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The New Year is here. I can’t believe that it’s already time to take down my family’s Christmas organizations! In past years after the New Year, I’ve sometimes thrown my family’s Christmas décor into the basement without thought of organizing or preparing for the next year. But this new year, I plan to work smartly so I can make next Christmas smoother! Today I am sharing 5 ways to prep for next Christmas now!
1. Get Organized. When you take down this year’s Christmas décor, organize your holiday decorations. That way, you can easily find your holiday décor come Christmas! In some years, I’ve deposited my family’s Christmas décor in whatever quick and easy spot in the basement I could find. This year, I plan to create one spot in the basement where I will carefully store our Christmas décor in clearly marked boxes! When I go to find out Christmas décor next year, it will be a cinch! (Well… here’s hoping!)
2. Prep Your List and Labels. Before you put away the Christmas cards you received this year, take the time to prepare your Christmas card list for next Christmas. Be sure to update old addresses and add new folks you may want to send a Christmas card to next year! (This year, I created my Christmas labels using Avery labels. Creating the labels was easy, and they have label templates online you can use and save to your computer to use every year.)
3. Replace Those Old Christmas Lights. If you need new Christmas lights, or are using old incandescent Christmas lights, now is the time to buy new Christmas lights or eco-friendly ones. You might even be able to get some on sale! My family and I got the new Star Shower for our outdoor Christmas decor, and it’s great! You can easily purchase a Star Shower 
4. Designate Your Christmas Gift Hiding Spot. If you have kids, you need a spot to hide those Christmas gifts! In past years, I’ve stuffed Christmas gifts all over the place in closets and drawers. But there was a year where I forgot to give my kids a small gift or two because I stowed it away somewhere and forgot about it! For next Christmas, I am going to create one spot where I can store the wrapped presents for my children. My basement is dry, so I am going to clear off a shelf in the basement so I have a place to put the gifts out of sight! (If you have inquisitive kids, it might be a good choice to hide gifts in a non-see-through storage containers
on a high shelf!) Another option I have is to put a lock on our small guest room door. That way, I can place the gifts in there and keep the gifts away from prying eyes! (I have to give credit to my kids, though — I left two very LARGE gifts in my home’s guest room for them this year, and they didn’t peek!)
5. Organize Your Wrapping Paper & Gift Bags. If your family is like my family, you have plenty of wrapping paper and gift tags left over after Christmas is done. (I tend to buy my gift tags at the dollar store, so I get a lot of tags for not much cash.) Now that it’s time to put all those wrapping supplies away, take an inventory of what you’ll need next season — you can buy some now at a huge discount! Plus, you might want to get some gift wrap storage containers
to store those big rolls of wrapping paper and gift bags.
Do you have any tips on how to best store Christmas supplies and decor? I’d love to hear them!
