Christmas is such a busy time, and it seems to start earlier every year. To make your life a little easier over the festive season, here are our tips on Christmas decorating mistakes to avoid, from floor damage to higher energy bills and storing up problems for next year.

Combine the below tips with our Christmas decorating hacks, and we guarantee you a Christmas with a lot less stress.

Know where to put your tree

If you’re investing in a real Christmas tree, it’s worth knowing the do’s and don’ts of tree placement. This is particularly important if you’re tempted to place your tree front and centre, to show it off in all its twinkly glory.

“A bay window will likely be the desired place for a Christmas tree,” explains Emily Simmons, creative director at innovative interiors brand Ruggable.

“However, although a real Christmas tree does need sunlight, too much direct sunlight can dry the tree out and block natural light coming into your room when placed directly in front of the window, which can make your room darker and colder.”

Instead, Simmons suggests placing your real Christmas tree to the side of the window or nearer a window that isn’t a south-facing one.

“This way, your tree will still get the light it needs, without giving it too much direct sunlight,” she says.

“The natural light will be able to dazzle your tree decor as well, adding to the festive feeling in your home.”

It’s also important to keep real trees away from other heat sources like candles, room heaters and radiators.

“Even a slight increase in temperature can accelerate the drying process of the tree, heightening the risk of fire,” explains property expert Thomas Goodman from MyJobQuote.

“Ensure a safe distance of at least 3ft between the tree and heat-emitting elements. This distance mitigates the tree’s exposure to heat, reducing the likelihood of drying out prematurely.”

Protect your flooring

While it’s always tempting to go big when it comes to your tree, it’s important to think about protecting your floors.

“6ft Christmas trees, often weighing over 100 pounds, pose potential damage to carpet and hardwood floors,” Goodman warns.

“When choosing your tree, opt for a robust, broad-based stand to evenly distribute its weight and therefore minimise damage. To safeguard carpeting, place a protective mat or thick fabric beneath the tree to prevent indentations. For hardwood floors, utilise a rubber pad under the stand to shield the surface.”

Should you discover marks left upon removing the tree, Goodman suggests creating a solution of equal parts vinegar and water.

“Gently apply this to the affected area, lightly buff with a microfibre cloth to eliminate the marks, and ensure thorough drying to preserve the floor’s shine,” he adds.

Be light smart

Sick of scrambling under the Christmas tree or moving furniture out the way to switch off your lights every night? It’s time to get light smart.

“A smart plug can be used for any plug-in device, making it controllable remotely,” explains Katie Georgeson, of 4lite.

“This allows you to operate Christmas lights instantly from your smartphone or voice-controlled smart devices, with no need to fumble under the Christmas tree getting spiked by pine needles and bumping baubles off their branches.”

And in these cost of living laden times, smart plugs can also save on energy and therefore electricity bills as they actually turn sockets off, rather than leaving them on standby, which saps energy. Be gone vampire appliances!

Get prepped for next Christmas

We may have only just dug out this year’s Christmas decorations, but it’s worth spending time thinking about putting them away.

“Preparation is key and this should begin from the year before,” explains Jess Martin, decorations expert at Ginger Ray.

“It might sound simple but organising your Christmas decorations well at the end of the season will make decorating next year a dream.”

Martin suggests taking it one step further to save some serious time on either side – packing away this year and re-decorating next Christmas. Take a roll of cling-film and wrap it around your faux decorated tree to keep everything in place whilst it’s in storage until next year.

“Wrap your lights and garlands around pieces of cardboard and tuck in at the end of the length to keep from tangling,” Martin continues.

“For delicate baubles and decorative ornaments, use some leftover wrapping paper to protect them from breaking against each other – alternatively, if you kept hold of the original box, they often come with dividers already making this job even easier.”