After Christmas

All good things must come to an end, and on Twelfth Night the Christmas season ends for yet another year. There are a few points to remember so life will be easier next Christmas.

Decorations – Pack them all together carefully in a large cardboard box, together with the pins that kept them in place. Wind tinsel into a ball, pack baubles into tissue, and tape the box down and mark in large letters “CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS.” If you keep the box tucked safely away in the attic, everything will be together when you next want it.

Fairy Lights – Check these carefully before you pack them away. Make sure the bulbs are screwed in tightly, that any broken bulbs have been replaced and that none of the cable or wires has been inadvertently damaged or frayed. If you no longer have the box in which they came, wind the lights around a strip of cardboard to prevent their being a tangled mess, and they should be in perfect working order next Christmas.

Christmas Paper

As the gifts are unwrapped, put the torn and unusable rubbish straight into the sack, which can then easily be disposed of. Keep your eyes open for good pieces of paper, ribbon, etc. and keep them to one side. Take a long cardboard roll from the centre of kitchen foil and roll the paper around it. You can put as many layers around the roll as you like and then keep it in position with a rubber band. The paper will keep perfectly.

Christmas Cards

Become scrap paper.

Unwanted Presents

Any unwanted gifts that you have can be given to any charity shop or Senior Citizens’ home. There they will be put to good use.

Christmas trees.

If you have bought a tree with roots, plant it in the garden or in a small tub. If in a tub, it can be used for years to come. If you happened to buy one without roots that will die, gather the pine needles and crush them. Boil with some pure vegetable or corn oil and a tablespoon of vodka to make a pine essence.

Card/Present Lists

Make sure you have marked off all those from whom you have received cards and presents, and keep the list somewhere safe.

Keep together any carol song sheets, Yuletide recipes and anything else that comes into use just once a year. After all, there are fewer than 350 days left till Christmas.