Wrapping Up Christmas

It is hard to believe that Christmas is over and the New Year is upon us.  And with that comes one of the most dreaded chores of the year- taking down the Christmas decorations!  

Each year I try to come up with more ideas to make this task easier and to make decorating more fun the next year.  You may remember my post last year where I told you about my Christmas notebook. You can find that post here, as well as pages that you can print out for your own notebook.  

Here is the updated cover page for 2017.

I will be reprinting the pages and updating the information for my own book as I take down the decorations.  I can't tell you how helpful the section on box location was this year! 

Here are some other things I will be doing this year to make next Christmas easier and more fun for me. Maybe they will help you as well! 

• All of the Christmas boxes have numbers on them to correspond to the pages of the book as discussed here.  This year I noticed that some of the pages with the numbers had gotten torn and were starting to fade.  This year I am reprinting the numbers and placing them in dollar store page protectors so that I can find them and read the numbers next season. The pages will then be taped on the boxes with heavy shipping tape. 
• I am seriously assessing my Christmas wrap inventory.  I have a lot of paper, and I'm not just talking scraps, but almost full rolls.  I am going to use that paper next year and not be tempted to purchase more of the pretty paper I see. (Okay, I will be TRYING not to be tempted...).
• A list of needed items will be placed on a sticky note and placed in my calendar on the page with the first week of October on it.  That way I can remember what I need when the items come out and can watch for sales. Why my calendar?  Well, it is always with me and is checked daily. I can move the sticky note from page to page and keep track of my ideas.  

• I am purging old, unwanted decorations now.  I have boxes of decorations and ornaments that I haven't used in years.  They will be donated to Goodwill now and hopefully someone else will find them and love them next Christmas.  This is part of my whole de-cluttering plan for the new year (or years, as it may be!). 
• Another list that will be placed in my calendar is one of gift suggestions.  For example, at a local craft show I discovered homemade soy candles by a local crafter that will make delightful gifts for teachers and neighbors.  My daughters introduced me to a wonderful little macaron shop that makes the most delicious treats you have ever tasted- also wonderful little hostess gifts or stocking stuffers. I am placing this list on the first week of November so that I have time to order special gifts or look for sales. I can add to this list as ideas come to me. 

Look what I found in Target when I was trying to ignore the temptation of beautiful clearance priced wrapping paper!

How did I not know about shimmery M&Ms before now? 

It's hard to tell by the picture, but they really are shimmery! And white chocolate, which I love! I will enjoy them as a little snack while taking down the tree. 

Do you have any great ideas for organizing for next Christmas?  I would love to hear about them! 

Thanks for stopping by today! 

~Cynthia