How to Organize your Christmas Decor for Storage

Well, the hustle bustle is finally over and you are left with the daunting job of putting away all of your Christmas Decor to be used again for 2012.  UGH!  Most of us are excited to put everything up in late November or early December, but the job of taking down and storing everything for the following year is not on the top of our "fun to do" list, so here are a  few tips to make the job a little easier for you this year and next!

Tip #1  Take pictures of your Christmas displays before taking them down.
This may be the most important detail of all.  This will make it so much easier and less time consuming the following year when you have to reset everything in it's proper place.  You can include a physical picture or disc in your cartons when you store them or you can have a folder on your computer with these pictures to refer to.

Tip#2  Sort and Purge
Don't make the mistake of just putting your pieces in any box or carton that they seem to fit into.  Next year when you are taking them out, everything will be in many different boxes.  So we suggest you  organize them by putting them into groups for each room or area. At the same time, purge all of the items that you do not really want to use any longer.  This is a great time to donate the pieces that you no longer love to a family member or a great charity. With what you do still love, use packing labels on each box with as general or specific list of contents in each box as you feel you will need to.
For instance:
     Outdoor.....would include lighting for outdoor bushes and trees, wreaths, free standing items and any other items that you only use outdoors.
     Kitchen....would include your Christmas Dishes, glasses and such.  It would also include anything that you display in your kitchen area such as table decor.  This may even include  tree decorations if you have one in that area.
    Main Christmas Tree Decorations....everything on your main tree including lights and ornaments, garland and tree skirt.Make sure to wrap your ornaments well so that they do not break while being stored.  You can use egg cartons to store small ornaments.
     Linens......any items that you use in your bedroom such as bed linens, bath linens, throws and toss pillows.  Add a dryer sheet or two to keep them smelling wonderful!
     Wrapping Items.....includes paper, bows, gift bags, boxes, scissors and tape.  You can include Christmas cards that have sentimental value to you, left over Christmas cards and your addresses for sending Christmas cards the following year. 
     Childrens items.....could include books and Christmas movies, stuffed reindeer, snowmen etc. or anything that relates to your children and grandchildren only.

You know what you have so group them any way you see fit for your particular instance.  These are just general examples of how to group the pieces.

Tip#3  Sort through your containers.
Buy new containers only after you know what you need. This is the perfect time to look at your containers and their sizes as almost every big store will have Christmas containers on sale right now. They come in variable sizes and shapes.  Some are specific for certain items like wreaths, paper, ornaments and more. You can analyze what you still need and go get them!  They have specific colors such as Red and Green so when they are stored, you will know which containers you will need to pull out next year. It saves a lot of time every year.

Tip#4  Number your boxes as to which ones to open first.
You will want to know which container will be needed first like the one with your advent calendar, left over Christmas cards and such.  This will help you to  be able to, for instance, grab the tree stand before you open the tree and ornaments, know where the Christmas cookie cut outs are before you make the cookies,  etc.  You may want to decorate one room before another.  This may seem silly, but it will help you to save time later.

Tip#5.  Survey what you are missing and replace it.
Take the time to make a list of what you are missing from your box. What either has been broken or you just need more of.  If you need more ornament hangers, snow, stocking holders, boxes or the like, this is definitely the time to go searching for them.  Everything will be at least half off now so stock up for next year! Be sure to put them in the appropriate boxes for storage.

And Finally.....be flexible!  This will be very time consuming but while you are using precious time this year, the following years you will find that you save way more time! 


Antionette King
Pezzo Bello Interiors
816-891-8400
www.pezzobellointeriors.com

Being Flexible with Christmas Family Traditions!

Despite all of the stress that the Christmas season seems to bring, the two things most Americans say they enjoy are spending time with their family on Christmas and to celebrate their family traditions.  I know this to be true with our family too.  We have several traditions that, frankly, are what I look most forward to during the season.

Some traditions are passed down from generation to generation but many can be started each year. Here are a few examples of our yearly traditions and the flexibility we have had to deal with.

Tradition #1. The day that you traditionally celebrate Christmas with your family may change when the children get married and have children of their own. 
All of a sudden, there are in-laws to add into the equation  So each family must be ready to be flexible with their celebration days. It's one of the hardest things I have had to get used to so far! For so many years, we had all our kids with us on every Holiday and at every mass.  When we were growing up, I remember spending Christmas Eve with my Mom's family and going to midnight mass with my cousins. Christmas Day was with my Dad's family. It was the day we all looked forward to opening our gifts.  Then, the kids got married and everything changed!  I never thought of how my Mom or Dad felt when they had to change their traditions...... I thought that that's the way it would be forever!  We all had to be flexible!

Tradition #2. Shopping with your kids for Christmas.
So many Americans have a tradition that has their children (especially Mom's and their girls) going shopping for their Christmas presents.  I know I look forward to that every year too.  But again, being flexible makes the stress a lot easier to bear.  There are millions of Americans who plan the day after Thanksgiving to start their shopping.  Some even begin by standing in line on Thanksgiving night, but there are many factors that go into making that happen perfectly. Weather probably being the most detrimental especially if you live in the Midwest like we do. We go to the Lake of the Ozarks to do our shopping the day after Thanksgiving, but this year, none of us could do it, so we had to be flexible....we shopped separately when we could.  I have to say, it wasn't near as fun!

Tradition #3. Making Christmas Cookies.
I cannot remember a time when we did not make Italian Christmas Cookie gift boxes for our neighbors and friends. Before my children were born, I used to get together with my Aunt and cousin to make our Christmas cookies. (My mother did not make cookies) But now the tradition continues, my girls and I pick a date close to Christmas that we all can get together to make cookies.  We have recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation that we use. It's a lot of hard work but we have a blast.  We now have little granddaughters that have joined in on this fun time.  They definitely make it impossible not to be flexible on that day.  Who has to nap, or who has to attend school part of that day.  We always make it work and it never ceases to amaze me that they all get done while having a great time doing it!

Making Cookies!

Icing the cookies.

Tradition #4  Making our Christmas Wrapping Paper.
This is one of the traditions that all of the family is involved in.  We get the left over bolts of newspaper print that the printer cannot use and y husband sets up a makeshift roller on a ladder that we roll the paper off of and onto the large table we have next to it.  Each person gets to make as many large pieces of paper that they want. There's every color paint and many accessories along with gloves, paint brushes and tarps. Everyone lets their creativity flow!  It is so much fun, but again, we have to be flexible as to when we do it.  We have to try to set a date close enough to Christmas that everyone can make, the weather again needs to cooperate as we do it in the garage and we have to take into consideration the grandkids naps and feeding schedules!   It's quite chaotic but so much fun and the paper is beautiful!!!

Making the paper

 Under the tree

Tradition #5.  Making Gingerbread Houses with the grandchildren.
Since my granddaughters were born, I have started a new Nonnie/Granddaughter tradition, making gingerbread houses!  It is quite the feat with the girls so little but fun no less.  We buy the kit, put them together and the girls put all of the candy on it.  Trying to keep them from eating the candy at this age is pretty interesting.  It's a lot of fun but they hardly ever stay together for very long!  Being flexible and having patience are the two things needed for this tradition. We haven't gotten it done yet this year so we are going to do them on Christmas Day this year.  Wow.....I hope I'm flexible enough on that day! LOL

Making Gingerbread Houses

We would love to hear all of your Christmas traditions and how you have had to be flexible! Please comment and we will post them all here!

The most important thing of all to remember this year is:

Christmas is about God and Family so be flexible so you can enjoy your family and friends this Christmas without the stress!  Remember, Jesus is the reason for the season!

 Merry Christmas from Pezzo Bello Interiors!  We hope it is a wonderful one!

Tangerine Tango for 2012!

Pantone, the design world's authority on color has announced it's highly anticipated color of the year, Tangerine Tango. It's bold, it's exciting, dramatic and will dominate clothing, accessories and home decor in 2012!

Pantone Tangerine Tango....The Color for 2012

Tangerine Tango is deeper, bolder and more red then orange but pairs nicely with many of the same colors as does orange. It's reddish orange hue creates positive energy and warmth. You will be seeing it on the runway, in the fashion news along with home decor and furnishings. It's attention grabbing and surprisingly flexible so don't let this color intimidate you. As designers, we are thrilled with this choice and have a few tips to incorporate this color into your home.

Tip#1

If you decide that you love this bold new color and would like to use it in an entire room, do not hesitate. It is warm, cheerful, inviting and you can tone it down a little with neutral accents of Khaki, Greys, Tans and Blacks if you are just a little apprehensive.

contemporary living room design by san francisco interior designer Susan Diana Harris Interior Design

Tip #2

Use Tangerine Tango as an accent wall in a warm cozy nook to add pop to your space.

contemporary living room design by san francisco interior designer Fiorella Design

Or in a kitchen used sparingly to create warmth and interest.

modern kitchen design by san francisco architect Mark English Architects, AIA

Tip #3

If you love the color but not enough to use it boldly, add accessories to create the small pops in your room. As you can see, it mixes well with many colors that most people already have in their home like Navy, Grey, Eggplant, Khaki, Greens and more!

eclectic bedroom design by los angeles interior designer betsy burnham

Tangerine Tango Accent Pieces

eclectic bedroom design by orange county interior designer Domicile Interior Design

Tip # 4

Tangerine Tango is a great accent to the front of your home. Use it on your door to draw guests to your home when your home is a neutral color like grey, khaki or brown. It will set your home apart from the others!

asian landscape design by los angeles landscape architect Jesse Im

And finally, in fashion, pair it up with super saturated colors to create a color block look or layer it under neutrals. Anything goes with this bold color! Look for Tangerine Tango lip and nail color next year to add an extra level of pop!

Tangerine Tango Fashion for 2012

If you are interested in adding some Tangerine Tango into your home, contact us at Pezzo Bello Interiors and we will be happy to incorporate this great color into your life!

Antionette King, Owner/Designer

Pezzo Bello Interiors

816-891-8400

aking@pezzobellointeriors.com

www.pezzobellointeriors.com