Storing Away Those Keepsake Santa Letters & Decorations

After the holiday season you must put away all those lovely Christmas decorations and the letters from Santa Claus. Of course, some kids will keep their letters from Santa framed and on display year round, but others will allow you to put them away. You want to be sure they are stored so that they will be safe until next year. Nothing is more heart breaking than to find a beloved ornament in pieces. To prevent this follow the tips below.

I use plastic totes to store my decorations. Each tote holds specific decorations. If you are like me and have lots of decorations for both inside and outside you may want to color coordinate your totes. This will make it easier when you pull them out next year. If you are using cardboard be sure it is stored in a dry location. You don’t want your Christmas decorations to get moldy.  

I use one tote for my Christmas tree. I place the tree decorations in the order I place that on the tree. In the bottom of the tote I put the ornaments. Be sure to wrap breakable ornaments in newspaper. Next I put in the garland. Than lastly I put in the lights. I trick I have learned to keep from having tangled garland and lights is wrap them around an empty paper towel roll.

I have a binder that I keep all my kids Santa Claus letters in. It is a nice way to preserve the Christmas memories we make each year. If you will be storing you decorations in a damp place you may want to seal letters and other paper decorations in a sealed plastic bag. You don’t want your kid’s priceless Christmas letters to be destroyed.

If you use a real tree you will either need to plant it or get rid of it. Many communities have Christmas tree drop off spots. Usually the trees are made into mulch and used in local parks. Artificial trees need to be packed up. If possible use the box that the tree came in. If the box is badly damaged you can try to find a plastic tote that your tree will find into. Around the holidays some department and hardware stores will be selling totes and tubs made especially for Christmas trees and holiday decorations. When you’re into all of this cleaning and packing away you may even find a package that was overlooked on Christmas morning so keep an eye out.

Be sure that no food products are packed up. This will attract rodents, bugs, and mold to your decorations. Wash out tins that had held cookies or candy. Don’t keep reindeer food either; just make a fresh batch next year. After all, that’s another fun activity for you and your family.

Don’t be sad about having to put away all those holly jolly decorations. Next Christmas will be here before you know it. When it does finally arrive all of your decorations will be waiting for you organized and safe.

Letters To Santa And Homemade Christmas Ornaments Make Christmas Special

Writing letters to Santa and making Christmas salt dough ornaments with your children is a great way to connect during the sometimes hectic Christmas season. We all know how important Santa letters can be. These ornaments can last for years as a reminder of the memories you made that year. Salt dough ornaments are so simple to make that even the youngest members of your family can participate.

The recipe is very easy to throw together and you probably already have the ingredients in your pantry. These ornaments are not for eating. Keep the dough in an air tight container until you are ready to use it so that it doesn’t dry out.

2 parts flour
1part salt
1part water

Mix the ingredients in a bowl. If you want colored dough add food coloring until you reach your desired hue. On a floured surface knead the dough. You can let the kids write their Christmas letters while you’re during this.

You need to work on a floured surface. You can roll out the dough and uses cookie cutters to make shapes. This is the easiest method for very young children. Older children might enjoy forming their own shapes.

You can add mirror pieces, glass beads, or glass gemstones. They will look dazzling on a lit up Christmas tree. These can also be used for the eyes and other accents on snowmen and gingerbread men.

A cute idea is to make a nice list with the names of all of your children and their ages. The names can be painted with gold or silver paint after they have baked.  Your kids can make a Christmas wish list. It is fun to look back at these ornaments and read past wishes.

You can make wrapped gift ornaments. You could even write a gift from Santa on the gift tag.  You can write your child’s name or the year in the to space. After you bake them make the ribbons using glitter glue.

My kids each make am ornament to leave out for Santa with the cookies and milk and magical reindeer food on Christmas Eve.

If you have used colored dough you can brush the top of the ornament with water for more vibrant colors. For a frosty effect dust light with flour before you bake. Put the name and date on the back of the ornament. Be sure to put a hole in the dough for a ribbon.

You will need to bake these in low heat between 200 – 250 degrees. Be patient they take several hours to dry depending on the thickness of the dough. After they have finished you can paint and decorate anyway you like. Always store these ornaments in an air tight container and they will last for years.

It’s simple traditions like Santa letters and homemade ornaments that can make special Christmas memories for all. These are the kind of things that kids remember when they grow up. They might forget what presents were bought for them and who came to celebrate with the family on Christmas Day, but they are not likely to forget the fun they had creating letters to Santa and ornaments to hang on the tree.

Nice Certificates And Unexpected Gifts From Santa

One Christmas my kids wanted us to decorate the small pine tree growing in our backyard for the wildlife that lives in our yard. We first had to figure out what we could put on the tree. We made a list of the animals that live around our yard - both real and imaginary. Next we had to do a little research to find out which animals hibernated and what they ate. The kids decided they would hang small cloth bags from the tree full of reindeer food. They used puffy paints to write the names of all nine reindeer on the bags.

We strung a garland using popcorn, cranberries, and ribbon. It looked beautiful when we weaved it through the branches of the tree. The boys smashed white bread into balls that they covered in peanut butter and then rolled through bird seed. We tied ribbons of green and red around seed balls so they could be hung in the tree. My youngest son scattered seed and sliced vegetables around the tree for the ground eating animals.

While we were tying ribbon to slices of apples the kids had an idea to write a letter to Santa to ask if he could bring something for the animals for Christmas. We finished decorating the Christmas tree and snapped a picture to send to Santa with their letter. They worked together to make a card to send to Santa. On the front of the card they drew a picture of the tree with animals all around it. It turned out pretty cute.

Two days later the kids received nice certificates for being so thoughtful of the small creatures that lived in our yard. The kids were very proud that Santa had sent something so special to them. My youngest daughter couldn’t wait to show her friends down the street what had come in the mail for her.

Our family loved watching the animals feeding at the tree so much that we decided to continue decorating it throughout the winter. Every morning while they waited for me to make breakfast they would look out the back windows at the animals who had gathered that morning. A few times at night we saw a raccoon snacking on apple slices. Before we had decorated the tree I had no idea that there were so many animals surrounding my home.

On Christmas morning my oldest son looked out the window and saw a package under the tree wrapped in shiny red foil. They kids rushed outside to look at the present. The tag said Merry Christmas from Santa in beautiful golden writing. Inside the box the kids found a bird house and bird food. In the bottom there were ears of corn and fresh apples.