The holiday season brings with it many joys… but also some stress. For those of us who carry the burden of being the host—be it to the occasional raft of party guests or half the family staying for a long weekend—that stress may seem a little more overwhelming, especially if you don’t feel your home is up to hosting standards. But don’t worry because we’ve got seven easy ways to get your home guest-ready for the holidays. And the best bit is these are things that you can enjoy long after the holiday season is over!
Clean Up Your Guest Bedroom
For some of you well-organized souls, this tip won’t be necessary. For many of us, however… well, let’s face it, the guest room is more of a storage area. Coats, boxes, bed linens, and anything else that does not yet its own place elsewhere in the house.
Fortunately, having guests around for the holidays presents a perfect opportunity to take care of this problem. And the good news is that once you’ve dealt with it, it’s done!
Start with things that do have somewhere to go and put them there. Then work your way through things that don’t have a proper place. You may need to buy some storage, make space in other places, and generally organize. Finally, don’t be afraid to throw things away if you don’t really need them.
Get Out the Paintbrush
Decorating your home is an ongoing process, and that is probably most true when it comes to painting walls, windows, doors, and other features. When you have guests around, you don’t want to spend all your time worrying about their impression of your home, so give it a fresh lick of paint where practical. And, of course, you get to enjoy your freshly painted home long after your guests have gone.
Invest in Some New Towels and Bed Linens
Sheets and towels become faded and scratchy over time as they are repeatedly washed. While your guests probably won’t question your cleanliness if you roll out old sheets and towels, it’s hard to deny that new sheets and towels are a more pleasant experience than their well-used counterparts.
Take the opportunity to refresh your linen closet with new bed linens and towels. Your guests will be left with the lasting impression of comfort and quality, and you’ll be able to continue benefiting from that comfort and luxury after the parties and visitations are over.
Put Together an Activity Cache
One thing an experienced host will tell you is it is always good to have backups. What those backups are will depend on the occasion. For example, we wouldn’t recommend breaking out the board games at a crowded Christmas party, but having a rousing game of Monopoly up your sleeve—figuratively speaking—is a sensible approach if the family are staying with you for a few days or weeks.
If you don’t already have one, having a stash of games appropriate to the guests and occasions is always a wise move. This could be a selection of board games, drinking games, movies, or anything else that could be used to entertain your guests when needed.
Purchase Additional Furniture
It’s quite common to invite guests round only to realize you have overestimated your seating capacity. In these cases, the cheapest—and sometimes easiest—solution is to borrow some furniture. Perhaps a few dining room chairs, for example.
Try to resist the urge to do this. If you need more furniture, try to look for ways you can meet those needs by buying more furniture, but without saddling yourself with furniture you won’t need for the rest of the year. An example of this might be solving the need for some additional bed space by buying a futon rather than setting up a camp bed.
Use Fresh Flowers to Bring Your Home to Life
Nothing brings a little life into your home like fresh flowers. They look great, they make a space smell great, and they make everything seem that little warmer and more vibrant.
Of course, be sure to look after your flowers and replace them when appropriate. All the positives we just mentioned quickly go away if you have a home full of wilting flowers.
Plan Your Meals
This is less applicable for one-off events like parties, but if you are having guests over for extended periods, planning your meals can save you a lot of time and stress. You don’t want to be driving back and forth to the supermarket during their stay, so put a little thought into what meals you’re going to be preparing before they arrive.
Final Thoughts
While there’s nothing wrong with preparing for guests in temporary ways, such as stuffing things into closets to make space and borrowing extra chairs, any time you can prepare for guests in a way that permanently improves your home as well, you’re onto a winner. Try to think longer-term; is there a way to achieve what you need while also crossing off other to-do list items around your home.
If you need more storage, don’t just stuff items in the loft, look at storage solutions. Not enough chairs? Consider buying furniture. Thinking this way will allow you to be the host with the most while also improving your home.
Author bio: Ray Brosnan is co-owner of Brosnan Property Solutions, a property maintenance company located in Ireland. Ray and his usually help businesses and homes with property needs with teams of registered electricians, plumbers, roofers etc. Brosnan’s have a fantastic team of handymen too that help homeowners with jobs to get the home Christmas ready.
