Brilliant Christmas Ornament Storage Ideas

These brilliant Christmas ornament storage ideas will have your holiday decor neatly organized for when the season rolls around next year.

Since storing holiday ornaments does not have to be expensive, this post provides ideas to get the look for less. Plus, from boxes to tissue paper, learn what storage containers work best to store Christmas tree ornaments as well as the best way to store delicate decorations. 

Before the busy holiday season is upon us, read up on the best ornament storage ideas.

SOURCES: Wood Topper Ornament, Wood Finial Ornament | White Glass Ball Ornaments (similar) | Lambs Ear Garland | Eucalyptus Garland

After the busy Christmas season has passed, you need to somehow store away all the decorations—new and old—that festively decorated your tree. Whether you bought more ornaments this year or not, it can be challenging to organize and put it all away.

I went with a dreamy pastel Christmas decorating theme this year, so I bought many new ornaments to go along with it. That meant I had a lot more to store away after the season.

You could throw everything into those big plastic see-through containers and call it a day. 

However, if you’ve ever been heartbroken to find precious ornaments destroyed in your haste from the year before, it’s time to learn how to store Christmas ornaments.

SOURCES: Matte White Glass Ball Ornament (similar) | Blush Pink Ball Ornaments Large | Wood Topper Ornament, Wood Finial Ornament | Dusty Blue Glass Ball Ornaments

Tips to Store Holiday Ornaments

Everyone has their own way of storing holiday decorations. 

What I’ve learned over the years is it’s better to plan only after you know what it is you’re storing away. If you’re just looking for gift wrap organization ideas, that’s easy. Ornaments, on the other hand, come in many (many) different shapes, sizes and weights.

You really shouldn’t need to change out your Christmas storage containers very often. It comes down to a few things about the ornaments you’re storing:

• Types - Are they delicate? Glittery? Glass, wood or plastic? Florals, stems or picks?
• Sizes, shapes and weights - Tiny, small, medium, or large? Stars, stockings, square, round, or figurine? Light or heavy?
• Quantity - A few? 50? Over a hundred?

Take fine details into account as you think about what needs to be stored away. Lay everything out in one area to see what needs to be put away.

Key Tips for Ornament Storage Ideas:

Use What You Have

Don’t buy new storage containers just to buy new, or because TikTok told you to do it. Buy new because your current system broke down, or your current storage containers started to fall apart, which happens over time.

Keep Original Boxes (with a Caveat)

Whether your tree ornaments are old or new, if the boxes are still in good condition, don’t throw them away. Especially don’t throw away boxes that have dividers. You may be able to repurpose boxes in whole or in part as you begin organizing everything.

For our ornament storage, I kept what I could of the original boxes that had dividers and set them inside the new containers.

I could have bought new dividers, or even made some dividers out of cardboard, but the original dividers were custom fit to the ornament size. Plus, they were still in great condition, being only a year old.

Keep Original Protective Paper

Similar to original boxes, if the original protective wrapping material—usually tissue paper or bubble wrap—used to wrap the ornaments is still in good condition, don’t just throw it away. Reuse any paper or bubble you can to wrap the ornaments in order to protect them in their new containers.

Buy Complementary Storage 

When you do need to buy new storage, try to get the same, similar and complementary containers. 

My logic is simple: it looks more organized. How so, you ask? When your eyes scan your holiday storage, it will look even more organized and put together if the containers complement one another.

In general, be mindful and not wasteful. Repurpose, reuse, recycle or donate what you can. There is plenty of waste in the world to not add to it when possible.

Best Storage Ideas for Christmas Ornaments

Perhaps you’re one of the many that put their ornaments in plastic bins. Some ornaments may be wrapped in tissue paper, others haphazardly strewn about random containers—glitter everywhere.

Or maybe you still store ornaments in their original boxes that look worse for wear, torn from the many years of repeated use.

For a while these methods work. It’s when they begin failing, as they did in my case, that it’s time to switch out your containers.

When I went in search of new ornament storage containers, I knew I wanted something that looked nice even if it was just stashed away in a closet. I also knew I wanted the same or complementary colors when it came to the containers.

My ornament storage container criteria was as follows:

• Had handles, preferably on both sides
• Same or complementary color and style
• Small enough to be stored in a closet

Lastly, they had to be inexpensive but sturdy. I did not want to spend a lot on something that was only used as storage, while also ensuring the containers would last for a number of years.

Small Storage Box with Lid

For smaller ornaments, I used these small storage boxes with lids. 

Using light-duty pieces of cardboard paper I had on hand, I was able to split the box in half, top to bottom. This allowed me to get twice the amount of storage in a few of the boxes.

Extra Large Storage Box with Lid

I used the extra large box with lid in the same color and style to hold irregular shaped, larger ornaments and decorations.

Cardboard Box Dividers

Along with the horizontal box dividers I already had, a few of the original ornament boxes had dividers. I reused them by simply placing the ornaments in their original box inside the main box.

As I said before, reuse what you can.

You can also easily make dividers out of cardboard if you don’t have any. Use boxes from items shipped to your home or buy inexpensive boxes from craft or home improvement stores.

Tissue Paper and Bubble Cushion Wrap

To better protect delicate ornaments, wrap each one individually in tissue paper or bubble cushion wrap.

I recommend the tiny bubble cushion wrap to save space. Of course, if space isn’t an issue, buy whatever size bubble wrap you want.