When the holidays are just around the corner, it's time to start digging out those boxes of lights and decorations. It's fun to decorate and this collection of hints will make it even easier. Check out our clever tips for hanging outside lights, keeping your tree from toppling over and how to store your holiday decorations more efficiently. Start your holiday season off right with these festive ideas!
Instead of poking nails into aluminum soffits and fascia when you're hanging holiday lights, clip the wires to the bottom lips of the fascia with clothespins.
Winding the lights around your Christmas tree can be a pain. Here's a great way to rotate the tree in its stand—without scratching up your hardwood floor. Put a bath rug underneath the tree stand, fabric side down, rubber side up. You can easily turn the tree to string your lights and place your ornaments just where you want them. It makes "undecorating" the tree a breeze too. Fold the rug under the tree skirt to keep it hidden.
Tightening tree-stand nuts by hand is tiring and takes forever. Try this, our favorite Christmas tree hint from our archives: Cut off the little L's at the end of the tree stand bolts with a hacksaw. Chuck the ends of the bolts into a variable-speed drill and tighten them into the trunk. Your tree will be secure, and you can get out from underneath the tree and get decorating.
If you've had trees fall over—because they were top heavy with ornaments or got tipped over by the cat, here's an easy solution: Cut a 2-ft.-diameter circle out of plywood, screw your tree stand to it and then staple plastic sheeting to the plywood. The wooden base will give your tree solid footing so that even the cat can't topple it (not that she won't keep trying). The plastic let's you slide the tree around on the carpet for easy decorating and protects the carpet from any watering spills.
Do you like the convenience of an artificial tree but dislike storing it because it takes up so darn much space? Try this idea. Use two 8-in.- diameter concrete form tubes, wrap each layer of the tree in twine and store half the tree layers in one tube and half in the other. Mark the layer numbers on each tube and stow the tubes in your garage rafters. A perfect solution!
If you love decorating your house with tons of lights inside and out, here’s a great idea. To keep all the lights from getting tangled and make it easy to string them around your yard, roll the strings of lights onto a portable hose reel that has wheels and a handle. You’ll be able to pull the lights around your yard and roll off as many as you need without any help from elves (or anyone else). Ho ho ho.
Try using plastic picnic tablecloth clips to attach Christmas lights to your deck railing. It makes putting them up and taking them down a cinch!
Artificial Christmas trees are assembled in color-coded layers. After a few years, the colors rub off (or you lose the instructions), and putting the tree together gets confusing. Try this simple trick. When you disassemble the tree at the end of the season, do it one level at a time. Once all the branches from one level are off, duct-tape them together and number each layer with a marker. Next year, the tree will go together in a snap!
Zip ties are a simple way to string holiday lights on banisters and fences without marring the railing with nail marks. A pack of 20 zip ties costs $1.60 at home centers. You'll find them in the electrical supplies aisle. After the holidays, snip the ties off with scissors.
A plastic snow saucer, the kind with the flat area in the center ($6 at discount stores), is great for keeping overflowing Christmas tree water from staining your floor. Place a carpet remnant under the saucer to prevent scratches on wood flooring.
Do you keep all your tape, twine and ribbon spools in a drawer? That can look messy, waste a lot of space and make it hard to find things. Try this great organizing idea. Screw a paper towel holder to the window trim in your craft room.
Stick rolls of the things you use most often on the holder. You'll know right where everything is, and you can pull off the amount you need without the spool jumping out of your hand and rolling across the floor.
Have the necessary tools for this DIY project lined up before you start—you’ll save time and frustration.
Avoid last-minute shopping trips by having all your materials ready ahead of time. Here's a list.
