With the season moving toward the New Year, it'll soon be time to remove and store holiday decorations. Somehow, "putting away" isn't nearly so much fun as "getting out"; too often, decorations are bundled away quickly, but not well.

For an easier Christmas, 2008, try these time-saving storage tips from the Common Sense Community. One we like:

For a super timesaver, keep your artificial tree intact. Only remove delicate ornaments, leaving the lights and garland on so it's ready to go next year. Use a light paint cloth to cover your tree to protect it from dust and debris.

Shedding Light on Holiday Decorations

Holiday Decor PlannerAre you happy with this year's holiday decor? Quick! Before you pack 'em away, grab a camera and snap quick photos of each room's decorations.

Together with a free printable room-by-room decor planner, photos will help smooth holiday decorating next season. Add both to your Christmas notebook.

Next year, you'll know what goes where--because when it comes to holiday decorating, a picture is worth a thousand words!

Holiday Decor Planner

It's over for another year--but wait! Before you pack away the lights and ornaments willy-nilly, try these strategies from RealSimple.com.

Whether it's recording the year's decor themes, storing ornaments safely, or dealing with too much stuff for the space available, you'll find answers to holiday put-away questions:

Storing Holiday Decorations

Holiday decorating takes center stage in many homes--until the season ends. How do you store holiday decorations safely during the rest of the year?

Check out these tips from RDLiving.com, to make holiday items easy to find:

Storing Holiday Decorations

Now, where exactly did we store the window candlesticks? You'll always know what's in the box with this free printable holiday decorations organizer form from RealSimple.com:

What's In The Box?

Jazz up the Thankgiving holiday for the short stuff with these free Thanksgiving Kids Table printables from HP.com!

With puzzles, place mats, decorations and coloring pages, you'll set a festive kids' table--and keep the little ones occupied--for Thursday's big feast:

Printable Thanksgiving Decorations for the Kids' Table

Dress up the holiday table with the art of folded napkins. From fans to candles to a blooming rose, these napkin creations spark a pretty holiday table setting:

How To Fold A Napkin

Polish your candles with pantyhose? Yep, or so says FineLiving.com. An old pair of nylons can buff out small imperfections and remove dust from older candles. Sweet!

Get more tips to keep holiday candles burning bright:

Simple Tips: Holiday Candles

Dress up your dining table for holiday meals with these tips from RDLiving.com. Whether it's a traditional table-setting, a buffet service or the kids' table, you'll have it covered (pun intended):

Setting The Table: Your Guide To Making The Holiday Dinner Table Look Spectacular

Preparing a home for holiday entertaining needn't require an entire season--or budget. You can easily put your house in order in just one weekend with the right approach, advises Carl Prindle of Furniture.com.

Click the read more link below for tips to ready any home for festive gatherings of friends and family.