Even though we look forward to it throughout the year, the holiday season comes and goes pretty quickly. Sure, everyone enjoys decorating the house, wrapping presents and spending time with family. However, it all comes to an end after a few days and now it’s time to store the decorations away. Packing Christmas decorations doesn’t always get the utmost care, but there is one case where it should. That is if you’re moving house. Moving Christmas decor after the holidays and before the relocation requires some thought and planning. Lucky for you, we’ve come up with a few moving tips and tricks on how to keep your holiday cheer safe during this hectic time.
If you enjoyed decorating your tree this year, be smart about packing away the decor, so you can enjoy it next year as well!
The secret to moving Christmas decor like a pro
If you’re wondering why should you pay special attention to packing holiday decorations, read on. Usually, people have a bunch of decorations for various parts of the house. Starting from artificial Christmas trees, to fragile glass ornament and tangled lights, there are so many items that you should carefully pack away. If you’re moving after the holidays, then you know you won’t be using these until next year. So, they will most likely end up in your designated storage area for a while. Even if you’re moving around the holidays, there is a bunch of reasons why you have to plan out these boxes a bit better. It’s always nice to have everything organized once you have to unpack them in December! Here are the tricks that will make packing and moving Christmas decor so much easier!
Tip 1: Gather all the supplies you need
Maybe there is no need to rush to the store to buy brand-new packing supplies. If this is after the holidays, there might be things you can easily re-use! For instance, think about saving the wrapping paper from the presents, and even some of the boxes. One more thing you can save and use again are egg cartons, but we’ll get to that later. Here are some supplies you will need before you start moving Christmas decor:
- Boxes you will store ornaments in. These can be cardboard boxes, but we recommend getting plastic ones. If you’re storing them in your garage or in a storage facility, these will prevent your decor from getting moldy. Storage units are especially vulnerable during winter, so you want to make sure anything you store inside will be safe.
- Bubble wrap. This probably goes without saying, but you will need either bubble wrap of old clothes to ensure nothing breaks during transport. You don’t have to have fragile glass ornaments to worry about them breaking – plastic ones can break as well!
- Ziploc bags for storing individual strings of Christmas lights. You can still put them in boxes with the other decor, but this way they won’t get tangled with the rest.
- Tape and markers for finishing touches.
Tip 2: Keep holiday decor in separate boxes and label them accordingly
Of course, we don’t want you to have twenty separate boxes of decorations. However, if you wish to store everything in large plastic bins, there should still be some sort of organization. Also, when putting them away in storage, don’t place regular home goods inside boxes with Christmas ornaments. It will just get hectic. After all, when unpacking after the move, it will be more difficult to find things you actually need. Among the best packing secrets out there is precise labeling. If you’ve got the space, label the boxes and bins in detail, so you know exactly what is inside. Simply putting “Christmas decor” won’t tell you much when you need to unpack them!
Tip 3: Store ornaments in egg cartons to make moving Christmas decor easier
Finally, we come to the part where we explain why egg cartons are useful for packing and moving Christmas decor. To make sure they won’t break or chip during the moving process, there is a way to keep them safe. All you have to do is store small, fragile ornaments into an egg carton, close it, tie it with a rubber band and tape the carton shut. Of course, you could always add a layer of bubble wrap if you think they need extra protection. For ornaments that are too big for the egg carton, you could always purchase a special ornament box. They can be found in most retail stores and come with dividers to ensure the ornaments don’t break.
Storing ornaments in egg cartons is a great way to prevent them from breaking during a move.
Tip 4: Untangle and wrap Christmas lights before packing them
There is nothing worse than wanting to decorate the Christmas tree and finding that all your lights are completely tangled. They are a pain to untangle, so we’ve got another tip for you. When taking them off a tree, you can do the following. Grab a bigger cardboard roll or a book and start wrapping the lights around them. Once you’re done, tuck the tail under the rest and your lights will never tangle. You can pack them in the bin along with the roll, or you can take them off of a book (or other objects) and tie them with a piece of string. We recommend placing them inside a Ziploc bag before storing them in a bin. This will prevent them from getting tangled with the other decorations in the bin. Packing away Christmas lights isn’t that hard!
Nobody wants to untangle Christmas lights before the holidays, so find a way to pack them and prevent them from tangling.
Tip 5: Take your time to properly prepare for moving Christmas decor
This tip goes especially if you’re planning to relocate on the holidays. Traffic can be hectic during this time and the roads icy. However, even if you’re moving in the middle of the summer, you still have to bring your holiday decorations with you. To ensure they won’t break or get lost during transport, apply these tips and you’ll be good to go. Moving Christmas decor isn’t complicated, it just takes a bit more time to think it through!