Bringing down the storage tubs after Christmas feels like stealing the joy right out of the holidays. All the decorations you have lovingly brought out and displayed throughout your home, now have to return to their place in storage. In fact, you may even feel overwhelmed at just the mere idea of removing all of the holiday cheer from your home. Sound familiar?
If it does, just know that you don’t have to take it all down right away. I’ve found that taking it down in phases is much more useful and leaving some of the decor up throughout the rest of winter is actually quite unhelpful. As a matter of fact, some of my Christmas decorations make the perfect transition into my Valentine’s Day decor.
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After Christmas Guide
Do you like the sound of putting less away at once? Follow along for my guide on what to keep out and what to store away after Christmas. This will help make clean up faster while giving your home a lovely transition decor from the holidays through the rest of winter.
Store Your Christmas Specific Decor
This may go without saying, but go ahead and take down all of your Christmas-specific decorations. This includes anything that is typically associated with the holiday such as:
- Santa decorations
- Christmas signs
- Christmas trees
- Ornaments
- Sleds
- Nativity scenes
- Sleds
Basically, you want to remove any obvious or overt signs of Christmas. If it says “jingle bells” or “Santa’s helper,” that may be a good indication that it’s time to take it down.
Keep Out Your Candles
At the Moeller house, we quite literally stock up on candles during the Christmas season. We use large pillar candles and candlesticks on our fireplace, taper candles and dainty candlesticks in our table setting, large candles in our lanterns, and much more. We also often replace our everyday candles with red ones to give our home a bit more of the holiday touch.
Luckily, candles also make for the perfect winter decoration. Red candles also allow for a fabulous transition into the next holiday: Valentine’s Day. If you have green or other Christmas-colored candles out, that may be a bit of a different discussion, but any red or white candles can certainly stay out for the remainder of winter.
Store Your Seasonal Garlands
That beautiful garland you draped over your mantlepiece has to go. Unfortunately, garlands are a very Christmas-specific decoration. Especially the ones with bright colors or other holiday accents. There is only one true exception to this rule. If you have a generic winter greenery garland and you’ve layered it over a neutral table runner for a centerpiece to your table setting.
This would allow you to dress it up for the winter with candles or other seasonal, but non-holiday-specific decorations. You can create a beautiful neutral tablescape with your garland, pinecones, and a few other natural elements that will work wonderfully for the rest of winter.
Keep Your Winter Greens & Accents
I love Christmas decorations with natural accents. Anything with pinecones, acorns, holly berries, or other organic elements is not only timeless, but they are also quite practical. The more Christmas decorations you can do with natural elements and winter greens, the more you can leave out after the holiday has passed. Work smarter not harder.
Store Your Christmas Linens
Your “Merry Christmas” pillows, Santa blankets, and Christmas tree napkins all need to return to the storage bin. Unfortunately, those items won’t work with your non-Christmas decor. I know, it pains me to see my adorable buffalo-checked pillow thrown into storage. The linens are probably the most difficult items for me to store because I love all of my cozy blankets and pillows.
So here’s what I suggest. Instead of buying holiday-specific blankets, purchase faux fur blankets or other cozy materials in natural colors. Boucle pillows will work through all of Fall and Winter and will pair perfectly with one or two “Merry Christmas” pillows. If you happen to already have some neutral linens, feel free to leave those out for the rest of winter!
Keep Your Snowmen & Snowflakes
I saved the most controversial after-Christmas decorations for last. Some people may disagree, but I truly don’t see the harm in keeping out your snowmen and snowflakes. Many of us in the warmer states have yet to see snowfall by Christmas. In fact, our colder months tend to be in January & February so it makes sense to still have a few adorable snow accents placed throughout your farmhouse.
Please do not take this to mean that after Christmas it’s still okay to have your giant snowflake with a plaid ribbon. That gives a bit too much of a holiday vibe. Instead, refer to more subtle hints like a candle with small snowflakes or a small snowman tucked into a basket filled with pillows and throw blankets. The key is to keep your hints of winter a bit more subtle after the holiday.
