LET’S START WITH AN EDIT
Every year I am so tempted by all the wonderful new Christmas decorations that it would be so easy to click and buy some more. However, it’s often good first to take stock of what you already have. It has certainly happened to me before that I ordered a large box of blush pink baubles, only to realise when taking out the old decorations that I had ordered more or less identical ones last year.
Edit what you have not used in years. There is no point storing decorations if they are broken. Nor does it make sense to clutter your storage space with decorations which may have been a well-intended gift or an expensive (but bad) purchase if they will clearly never make it onto your tree or table. A lot of charity shops and also schools are looking for unwanted decorations in good condition ahead of the festive period.
SORTING AND STORAGE
In order to get a good picture of what you already have and what decorations may fit into your scheme this year, it makes sense to sort your decorations by type – baubles, bauble hooks and ribbons, candles and candle holders, table decorations, tree stands and skirts, advent calendars etc. The baubles I would sort again by colour. This will allow you to change colour schemes from one year to the next.
Charlie from The Tidy Twins recommends that you use lightweight transparent storage boxes that you can label (e.g. green baubles, Christmas tree lights etc) and stack on top of each other to maximise the space you have in your wardrobe, loft or garage. To avoid breakage of any glass baubles especially, boxes with bauble inserts are a good idea. Robert Dyas and Amazon sell different options.
Alternatively, if you do not have the space to store Christmas decorations or just can’t bear the idea of having to store them year on year, why not try edible Christmas decorations. Nigella has a delicious recipe for peppery, gingerbready edible decorations which will entertain the kids, look pretty and have disappeared come the 6th of January.
If you have done your sorting but are not sure how to pull it all together to a pretty scheme which flows from your entrance to your Christmas table to the tree, watch out for my next blog post on how to create a beautiful Christmas scheme for your home.
