How to Store Christmas Lights Tangle-Free

Decorating your home for Christmas can be a great way to get into the festive spirit, especially if you put on some Christmassy music or your favourite Christmas film in the background. What’s definitely not fun, though, is having to untangle a ball of fairy lights that you crammed into a carrier bag on 6th January last year, feeling full of regret and facing a bag of wires, bulbs and broken colourful plastic bits!

Christmas lights, aka ‘fairy lights’, can be used for any special occasion - parties, weddings, baby showers etc. - but you might feel that they’re not worth the effort of using them if they’re in a big tangled mess when you dig them out of storage. This year, your New Year’s Resolution could be to store your Christmas lights in a way that ‘Future You’ will be grateful for.

So, how do you store Christmas lights without tangling them?

There are a few methods to try, some more expensive or time-consuming than others. Since the whole point of storing your Christmas lights without tangles is to save time, we’ve chosen the three easiest, cheapest methods we’ve found

Whichever method you choose, make sure you check your lights for any signs of defects as you’re storing them. Look for signs of wear or visible wiring, or brown spots where the wires have overheated. If there are any of these signs, you should dispose of your lights and maybe look for some replacements in the January sales!

1. To keep your Christmas lights from twisting, use the cardboard tube from inside a roll of kitchen paper or wrapping paper. 

(If you don’t have a kitchen / wrapping paper roll tube available, you can roll a piece of card into a tube-shape, or use any kind of cylindrical container - it’s Christmas, so you’ve probably got some empty crisps tubes lying around!)

Hold the tube in one hand, and use your thumb or a piece of masking tape to hold the very end of your Christmas lights (the end furthest from the plug) close to the top of the tube. Using your other hand, wrap the lights around the tube from top to bottom and back up. 

Continue wrapping the lights like this until you reach the plug end. Tuck the plug pins into the end of the tube, or secure with a bit of tape to stop it all unravelling. 

When you come to use your Christmas lights again next year (or sooner, because they’ll be a doddle to unwrap), plug them in briefly to check that they’re working before you unravel them. Then unplug them to work safely, leaving enough slack at the plug end for your wire to reach between the plug socket and your tree. This done, simply wind your lights around your tree (from the base to the treetop) while unwinding them from your cardboard tube. 

2. Store your Christmas lights on a clothes hanger to keep them tangle-free.

This is a great way to keep your Christmas lights from twisting. Drape the plug end of the wire around the back of the hook, much like you’d hang a scarf. Then wind the rest of the Christmas lights around the hanger in a figure 8, so that the lights are looped over each ‘shoulder’ of the hanger. You can use the hook of the hanger to store your lights over a wardrobe rail or a hook.

3. Invest in a cable reel / spool.

You can buy a reel for winding your Christmas lights and keeping them neat and tidy. These typically cost less than £10, depending on how long your string of lights is. You’ll need to have bought one before 6th January on any given year, but this is a good option if you want to look impressively organised! 

Should you wrap up the whole Christmas tree?

You might have seen videos of people simply wrapping up their decorated tree after Christmas, and storing the whole thing in one piece. Some people use cling film, though the stuff you have in your kitchen drawer might be too flimsy - caterer-quality clingfilm seems to be more effective. Alternatively, you can invest in a Christmas tree storage bag, or use an extra-large bin liner.  This is an option for a prelit (LED) tree if you have somewhere large enough to store a whole (artificial) tree - just be careful not to dislodge any delicate baubles while doing so! 

However, a string of Christmas tree lights should not be stored like that; they need to be taken off the tree and wound carefully in the ways described above. If they’re on your tree, some parts of the wires might be stretched more than others, and if left that way for 11 months they can pose a fire hazard when plugged in again next year.

How should Christmas lights be stored?

Christmas lights must be stored somewhere that is dry, and free from pests (mice like nibbling wires). Extreme changes in temperature (which might be a problem in a shed, garage or loft) can also make the plastic that covers the wires become brittle and prone to fraying. Keep your lights in an airtight container to protect against accidental damage, and try to find space indoors to store them.

Christmas decorations take up a lot of space at home, considering they’re only used for about 6 weeks of the year at most. Most people cram their Christmas decorations and tree into the loft, garage, spare room or on top of a wardrobe, then hope someone else will have the job of retrieving them! 

If you would rather use your storage spaces at home for things you use more often (e.g. vacuum cleaner, bedding, ironing board etc.) you could consider storing your Christmas decorations and lights in a self storage unit. 

We have storage units ranging in size from lockers the size of a car boot right up to warehouse-sized spaces. Our 10sq ft lockers and 16 or 25 sq ft units are ideal for storing seasonal belongings like Christmas decorations, camping gear and garden furniture to keep them safe, clean and dry when not in use. Our indoor storage units are kept temperate, and our stores are covered by fire and pest control measures too.

Can we help?

If you think storing your Christmas decorations (or other seasonal gear) away from home is a good idea, feel free to get in touch with us online, by phone or in store to find your most convenient store and get our best deal on storage prices. 

Hopefully our ideas on how to store your Christmas lights will make untangling Christmas tree lights a thing of Christmas Past, and you’ll feel full of cheer and goodwill (and maybe a bit smug) when unravelling your perfectly stored lights for all your Christmases Yet to Come!