Unpacking the Christmas box to find scuffed ornaments, a broken nativity figure and a candle holder covered in wax – almost everyone knows the feeling. Yet storing Christmas decorations properly takes just one extra hour. It's well worth it, because wooden decorations are meant to last for decades, not a few seasons.
What you'll need. Sturdy boxes, ideally with dividers, or ordinary boxes and plenty of paper for padding. Also a soft cloth for wiping, labels or a marker, and a plastic card for removing wax from candle holders. You don't need to buy any of it – paper from Christmas wrapping and boxes from online orders have done the job many times before. Allow roughly one to two hours, depending on how many decorations you have.
Step by step
1. Sort and declutter
Before you start packing anything, go through everything and divide it into three piles: store, repair, get rid of. The third pile is for damaged pieces and also for the ones you didn't take out at all this year – which is usually a surprisingly large share.
There's no point storing things you won't use again next year. They take up space, make searching harder and will end up back in the box next time anyway. Wooden decorations in good condition can be passed on – to nursery schools, care homes for the elderly or charity sales.
2. Clean the surface
Wipe everything with a dry cloth. Dust that settles over ten months in a box is harder to remove afterwards and can become ingrained in the surface of the wood.
Remove leftover wax from candle holders. Let it harden completely and then peel it off with a plastic card or wooden spatula – never scrape with metal and don't try to melt it with hot water. Warm wax penetrates deeper into the fibres.
Remove pine needles and bits of string that are falling apart from the ornaments. Put the hooks and ribbons you want to reuse in a separate bag – next December you won't have to hunt for them.
3. Let everything dry out
The step that's most often skipped, yet it's the most important. Lay the decorations out loosely on a table or the floor for a day before closing them in a box.
This applies especially to things that were outdoors – lanterns from the porch, planters, decorations from windows where condensation forms. Shutting a damp piece in a closed box means mould, which you'll only discover eleven months later, when there's nothing more to be done.
4. Pack with padding
Wooden ornaments are tougher than glass ones, but they rub against each other and thin carved details can snap off. So store them in boxes with dividers, or layer them with paper – ordinary paper is fine, it doesn't have to be tissue.
Heavier pieces go at the bottom, fragile ones on top. Don't fill the box right to the brim, but don't leave it half empty either – free space means the contents shift when the box is moved.
A nativity scene deserves special treatment. Wrap each figure separately and store them standing side by side, not stacked on top of each other. The most fragile parts are the thin ones – hands, staffs, animals' ears. If you have the original box with shaped padding, use it.
5. Label and store
Label each box with its contents, not just the word "Christmas". You'll notice the difference between a label saying "Christmas 3" and "tree ornaments and garlands" next December, when you're looking for a specific item and have to open four boxes to find it.
It also helps to put a note inside the box: what was missing this year, what was unnecessary, what to buy out of season. In eleven months you won't remember.
A tip that pays off: Take photos of your finished Christmas decorations before you start taking them down – the tree, the table, the window, the entrance. Next year you won't need to come up with anything new, and you'll know exactly what went where and how much of everything you needed. It's two minutes' work that saves an hour of thinking.
Where to store decorations
This determines lifespan more than the packing itself. Wood needs a dry place with a stable temperature – a cupboard in your home, a storeroom, a heated loft or built-in storage.
What to avoid: an unheated loft, where the temperature climbs high in summer and drops below freezing in winter, and a damp cellar. It's precisely these swings in temperature and humidity that put the most strain on wood – more than heat or cold alone. We went into this in more detail in our article on why wood cracks.
Don't use plastic bags or airtight boxes. They trap moisture and the wood can't breathe in them. Paper or cardboard boxes are a better choice.
Five mistakes that ruin decorations. Storing damp or not fully dried pieces – mould will appear within a few weeks. Using plastic bags and airtight boxes that trap moisture. Storing in an unheated loft or a damp cellar where the temperature fluctuates. Tipping ornaments loosely on top of each other into one box without padding. And leaving wax on candle holders, which after a year hardens so much that it can only be removed by damaging the surface.
By type of decoration
| Type | Before storing | How to pack |
|---|---|---|
| Wooden ornaments | Wipe, remove hooks | Box with dividers or paper |
| Nativity scene | Wipe each figure | Individually, standing side by side |
| Candle holders | Remove wax | Layered with paper, standing |
| Lanterns | Let dry, clean the glass | Separately, not stacked |
| Wreath | Remove dried natural materials | Lying flat in a flat box |
| Outdoor planters | Empty, dry, oil | Under a roof, not in a box |
A system worth introducing
Anyone with lots of Christmas decorations will appreciate dividing them into boxes by where they're used rather than by type of item. So boxes for "tree", "table", "windows and doors", "outdoors" – instead of "ornaments", "candle holders", "textiles".
The reason is practical. Decorations go up room by room and in stages anyway, not all at once. When you open the "table" box, you have everything you need and don't have to search through four others.
Another proven approach is to store together the things used in the same phase of Advent. The wreath, candle holders and first candles in one box, because they come out on the first Sunday of Advent. Ornaments and the nativity scene in another, because their turn comes later.
When to take the decorations down
Traditionally, decorations stayed up until 6 January, the Feast of the Epiphany (Three Kings' Day), when the Christmas season ends in Czech folk tradition. Many households today take them down earlier, right after New Year.
It's a question of habit rather than rules. The tree follows its own timetable anyway, depending on how long it stays fresh – and a cut tree in an overheated flat starts dropping needles before Epiphany arrives.
It's more practical to tidy up in two waves. First the tree and things that dry out or drop needles, then the rest at leisure during January. Splitting the job up is more bearable than one big afternoon.
Before you close the boxes
One last thing that's worth doing and that almost nobody does: treat wooden pieces with oil before storing them, not when you take them out. Wood that spends eleven months in a box with a protective layer copes with humidity fluctuations considerably better than dried-out wood.
This mainly applies to candle holders, lanterns and larger decorations. With small ornaments it isn't necessary – just wipe off the dust.
And if during the season you found that something was missing – an extra candle holder, a few ornaments to top up, a new place card – make a note of it. Shopping out of season is calmer, cheaper and the choice is usually wider than in the December rush.
What helps with storage
Frequently asked questions
When are Christmas decorations taken down in the Czech Republic?
Traditionally, decorations stayed up until 6 January, the Feast of the Epiphany (Three Kings' Day), when the Christmas season ends in folk tradition. Many households today take them down earlier, right after New Year. It's a matter of habit, not rules.
Where should Christmas decorations be stored?
In a dry space with a stable temperature – a cupboard in your home, a storeroom or a heated loft. Neither an unheated loft nor a damp cellar is good for wood, because the temperature there climbs high in summer and drops below freezing in winter. It's these swings that strain wood the most.
What should I pack ornaments in?
Ideally in boxes with dividers, or in boxes where the ornaments are layered with paper. Avoid plastic bags, which trap moisture. Wooden ornaments are tougher than glass ones, but they rub against each other and thin details can snap off.
How do I store a nativity scene so it doesn't break?
Wrap each figure separately in paper and store them standing side by side, not stacked on top of each other. The most fragile parts are the thin ones – hands, staffs, animals' ears. If you have the original box with shaped padding, use it.
What should I do with decorations I no longer want?
Decorations in good condition can be passed on – to nursery schools, care homes or charity sales. For damaged pieces, follow your local authority's rules: conditions for putting wood in garden or organic waste vary, and varnished, glued or oiled wood usually doesn't belong there. Don't burn wood with varnish, glue or metal parts at home – burning releases harmful substances. The safest route is a recycling centre.
Which AMADEA products are useful for storage?
Wooden crates and boxes work well, as unlike plastic they breathe, and gift boxes are handy for small ornaments. For treating the surface before storage, use the oils from our accessories category.
🌳 So they last until next Christmas. Crates, boxes and care products – handmade from Czech wood.
Go to decorations and accessoriesAuthor: Martin Portych – specialist in wooden products, gift advice and shop content
Editorial policy: Our content is based on the day-to-day practice of the AMADEA shop, the real needs of our customers and a commitment to clear, useful and trustworthy information.