How to store a Christmas tree, lights and decorations
Where a tree and its decorations survive best between January and December, the right bag or box for each, and how to wind lights so they come out untangled.
The best way to store a Christmas tree and its decorations is clean, dry and indoors. Fold an artificial tree’s branches in, pack the sections in a heavy-duty bag or a plastic box, and keep it lying flat in a spare room, an understairs cupboard or an insulated loft. Test and wind the lights before they go away, wrap glass baubles one by one, and put anything bound for the garage or shed in sealed, waterproof containers. Below is the method for each item, and the right spot for each in a British house.
Where to store Christmas decorations: loft, garage or cupboard
Damp and big swings in temperature do the damage. The storage insurer Surewise notes that damp brings mould, while extreme heat or cold can warp plastic ornaments, fade colours and damage the wiring in lights.
| Place | Conditions | What to keep there |
|---|---|---|
| Spare room, wardrobe or understairs cupboard | The steadiest temperature and humidity in the house | Lights, glass baubles, candles and anything fragile |
| Insulated loft | Fine if well insulated; an uninsulated loft can suffer condensation | The tree in its bag or box, decorations in lidded plastic boxes |
| Garage or shed | Hot in summer, cold and damp in winter, open to mice | Outdoor decorations, and the tree only if sealed in waterproof wrapping |
| Under a bed | Indoors and dry | Shallow boxes of baubles, tree skirts and table linen |
Lights are the fussiest item. The self-storage firm Safestore advises keeping them indoors rather than in a shed, garage or loft, because temperature extremes can make the cable coating brittle.
How to store an artificial Christmas tree
An artificial tree, like every tree in our Christmas trees range, comes out of storage in good shape if it goes away clean, dry and folded the right way.
- Unplug the lights, then take the decorations off from the top down. Lift baubles off rather than tugging them, which bends the branch tips.
- Remove any separate strings of lights and wind them on their own (see below). A pre-lit tree keeps its lights.
- Dust the branches with a microfibre cloth or a can of compressed air, and let the tree dry completely if it is damp: packed wet, it grows mould.
- Separate the sections. Most trees come in two or three; if they are colour-coded or numbered, keep the matching parts together.
- Fold each branch up towards the pole and press the tips in so they lie along the main branch. Tease them in rather than squeezing: branches forced flat lose their shape.
- Hold each section closed with twine or stretch wrap.
- Pack the sections with a sachet of bicarbonate of soda against musty smells, and store the bag or box lying flat with nothing heavy on top.
Bag, box or the original carton
| Option | For | Against |
|---|---|---|
| Original cardboard carton | Free and cut to the tree’s size | Weakens every year, takes in damp and lets in pests; tape it shut against dust if you keep it |
| Heavy-duty tree bag | Waterproof fabric, a zip and handles; large ones fit 8ft trees and some have wheels | Soft sides, so nothing should be stacked on it |
| Upright tree bag | The tree goes in assembled, so a pre-lit tree needs no folding | Needs a corner with full headroom all year |
| Clear plastic box | Stackable, damp-proof with a good lid, contents visible | Fixed size: measure the folded sections first |
For scale, one 110-litre box sold for trees up to 7ft measures 120 × 33 × 40 cm, so a folded 7ft tree needs a space about 1.2 m long. Bin bags and thin boxes tear and give little protection.
Pre-lit and pop-up trees
- Pre-lit: switch the tree on before you take it apart and note any dark sections, so the fault is known before next December. Fold the branches gently around the wiring and never pull on the cables between sections.
- Pop-up: the tree collapses in one piece, so there is nothing to fold and little to fluff next year. Keep it in its own bag; decorations fixed to the branches fold away with it.
If storage space decides the tree you buy, pop-up Christmas trees are the quickest to put away. If your old tree has come out flat and thin for the third year running, compare the artificial Christmas trees in our range by height and type.
How to store Christmas lights without tangles
Test every set before it goes away, while you still remember where it hung. Safestore suggests looking for wear, visible wiring and brown spots where the wire has overheated, and Electrical Safety First says not to use lights that show damage to the wires or the plug, so a set that fails the check should not go back in the box.
| Method | How | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Piece of card | Cut a notch at one end, hold the plug end in it and wind the lights round the card | Short fairy lights and battery sets |
| Cardboard tube | Tape the end furthest from the plug at the top of the tube, wind downwards, tape the plug end at the bottom | Mid-length strings |
| Coat hanger | Hang the plug end on the hook and wind the rest in a figure of eight across the shoulders, then hang it on a rail | Long tree sets |
| Storage reel | Wind the lights onto a reel with a handle | Outdoor and very long sets |
- Label each set with its length and where it goes: tree, window, mantelpiece or outside.
- Keep indoor, outdoor and novelty lights in separate boxes.
- Take the batteries out of battery sets and lit wreaths, so they cannot leak and corrode the contacts.
- Store the wound sets in a lidded, airtight box inside the house.
If a set fails the test, replace it from our Christmas tree lights in the autumn, not on the day the tree goes up.
How to store baubles and other decorations
- Wrap each glass bauble in tissue paper, bubble wrap or a square of used wrapping paper.
- Sit small baubles in egg boxes or in a box with dividers, one per compartment.
- Put heavy decorations at the bottom of each box and light ones on top.
- Pack by place: everything for the tree, from the skirt to the topper, in one box, the mantelpiece in another.
- Write the contents on the lid in permanent marker, and tape a full list inside it.
- Photograph each room before you take it down, so next year’s layout is quick to copy.
- Store artificial wreaths and garlands flat, or hang them inside a bag so the needles keep their shape.
- Keep candles in a cool indoor cupboard, away from the summer heat of the loft.
Shatterproof plastic baubles need no wrapping and survive a dropped box, and most of our Christmas baubles are plastic rather than glass.
Storing a real or potted tree after Christmas
A cut tree is not kept from one year to the next. The RHS reckons one lasts about four weeks with care, so it usually goes with the decorations, by Twelfth Night: our guide on when to take down Christmas decorations has the dates. Strip every hook and strand of tinsel first, then use your council’s collection or a local scheme that shreds trees into mulch.
Potted trees
- Put a living tree back outside after no more than 12 days indoors, sooner if it looks unhappy, as the RHS advises.
- Plant it in the garden, or keep it in a container and move it to a bigger pot each year, up to about 45 cm across and deep, the largest size you can move comfortably.
- Expect only a few years in a pot: the RHS says Christmas trees are not naturally suited to growing on in containers.
Empty and dry the water well of a real-tree stand before it goes away, and check the screws or clamp for rust. If it no longer grips, our Christmas tree stands list the trunk diameter each one takes.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to store an artificial Christmas tree?
Clean and dry it, fold each branch up towards the pole, tie the sections closed and pack them in a heavy-duty bag or a lidded plastic box. Keep it lying flat somewhere indoors with a steady temperature, such as a spare room, a cupboard or an insulated loft.
How can I store my Christmas tree without a box?
Use a zipped tree bag, or wrap each folded section in an old sheet or duvet cover and tie it with twine. Store it flat and indoors, and skip bin bags, which tear and give the branches no protection.
Can I store my Christmas tree in the garage or outside?
Only if it is sealed against damp. A garage or shed swings between heat and cold, gets damp and attracts mice, so wrap the box or bag in plastic and seal it. Never leave an artificial tree outside uncovered.
How long can you keep a real Christmas tree in your house?
A cut tree lasts about four weeks with care, according to the RHS, which means checking the water in its stand every day and topping it up when the level drops. A living tree in a pot should spend no more than 12 days indoors before going back outside.
Will a potted Christmas tree survive outside?
Yes, it is a hardy conifer and belongs outdoors for most of the year. Plant it out or move it to a bigger pot each year, but expect only a few years in a container, as Christmas trees are not natural pot plants.
Why are you supposed to leave your Christmas tree up until 6 January?
Tradition ends the twelve days of Christmas on Twelfth Night, the evening of 5 January, followed by Epiphany on 6 January. Taking the tree down then is a custom, not a rule, and an artificial tree can go into storage whenever suits you.
What kind of Christmas tree doesn’t need fluffing?
Pop-up trees come closest, as they collapse and open out in one piece with little shaping. Hinged artificial trees need some fluffing each year, and folding the branches in gently when you pack them keeps it short.
How do you store Christmas lights so they don’t tangle?
Wind each set round a piece of card or a cardboard tube, or in a figure of eight across a coat hanger, then label it and keep it in a lidded box indoors. Test it before winding, so a faulty set does not go back in the box.
