What to do with your festive decor after Xmas

Some of the Christmas decor can be used as daily house decor. Shutter photo

What you need to know:

Are you stuck with heaps of Christmas decor and do not know what to do with it? Here are a few ideas on what you can do.

Now that Christmas is done, it is important to have the house back in order. Most Christmas decoration is meant for the season, the reason people discard them after Christmas. However, interior experts note that some of these decorations can be kept and used in a variety of ways. Here is how to use your Christmas décor after Christmas.

Reduce the glitters
The shining aspect is what makes the décor restricted for a certain season (Christmas). Jackline Biira, an interior designer, notes that reducing the shiny decoration for example removing the sweets, cards, balloons and other materials from a Christmas tree, crafts, could leave them neutral to serve different purposes.
“You can choose to have it in a certain corner of your house and since its green, it will bring a sense of nature on the inside,” she adds.

Use them as daily décor
Since they are decoration materials, Christmas decor can be used to beautify your home.
Dorothy Nabatanzi, an interior designer, notes that these can be turned into nice décor material to complement your home. You can place them around your indoor flowers to add a touch of glamour.
“Since most of them attract dust, you need to clean them more often to keep them tidy and appealing,” she says.
She adds that you can also have a number of Christmas flowers put in decorative containers to bring more beauty to the interior. These should, however, match and compliment other colours in the house.

Declutter the place
Mary Namukose, an interior designer at Daffur Interiors Limited, notes that one aught to reduce the décor and leave just a few.
Too much décor on a normal day will make the place clumsy. Namukose notes that decluttering the area will be a good deal.
“Leave a few decorative materials and they will look good but the too much stuff will be old fashion now that the season is done,” she adds.
Playing materials
Children will be happy to play with balloons therefore tying them around their play area could keep them happy.
Biira adds that you can hand them to your children for playing or add one or two in their bedroom because this will make them happy.

Keep them for future use
Easter is coming in a few months and some of the decorations can work, so can be re-used on Easter.
Alternatively, Namukose says you can keep them in a safe place for next Christmas season other than wasting money on buying new ones.
“Though each season comes with new innovations in the décor world, others like the Christmas tree don’t change,” she adds.
Besides, some of the decorations can be re-used for parties such as birthdays during the year.

Burn the tree on 1st
In most homes, the natural Christmas tree (usually cedar tree branch) is burnt as they celebrate New Year’s Day.
As most people burn tyres and other materials, some people burn Christmas trees.
However, you should put in mind the rules and regulations that govern the area you live in because most areas don’t allow burning of things at New Year’s Day especially in urban centres.
If you did not burn yours yesterday, you can still burn them today.

Discard them
Some of the Christmas decorations can not be reused and would rather be discarded than causing congestion in a home.
-For example, Biira notes that balloons will grow old and loose the beauty because they are not meant to work for a long period.
“People who use natural trees as Christmas décor need to discard them because the leaves will dry up and drop all over the house hence causing dirt,” Namukose adds.

Sell them

People will be willing to buy those decorations at fee for use, some modify them into other decorations, others keep them for the next season. Selling them could earn you a penny.
“You can go to shops that sell them, or if you know of a place where they are made, you can take them back and be given some money,” Namukose says.