Christmas Organizing Tips

1. Storing Christmas Lights
   Next year, don’t spend a minute sorting through tangled webs of holiday decorations. Keep lights organized by winding each strand around a piece of cardboard cut to fit inside a plastic bin.
2. Install a Gift – Wrapping Station
   A dry-erase calendar in a convenient place, such as the back of a pantry door, gives you quick reminders of birthdays, anniversaries, and other gift-giving occasions; wrapping supplies hang neatly below.
3. Bows for Everything
   Ribbon card holders descend from extra-large tuxedo bows, bound tightly in the middle for a billowing effect; cards slide into “pockets.”
4. Displaying Christmas Cards
   Hanging like ornaments from an arrangement of graceful branches, Christmas cards look wonderful.
5. Card Garland
   Save scraps of holiday gift wrap, and put them to work in a festive greeting-card display.
6. Kindling Keeper
   Good-looking garden planters don’t have to hibernate all winter. Arrange along a hearth with supplies for the fire.
7. Safe Ornament Storage
   Protect your dearest ornaments from damage as you pack up after the holiday this year.
8. Labeled Serving Dishes
   When deciding on which dishes to use, set out an assortment of pieces to determine which go best with the food being served as well as with the rest of your table setting. Place a slip of paper on each, noting its assigned role, and add the proper utensils. The labels will assist any host’s helpers in carrying out the plans, too.