Tangled Christmas lights are a frustration every festive season, but a Pringles tube Christmas lights storage hack promises to put an end to this for good.
Knowing how to store Christmas lights properly at the end of the festive season is critical to making sure you're not in a tangle come next December. If you're in a rush to get your best Christmas lights down before the end of Twelfth Night a TikToker shared a smart storage hack using an old Pringles tube.
Youtuber Claire Burgess, also known as Claire Crafty Corner (opens in new tab) on TikTok shared a video demonstrating how she stored her Christmas lights around a Pringles Tube. The hack is incredibly simple, all it involves is making a slit in the top of a Pringle tube.
@clairescraftycorner (opens in new tab) ♬ original sound - claires_crafty_corne (opens in new tab)
After wrapping the lights around the outside of the tube, all you need to do is pop the last light through the slit so you can easily find it for decorating your Christmas tree with lights next year.
'OK that's sorted, that's 1000 lights wrapped around a Pringle Tube,' says Claire in the video. 'The beginning or end of the lights are just in a little slit here. So next year I know where to start, shove my arm in [the Pringles tube] and walk around the tree. Job done!'
The video has already clocked up 15.1K likes with fans commenting 'Best excuse to start on the Pringles I have in the kitchen!' Another said 'I’ve done this for years, makes it so much easier next year!!!'
Similar hacks using a Pringle tube to store Christmas lights have been popping up on Facebook and Instagram. One version of the hack suggests making a hole in the Pringle lid instead of the side of the tube for threading the plug into the tube.
The TikTok version of the hack doesn't specify what to do with the plug. However, since most Christmas lights plugs are usually detachable they can easily be kept inside the Pringles tube, even without a hole in the lid.
If you don't have a Pringles tube to hand, a wrapping paper roll is a great solution for a long string of lights. Alternatively, an empty kitchen paper towel tube will do the trick.