Once the holiday season has passed, it’s time for absolutely no one’s favourite job: packaging away Christmas and holiday decorations. Sure, we know all too well it’s tempting to leave things up a little longer—after all, you spent all that time making your place look fantastic, why not enjoy the sight of it just a little bit more? But, once you’re ready to store everything away, here’s some great packaging supplies and tactics for packing away Christmas and holiday decorations.
Gift Wrapping Supplies
Christmas wrapping paper takes up a lot of room for something used only once a year, and worse, it can be easily damaged if not protected. Using tall corrugated boxes will help coral all those rolls of paper while taking up minimal space wherever you end up storing them.
Christmas Wreaths
Most commercial packaging for wreaths isn’t exactly storage-conducive. But you know what is? Flat screen TV moving boxes. They have the dimensions needed to house a wreath, and if you choose the right box, they can even house a fully-decorated one (first wrap it in foam or even bubble, to secure the ornaments). You can fill out the rest of the box space with any extra garland you might have.
Ornaments & Decorations
Plastic bins are ideal for storing ornaments. Wrap each one individually in tissue (or bubble if they’re particularly fragile), then create layers of ornaments separated by layered sheets of foam. If you’re really into organizing your ornaments, add corrugated dividers into the mix. They’ll help you separate the truly breakable, or simply help you sort decorations by style.
Christmas Lights
Did you save their boxes? If so, they’ll easily stack up in storage. If not, wrap them into coils and secure them with twist ties—you’ll want to do this to avoid the dreaded tangle of lights next year, trust us. Give them their own box to live in, or layer them at the bottom of your bins full of ornaments.
Christmas Trees
Artificial Christmas trees come in boxes that are basically impossible to pack them back into. If you’re like us, you’ve probably damaged that box over the years, trying to cram everything back in there in just the right way. We say, no more—use a Space Saver Wardrobe Box to store away the tree segments instead. If you’ve got any decorations that should hang during storage, the reinforced hanging bar is yet another useful, wonderful feature.
Outdoor Decorations
Corrugated boxes are what you’ll need to pack away nativity scenes, inflatable decorations and anything else you’ll display out in the yard. Ensure you have plenty of bubble cushion and packing paper to keep everything protected and separated from each other.
Extra House Décor
Still have plastic bins left? Great! They’re perfect for packing away centerpieces, tablecloths and towels, napkins and cutlery, garland, stockings and any other holiday décor you have around the house. You can even use fabric items to wrap around and protect other decorations.
Office Holiday Decorations
Time for packing away Christmas and holiday decorations at the office? Everything listed above works just as well in your workplace. But, this time you get to recruit co-workers to help you so you’re not stuck doing it all yourself. Break out some file storage boxes for packing things up—they’re likely already on hand, and they’re easy to stack away in the file room for next year.
Packing away Christmas and holiday decorations is never anyone’s ideal task. But, with these tips and some quality packaging supplies, you can make quick work of what needs to be done. And you’ll be organized and ready to break it all out again next year.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays—and happy packing!
