So, it’s all boxed up, right? Ready to be stored away until next year. The red boxes on the right gave way this year to the six red boxes on the left. Each kid has his own box, labeled with his name. This should make decorating SOOOOOOO much easier next year. I can’t take credit for this; it’s all FishPapa. He insisted on new boxes once he experienced first hand the craziness of figuring out whose ornaments was whose, because, you know, you have to hang your own ornaments! Problem solved thanks to dear old dad.
Two weeks ago we were bustling about trying to get ready for The Day. And now that the craziness is over, it’s tempting not to think of it again. But, before you pack your thoughts away in the garage or attic along with the decorations, here are just a few things to consider:
- Hoosier Homemade has some clever tips on organizing your decorations. If you’ve already stashed them, maybe you want to bookmark her post.
- Organzing Your Way has a debriefing exercise on what would you do differently as well as tips to create an idea file for next year.
- And while Walmart and Target are probably cleaned out of there Christmas Clearance, deals can still be had at CurrentCatalog.com’s After-Christmas-Sale. Save up to 75% off on Christmas items and get free shipping with a $40 order. If you pair up with a friend or two, you can combine orders and not feel obligated to spend 40 smackers.
What post-Christmas/pre-Christmas planning do you do?
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Yep. We did the conversion to individual boxes for each child a few years ago when I couldn't keep track anymore. This year our 2 kiddos had their own tiny Christmas trees in their own rooms!
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Our ornaments are marked in an inconspicuous spot with initial and year that the girls received them (sharpie markers; gotta love 'em).
As for next year…one of my goals this year is to purchase gift items throughout the year rather than waiting til the week of a birthday or Christmas. I've already started a list of things to look for as I'm out and about. And I've got a place already organized to stash the goods.
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We might need to try this. All of our stuff is thrown into one huge bin.
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Thanks for the links, FishMama. I just finished packing up all the decorations and stuffing them into our crawl space. I try hard to stuff toward the back those boxes I don't care as much about, and put toward the front some festive holiday plates and other items I know I'll want toward the beginning of the season. I also learned from hard experience to NOT store away the extra Christmas cards or the Advent candle as I'll want to get my hands on those EARLY. Off to check out your links now
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Thanks for the shout out!
~Liz
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I read your site all of the time, but this is my first time commenting. I get so many good ideas here!
This was our first Christmas with all 3 kids being more involved (they are 6, 2 and 1) and aware of what was going on. There were some things that we did that worked (like 3 gifts per child) and some that did not (opening all of the grandparent gifts at once…chaos!). I am writing up notes about what I would like to do the same next year and what I would like to do differently, and I am going to put them in my recipe binder so that I will see them next year. I am hoping that this will help me keep things simple and calmer next December.
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More great tips! I personally LOVE the idea of an "idea file". I have one and it helps the planning process:-)
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I weeded out many old decorations I did not want which made organizing a lot simpler. Might be trying the 3 gifts per person next year.
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