S’more Spring Cleaning

Hello, all my Christmas loving friends! Guess what time it is?!?….

That’s right! It’s time for s’more spring cleaning – ELF STYLE!

PLUS, we have a special coupon for you at the end to help you spring clean your Christmas ornaments.

Yup! Even at the North Pole, we are doing lots of spring cleaning. So, I thought you might enjoy some tips for cleaning and storing all your beloved Christmas items.

Spruce up your spruce!

You’ve probably already packed away your tree, but if you are like me, you were too busy right after Christmas.

Tips for trees:

• Dust them good! It’s a good idea to get all that dust off before you store them, whether you just take it outside and shake off the dust or use a dust cloth sprayed with window cleaner or some other cleaner (extra points if it’s Christmas scented) to wipe the branches down branches.
• DON’T put them back in their original box! Most trees come in a cardboard box, but if the tree comes with lights, trying to push a fluffed tree back into the box can break the lights.
• Keep the dust off! It’s better to get a tree storage bag or put only part of the tree back in the box and cover the rest with an old bed sheet. Another option is to walk your whole tree to wherever you are going to store it (the garage or a closet) and just throw a big old bed sheet over the whole thing.

Villages & Santas & Figures

These are easy! Most of these come in their own special boxes. So, all you have to do is dust them off and put them in their box.

A feather duster makes quick work of dusting most of these items without damaging any fabric or glitter accents. If you get a little schmutz on some fabric, use a little spot cleaner on them before it stains.

“Don’t forget, darlings! Snow globes are extra special! Be sure to never store them where they might have extreme temperature fluxuations, like an attic.”

Mrs. C.

Caring for ornaments

Self-care is most important, but for elves…. ornament care comes in second! It’s always a good idea to clean your Christmas ornaments before you store them because the dust can damage them over time. So, even if they are already packed, if you never got the chance to clean them earlier, now is a good time to pull them out to give them s’more spring cleaning.

Tips on dusting ornaments:

• Glittery ornaments – Best to use a feather duster to get all that dust off. Most of these are made with extra glitter. So, unless the item is getting old, you don’t need to be gentle.
• Crystal ornaments – A buffing jewelry cloth is perfect for crystal, but if you don’t have one, just use a clean, soft cloth to wipe off any dust.
• Silver, Sterling Silver, and Gold-plated ornaments – These are best cleaned with a polishing jewelry cloth so that they don’t tarnish. Mrs. C. has a silver jingle bell from Santa’s sleigh that came with a cloth. We rub it good and wrap it in the cloth when we store it.
• All other ornaments – A simple soft cloth is best to wipe off any dust before you store them.

Tips for storing ornaments:

1. If you have original boxes, those usually work best to store your ornaments.
2. If not, look for storage boxes like the one in the picture above that are just slightly bigger than your ornaments.
3. Movement is your ENEMY! Use tissue paper or paper towels to keep your ornaments from moving around in the boxes because if they are shaken too hard, they can break.
4. Acid-free paper will keep the colors pretty for generations. All our Inge Glas ornaments come with special acid free paper that we save just for our shoppers who buy these special ornaments.
5. Bubble wrap is bad! It’s good for playing with or if you are shipping them. It’s good when you are bringing them home from the store, but it can stick to the paint in storage and pull it off when you unpack (especially if you store them in a Texas attic!)!!!

For more tips, you can check out these blog posts by Martha Stewart and Reader’s Digest!

DON’T FORGET TO REMOVE BATTERIES!

No, seriously. Batteries will corrode over time and ruin the electric works in battery operated items. Another thing that causes corrosion is re-using old batteries or using different types of batteries. Don’t ask us why. It’s too scientific for us elves.

Try using your decorations all year long!

Crazy, we know. We’re all a little crazy here. However, it’s a shame to only see your beloved decorations at Christmas. Old World Christmas even has a blog full of ideas for showing off those ornaments outside of Christmas.

Putting them in jars like in the picture above is really cute, but we like to hang them in windows using fishing line. They really catch the light!

Even just setting them in plain site is great! Every time it catches your eye, it will make you smile. 🙂

S’more Updates!

Here’s what’s been happening on social media that you may have missed.

Yes! We did that quote in triplicate! You see…. Mrs. C. and I did an update to our normal #SundayInspirationWithS’more backdrop, and we couldn’t decide which we like best. Santa was NO help! We posted the one in the middle, but if you think one is best, give us an email at christmas.elves@gvtc.com.

As my good ol’ Papa Elf always told me… If you don’t take care of your things, you will lose them.

‘Tis true! I hope our tips above keep your Christmas decorations in tip-top shape so you can “Celebrate Always” (I Thessalonians 5:16) this Christmas!

LOVE FROM,

S’MORE

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