OK, we've all done it, but let's not do it this year. We all know people who still have the Christmas decorations up clear into March, but that's not going to happen this year. Yes, it's a big job, but you can do it fairly quickly and then you'll be done for another year.

My mother was quite superstitious and we should be horrified that I am keeping my tree up past the New Year. She felt that it would bring the spirit of the past year into the New Year and Lord knows, this year has been gnarly enough, but I'm not as superstitious as she was. And I have a reason this year. We are having a New Year's Eve party and since we didn't really have anyone over during the holidays, I'd like people to see my pretty decorations before I store them all away. But I promise you, it is coming down no later than January 2nd! If nothing else, I want my living room back.

So, how to go about it? Well, there are two schools of thought here - a bit at a time, or the whole enchilada? I know myself and I know if I do it a bit at a time, I won't get back to it for days, so I always opt for the whole enchilada.

If you want to do it a bit at a time, schedule 15 minute sessions once or twice a day with the goal to have it done by the end of the week.  If you're going to do it all at once, set aside an evening (like tonight!) when some of Santa's helpers will be around to help you.

I have my husband and son do all the lugging of boxes up and down the stairs while I do the more delicate work of packing everything up so nothing gets broken. Most of my decorations are hand made and very precious to me, so I don't usually like for anyone else to put them away. Then if I break something, I can't get too mad at myself.

I use the empty boxes to store all my everyday decorations, so it's more like redecorating than undecorating. Keep a store of tissue paper or newspaper handy for the more delicate ornaments and be sure to put the heavier stuff on the bottom. Don't forget the outside decorations. Maybe not the lights until ice and snow go away, but be sure you get all the wreaths and stuff from outside.

Don't forget to take one last sweep around the house before you put away the last box. There's nothing like forgetting one darn thing and having to dig everything back out to put it away. Or worse, having it hanging around the house all year.

That's it. Bye-bye for another year Christmas decorations. Go and have yourself a cup of hot cocoa. You've earned it. 


By TwitterButtons.com

What is your plan for putting away your holiday decorations?

Stop by every Monday for a fresh dose of Clutterbugs.  If you'd like to see past posts on the subject, click on the label at the bottom of this post for a complete list.  

I haven’t posted any stamped stuff lately.  These are the projects from my October and November classes.



I love this buffalo from In Wilderness.  With a little extra sponging of ink around the edges, it gives it a nice vintage look.



 

This set is so gorgeous, but I don’t always know what to do with it.  Stamping it didn’t really give it enough depth, so we ended up embossing it in black.  Then it was easy to just add a little ribbon and some fancy corners.  I love to do this shadow effect with the tag punch.  Makes the punch stand out so much.






 
I included this one for old time sake.  This is very similar to the card I did at the party where I first signed up. I remember I was SO impressed with myself that I could create something so awesome that I signed up the next day!






I've had this Cute by the Inch set and I've just been itching to do something fun with it.  So I did these itty bitty gift cards in a rainbow of colors.








For our 3D project, we actually did personalized Pyrex dishes with the glass etching cream and some stencils.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of any of the finished projects, so I grabbed a quick picture of this lovely etched plate I received during Convention.  It's hard to see in this photo, but it is etched with the Manhattan Flower stamps. 





This is a gorgeous simple card.  It's one of the rare projects that I cased almost exactly.  It's just something that if you added or subtracted anything from it, Unfortunately, I didn't write down whose card it was I was copying, so if it is yours or you know whose it is, please let me know. 






This was our November 3D project.  I just love these stationery folders.  They are so easy and you can do them with any color or stamp set.  I've probably made 50 of them over the years.  It just takes one sheet of cardstock and 2 pieces of printer paper, so it's a very economical gift too.  Usually I throw in a few envelopes and some stamps. 













This was our other 3D project this month. These are just some votive candles with initials. This would make a lovely grouping with some larger pillar candles. You could spell out Joy, Peace, Love, or someone's name instead of initials. Very versatile and another inexpensive gift.







This is my favorite technique, mainly because it's so easy and can be done with materials I have around the house.  This is Faux Silk and it's done with crumpled tissue paper and glue sticks.  It doesn't show up well in the pic, but it has a lovely raw silk texture to it. 





This card got the most rave reviews from my customers.  Unfortunately, it doesn't photograph well, but the Night of Navy section is deeply embossed with snowflakes from my new Snowflakes embossing folder.  Really sets off the white ribbon and the red corner.  It's a little bit of a patriotic Christmas, but that's kind of fun, I think! 

I went to repost this just for a fun Christmas idea when I noticed that I had originally posted it on the exact same date two years ago.  Bizarre!  Anyway, here is a fun idea that we do with our kids every year. 


I was over at Tip Junkie looking at all the fun Christmas tips she has on her website and that reminded me that I have a fun Christmas idea to share too.


Every Christmas, we do the Great Christmas Hunt. This started when I remembered how much fun my kids have every Easter with their Easter Egg Hunt. When they were little, I would hide and re-hide the eggs all over the house because they had such a fun time just going around finding all the eggs. So I came up with this fun idea for them to hunt for one of their Christmas presents.

It all starts here. On our Christmas tree, there are two of these little mailbox ornaments - a red one and a green one. I made a bunch of them back when I was in High School and I still have these two of them. I start out by putting a post-in note in each mailbox - one for each boy. The note will direct them somewhere else in the house where they will find another note. That note will send them somewhere else for the next clue.


It's hilarious because I try to get really inventive with the clues. I try to space each clue as far away as I possibly can, so we end up with kids running back and forth all over the house. I usually send them out to the mailbox or the backyard or somewhere just for the fun of seeing them run outside in their Christmas PJ's - it's all part of the fun and they love it.

Sometimes I will make the clues a little vague just to trip them up. For instance, I'll say Bathroom Mirror, but I won't say which bathroom - we have 3 of them. Or I'll say In Your Shoes and won't tell them which pair. I try to do about 5 clues for each boy, which is sometimes hard because I'm usually setting them up after the midnight Christmas service. It actually takes a bit of thinking to plan out two different trails for the boys and to remember to put the clues in the right places.


The final clue leads them to their present - usually it's a big, hard-to-wrap present like a bike or a skateboard. That way I can hide it in a closet or somewhere in the garage. My kids just love it! Even my 19 year old still begs for the Christmas Hunt. Give it a try, I'll bet your kids will love it too!