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.
Entertaining
Deck The Halls…
If it’s December and if you haven’t already started, it’s time to gather the troops and deck the halls or otherwise knowns as getti g your holiday decorating knocked out! Put some holiday potpourri on the stove (here’s an easy recipe) put on Christmas music, and let the magic of the holidays inspire you to transform your home. We find it’s easiest to carve out a chunk of time to gather holiday items and get organized. For me this means hauling boxes of décor down from the attic and getting organized. Once we have inventoried our decorations, we work room by room adding simple holiday decor in every room. We use command hooks in every room in order not to mar the walls. My goal is to make our home feel welcoming and festive. Over the years, we have developed a system to make this easier, especially if you have people helping with this process. We have large storage totes that are labeled for each room. Taped to the underside of each box lid, there is a page protector that contains pictures of the arrangements from previous years. These images give the decorator some inspiration and guidance if needed. No one knows what the holidays are going to look like again this year, so we are committed to decking the halls using simple decorations to add holiday cheer all around our home. We have added custom wreaths, garlands and lights to every room. Here are some easy ideas to get you started. If you are looking for additional gift inspiration, check out our holiday gift giving post or the DIY gifts section of our site.
