This is the time of year when we are wrapping up the holidays and looking forward to the new year that lies ahead. This transition can be difficult for some people. Trust us, we understand that. We really enjoy decorating our homes for the holidays. For us who really enjoy decorating, this is the time when all of the decorations come down and are once again packed away for safekeeping. As much as we enjoy decorating for the holidays, we never look forward to taking everything down at the end of the season. It is at this time that we question why we go to such lengths to decorate our home every year, but we know we’ll do it again next year. For families with younger children, it helps to wait until the kids are back at school and your family’s routines have returned to take down our decorations. We always get pushback when we suggest we take all of our decorations down immediately following the New Year’s celebration. No one likes the way the house looks bare without the holiday trimmings. When putting away our decorations, we are careful to wrap the wreaths in plastic, stuff bows with tissue paper, and put ornaments in segmented boxes for safekeeping. We also recommend storing extension cords and timers alongside the décor. We remove batteries so they don’t corrode and damage the contents of the containers. Over the years, we have modified my takedown process. We now organize this process by putting all of the decorations for one room in large plastic storage boxes labeled and numbered for each room. We use a lot of command hooks to secure wreaths and garlands to the walls. Before we take the hooks off the wall, we take a picture of their positioning so it’s easier to repeat the process next year. These images are also added to the room box picture collection. Once we remove the command hooks from the walls, we place the hooks in the storage boxes. We also recommend keeping a running tally of the command hooks we use. This way, we know how many packages of refill strips we need to purchase next year. In addition, we take pictures of the decorations in the room and attach those pictures along with any special notes to the inside lid of the room box. Place all of the pictures/notes into a clear page protector and attach it to the inside lid of the box. This ‘box plan’ is an extremely helpful way to remember how a room was decorated. Not only does it make the setup process quicker and easier the following year, it’s also a great guide for others that may help with the setup process. And just like that, you have our tips and strategies for wrapping up the holidays.
S’more Fun…
Holiday gift giving doesn’t have to be complicated or overly expensive. When considering presents for friends, teachers, neighbors or co-workers; I always strive to give heartfelt gifts. Consider S’more fun. This year we put together DIY S’mores Kits for people that we are thankful for. Our hope is that these simple holiday treats provide an opportunity for some stress-free family time. In the past, we have created several DIY gifts, movie night bowls, made ceramic trees to remind us of the simple things in life, or shared a homemade bottle of limoncello. Adding a pretty bow, a keepsake ornament, a customized tag, and a personalized note make the gift more special. We have made this super easy for you. We have everything you need to beautifully package your DIY gifts in our wrapping section. We regard community gifts as a small token of our appreciation. It’s a thoughtful and beautiful way to say, “Thank you! Thank you for being a part of our story. Thank you for all that you do.” This small gesture is meant to recognize the kind deeds, shared talent, or support people bestow on us throughout the year. Our best tip is to always prepare more gifts than you need and keep a few extra on hand for someone you may have overlooked. This tends to occur more frequently as we get older and busier! This year, after all of the packages were assembled, we had a fair amount of extra ingredients remaining, so we made a gift for our own guests. With the leftover ingredients, we packaged up individual servings. These extras will make s’more fun a little easier for us to serve fun treats on our back porch throughout the season.