5 Things To Pack Away This Year — For Next Holiday Season

Each year as the tree comes down and the lights get wound up, we try to cram a ridiculous amount of holiday decor back in our storage tubs, totes and boxes. Instead of paying top dollar next year, try hitting the clearance sales for a few items you know you'll need 12 months from now!

1. Ornament Hooks: Unless you have a tree made of Post-It Notes, there's a good chance you'll need a few for next year. Even if all your ornaments had them this year, somehow when they come out of the box next year a few end up missing.

2. Candles: Although our least favorite store to walk by at the mall (why is that word so…dirty?) is the lotion hut, that doesn't mean you can't hold your breath and run in to pick up a super clearance pine, cranberry or pumpkin candle for next year. Then when you unpack, you'll have a new one waiting to start the holiday season off with great smells. Look for soy candles to leave less soot in your snoot!

3. Wrapping Supplies: The last time I purchased gift wrap, boxes, bags or tissue paper for a birthday or holiday was back before I could drive a car. Now I keep a stash year round for any occasion. Look for neutral papers, solid colors or metallics to make them work for any event throughout the year.

4. Sticks, Twigs & Sprigs: Each year there's all sorts of sparkly things at the craft store that are intended to be used in wreaths, table decor and more. There aren't many that can justify spending $7 per sprig of sparkle berries, so pick them up for less than a buck, just remember to wrap them in their own sheet of tissue paper or zip top bag to keep them safe from bumps and scrapes.

5. Lights: Have you seen how much they get for strings of LED lights at the store during the holiday season? This year we saw lights upwards of $30 a strand and even the shorter versions were still around $14 on sale! We've seen them clearance for $3 and now's a great time to go green if you happen upon them!

What do you stock up on each year? Let us know in the comments below!

Image: Flickr member cathyse97 licensed for use by Creative Commons

Comments (10)

I grabbed light timers for inside and out this year....

Outdoor light timers are amazing. I love coming home to Christmas lights and not having to go out into the cold before bed to turn them off.

I haven't bought wrapping paper or ornaments full price in years! Some store started marking down holiday stuff before Christmas this year, it was crazy.

Now is also a great time to buy holiday cards. I recently saw boxes of nice cards going for 80% off.

I stocked up on paper at Homegoods this year in gorgeous metallics so I'd be ready for wedding presents season!

Ditto angorian about adding Christmas cards to the list! They are extremely cheap after the holidays and easy to store. Since selection is limited, I often have to mix-and-match a few different styles, but then I get then fun of selecting the style for each recipient next year.

I also try to find generic papers for birthday gifts. Red, green, or blue papers can easily be paired with bright, non-holiday ribbons. For example, I picked up Hanukkah paper that is really just dark blue with light blue polkadots.

I was out of town for most of the after Xmas stuff, and I WANT some LEDs. Anyone seen them around anywhere still?

I found some nice gift tags and dark red damask napkins. I use napkins or kitchen towels to wrap cookbooks, kitchen gadgets or edible gifts.

I lucked out when I went to buy Christmas gift wrap. I found some great colourful striped all occasion paper at 90% off. Yippee.

Be careful about storing candles in the off-season! I made the mistake of accidentally storing a cranberry-scented candle with my Christmas decorations-- in my Georgia, hot-in-the-summer attic. Now half of my Christmas stuff smells of cranberry. Lesson learned!