The Best Way to Wrap Up Icicle Christmas Lights

Properly storing your icicle Christmas lights will prevent damage and tangling.

There are countless varieties of icicle Christmas lights, all of which enhance home holiday decor with bright, colorful illumination. When the holidays are over, take the extra time to prepare your lights for storage. With the proper care, you can prevent your lights from sustaining damage and avoid a tangled mess of icicle lights next Christmas.

Things You'll Need

• Cardboard
• Tape
• Bubble wrap
• Masking tape

Instructions

1. Remove your Christmas lights from trees, fixtures and your home. As you take them down, check to make sure that none of the icicles has been broken or damaged. If you see that any of the lights have been damaged, put a piece of tape on the specific light. That way, the following year, you can replace the icicle bulb or light that is damaged without having to painstakingly check every light on the line.

2. Get out a piece of cardboard the size of a piece of printer paper. Cut a V-shape into the top and bottom of the cardboard. Make one cardboard piece with this V-cut for every string of icicle lights that you want to store for the year.

3. Place the end of the first set of lights on the middle of the board and tape it there with masking tape--so it won't move when you wind the string of lights around the board. Wind the lights around the cardboard piece. You want to wrap the lights so that they go over and around the board where the V was cut. The lights will then rest on the bottom of both V shapes. Make sure that you wrap them tightly--but not so tight that they will crack or break. When you have reached the end of the line, place a small piece of masking tape on the end, sticking the end of the line to the cardboard piece or to another light in the line. This will prevent the lights from unrolling.

4. Stack the pieces of cardboard between pieces of bubble wrap and then place the stacks into a cardboard box or other container to store until the following season.

Tips & Warnings

• An alternative method for wrapping the lights is to not make V-shapes at all, but rather to tape one end of the string of lights to the top of the piece of cardboard. Then, slowly wind the lights around the cardboard piece, making sure not to overlap the line. Place another piece of tape at the end of the line to secure it against the cardboard.

References

• Home Tips: Christmas Light Storage
• Martha Stewart: Storing Christmas Lights