday season. You may have decorative items that are your heirlooms and filled with special memories. It’s worthwhile investing your valuable time in packing these items and saving yourself from the disappointment of throwing away a few broken decorative pieces.
If you have planned to relocate to a new house, you will expect all your Christmas decorations to be packed properly to get through the move. Though it seems a rare occurrence, there stands a chance of your valuables getting lost while being tossed into the moving, without cross-checking the boxes.
Start packing in advance
You should always pack your holiday decorations first until you are moving in the holiday season itself. With this, you will get sufficient time to collect specialty containers for shipping your decorative pieces. Moreover, you need to have a strategy that will help you pack and store your decorations safely, protecting them from damage. Also, a little more effort on your part will bring you rewards by saving your time and money for decorating your house in the year ahead.
Get rid of the clutter
If you have things left in your holiday decorations cart each year, we recommend you purge out these clutters. You may have broken items, however lots of memories must be attached to them, you can simply click their photos before you give them away to someone else. Also, there's no point in keeping those items that don't match your aesthetics anymore.
Arrange for moving boxes
It seems a good idea to store your Christmas decorations in a plastic storage cart as it would be easier to move them in and out of the attic. But if you need to relocate your decorations to a new house, plastic storage carts don’t look the right way.
A plastic storage cart isn't square in shape, it can easily shift from its place while in transit. Besides, if you stack heavy items on a plastic cart, it can even break and damage your belongings.
Maintain a separate box for holiday decorations
We suggest you don’t pack your holiday decorations with other household items, this will make your unpacking process difficult. If you maintain a separate box for your Christmas decorations, you can straight away put them into the storage and unpack only those items which you need to use.
Labeling is imperative
Make sure you label all the decorative items carefully and correctly; this will help you find them easily in the next holiday season. Don't just label the box as holiday or Christmas, instead, you need to give them more creative and descriptive names like "Christmas Village" or "Halloween Collection".
Buy good quality moving supplies
Don’t just look for good quality moving boxes if you want solid packaging for your belongings. Instead, you must buy some proper packing supplies like bubble wraps and packing paper to protect your items against damage. Avoid relying on newspapers, especially when you need to pack your holiday decorations to which a lot of memories must be attached. A newspaper often tends to leave impressions that are difficult to remove, your long-treasured décor might get stained and damaged.
Fill the moving boxes
If you just want to store the holiday decorations, there isn't any need to fill the boxes full. However, if you want to move the stored items, we suggest you don't fill the moving boxes. Leaving space in the box will cause your valuable possessions to shift during the transit and most probably damage them. Simply, use crumpled packing paper to fill any extra space in the moving box.
List of packing supplies for your Christmas decorations
Here's a list of packing supplies that you must arrange beforehand to properly pack your decorations for both storage and relocation:
- Moving boxes- small, medium, large
- Packing paper
- Bubble wrap
- Dish pack kit for small, breakable items or ornaments.
- Packing tape
- Marker
- Wreath boxes, light reels, or other types of specialty containers if required.
You must be one of those homeowners who have hired professionals to decorate your house lavishly during the festive season with Christmas lights, wreaths, statues, and ornaments, among a few others. We suggest you hire them only to take off the decorations after the holidays, and properly pack and store them for next year, regardless of whether you are moving or not.
However, if you are packing and storing by yourself, you need to follow the guidelines below:
How to pack a Christmas tree?
Do you have the original box of the Christmas tree? Of course, you can use it if it is in good condition. Alternatively, you can buy a suitable box online or purchase it from a local hardware store. Another option is to build a custom box by using chunks of cardboard and to provide extra protection you can put the tree in the Christmas tree bag and then into the moving box.
Tip: We suggest you store the Christmas tree in a cool and dry place in the off-season as you might not want it to get damaged.
Tips to pack the ornaments
- Make sure you wrap the delicate ornaments in packing paper or bubble wrap and put them in a divided box, for example, a dish pack kit.
- You can place the non-breakable items altogether in zip-lock bags and prevent them from tossing with the packing materials. Next, you need to pack them in a box filled with crushed packing papers and prevent them from shifting from their position during the transit.
- Label the boxes as fragile and don’t make the mistake of stacking heavy items on top of it.
Now, let’s learn how to make the ornaments ready for storage and ensure they can be used in the next holiday season as well.
Preparing the storage containers
- Get the original box of the ornaments if it’s designed to be used multiple times. Alternatively, you can purchase storage boxes designed to keep your ornaments fixed and secured.
- You must use transparent plastic containers through which you can see your ornaments without having to open their cover. This will save you time while you look for these decorative items in the next holiday season.
Detaching the ornaments
- It would be a promising idea to lay a towel below the Christmas tree to hold any breakable items that might fall off, while you are taking out the decorations.
- Make sure you start removing the ornaments from the base of the Christmas tree and gradually move upward. However, if you begin from the top, you will stand the risk of displacing the items on the lower side of the tree.
Organizing the ornaments
- You can sort the Christmas tree ornaments according to your preference. Here we have a few tips to make the organization easier for you:
- You can store the ornaments according to their size, style, and color. This will help you choose items for a specific look in the next holiday season.
- In case the container doesn't have compartments, you can make your cardboard dividers for good organization.
Tips to pack Christmas lights and garlands
- Don’t make the mistake of tossing the light bulbs into the moving boxes as they might break or get damaged. Here are a few tricks you can apply:
- Fold the lights all over a storage reel, you may get them online at a reasonable price.
- Pack the garlands and lights encircling a cardboard sheet with packing tape to protect the edges. Finally, add a layer of bubble wrap to protect your lights and garlands against damage.
Moreover, if you want to store the garlands, lights, and ribbons safely, you must take the following steps:
- Straighten any decorative items like ribbons, garlands, or lights after taking them off the Christmas tree.
- It would be a good idea to encircle them around a cardboard box as this would prevent them from getting tangled.
- Place each of the wrapped strings inside long-lasting zip-lock bags or plastic bags and prevent them from getting scratched.
- Don’t make the mistake of storing multiple garlands in one container as this would increase their risk of getting tangled and damaged.
Tips to pack wreaths and lawn decor
- Make use of a plastic container to pack a wreath easily for moving. You can cover it with bubble wrap if you want to tighten it and fix it in one place. Finally, you need to place the wreath inside a box to pack it for moving.
- It’s a good idea to use an original box for packing the inflatables. Another option would be to roll them up into a moving box.
- You can use moving blankets to wrap the nativity scenes, candy canes, or skeletons. Later, you may use packing tape to secure the packaging. Avoid applying tape on the decors, instead, you should apply it on the moving blankets, as this can damage your items.
- Try to fit them in large or excel boxes as this would provide them with the highest protection during the move.
- Pack Christmas decorations like ceramic pumpkins, snow village, and stockings like any other household items.
On-site and off-site storage options
In case you aren’t moving, and you just need to store the decorations after packing them for the new season, we have two options:
- On-site storage- This is an ideal option when you have only a few decorations that you need to store. You can simply store them in your cabinets, indoor closets, or garage shelves away from everyone's reach and protect them from getting damaged.
- Off-site storage- If you don't have sufficient space inside your house, off-site storage would be a perfect choice to store your holiday decorations. We suggest you rent climate-controlled storage units, as there might be a few temperature-sensitive decoration items.
Moving during the peak season isn’t easy. If you are looking to hire professional movers, make sure you schedule them in advance. You may request quotes from multiple moving companies and choose the one that suits your budget and requirements. Until you are confident don’t go for a DIY move and ruin your holiday season by mishandling your precious Christmas decorations.