Trading in gift boxes for U-Haul boxes this holiday season? While it’s no one’s Christmas wish to uproot while the flakes are flying outside, there are still ways to make a holiday move merry! Check out these tips for keeping some cheer in the process:

Opt for the real stuff.
While a massive faux fir tree with hundreds of highly-breakable ornaments might work most years, the year you move around Christmas isn’t one of them. Instead of hanging faux wreaths & garlands — only to re-organize and re-box them later — opt for real greens.

Keep your ornaments simple, too (like candy canes and popcorn garland strung by the kids!) so they can be tossed with the tree before the move. You’ll save loads of time when you’re not repacking holiday decor on your way out the door!

Tone down the tinsel.
Even if you’d love to lace your roofline in thousands of icicle lights, make this your year to practice a little restraint. Take the time you’d spend detangling lights and use it to make your home cozy in other ways.

Simmer a spice pot on the stove (orange juice, cinnamon sticks, and cloves) to create a welcoming, seasonal scent, or let your little ones adorn the doorways with hand-cut paper snowflakes.  Keeping decor simple and streamlined will help make move-out day more manageable.

Coordinate your Christmas gifts.
Rather than buying stacks of oversized toys for your little ones in the midst of a major move (leaving you with dozens more boxes to relocate), coordinate your Christmas gifts around the move.

Give your kids the gift of a custom space in their new home — a playroom complete with a tea party table (that you’ll pick out the pretty dishes for together), or that special, space-themed bedroom they’ve been begging for!

Not only will your kids love being part of the process, but they’ll love teaming up to personalize their space and make your new home really feel like home.