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Christmas Ornament Storage
by Holly Smythe

Description: Tips for keeping your Christmas ornaments safe and organized year-round.

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Proper Christmas ornament storage will keep your beautiful ornaments unmarred for next year and decades to follow. Antique glass ornaments are quite fragile. It's surprising that some have remained unbroken for a century! Modern ornaments, especially the ones made of treated glass, are stronger -- but they are still susceptible to damage. Proper storage and handling will preserve these beautiful ornaments for future generations to enjoy.

Handling Glass Ornaments

Glass decorations must be handled carefully and with due caution. When they are removed from storage, work on a padded surface as you remove their wrappings. Place a padded tree skirt under the tree to soften the impact, in case a glass ball falls from the tree.

An old-fashioned Christmas tree fence is useful to keep young children and pets away from the ornaments. If you don't have a fence, hang the delicate glass balls near the top of the tree, and put unbreakable spheres on low branches. It is helpful to spray a pet repellent under the tree.

If your ornaments are displayed for over two weeks, position them away from sunlight. Direct daylight can cause the paint to fade.

Cleaning Christmas Ornaments

The colors painted on antique ornaments were generally favorite family recipes. These were not very durable. Age has made them yet more fragile. Most are water-soluble, so they should never be washed. Avoid glass cleaners and other chemical solutions as well. Some of the modern lacquers are also water-based and will last longer if the same precautions are followed.

Gently flick glass ornaments with a feather duster to clean them. Ostrich-feather dusters are especially effective.

Storing Christmas Ornaments

Strong Christmas ornament storage boxes with close-fitting lids are needed to store ornaments. Many manufacturers produce cardboard or plastic containers. Some are specifically designed to store ornaments and have appropriately-sized compartments. Plastic boxes are sturdier than cardboard boxes, but the completely airless space they create is not necessarily suitable for valuable or antique ornaments. Special acid-free cardboard containers are the best choice for these valuables.

Each piece should be individually wrapped before being placed in a Christmas ornament storage container. Use acid-free tissue paper, or acid-free paper towels (the kind sold as microwavable). Newspaper is not a good choice; the chemicals in the print -- and in the paper too -- can harm the finish on the decoration.

Place bubble wrap or crumpled paper towels in the bottom of the Christmas ornament storage container before you put any wrapped decorations in it. If the box doesn't include sections, use extra tissue between decorations to provide more protection. Add a last layer on top of the ornaments before fastening the lid.

Place some silica gel desiccant in every container to remove dampness. You can buy it at craft stores.

For more security, store large glass decorations separately from little ones, and glass ornaments apart from wooden or metal ones. Mark all your Christmas ornament storage boxes plainly, so that you won't have to unpack all of them if you want a particular ornament later in the year.

Even with all this padding, ornaments can still be injured by extreme temperatures and/or humidity levels. These elements can cause stress fractures eventually. Unheated attics and cellars are poor locations for Christmas ornament storage. Keep ornaments in a closet instead.

You only need is some time and some thought to make your ornaments undamaged. Good Christmas ornament storage isn't hard, and it will preserve these fragile treasures for generations.

Holly Smythe writes more about Christmas and Christmas tree ornaments at http://www.christmasiscoming.info

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