One of the most important aspects of holiday hosting is your home. Especially if you plan to welcome large groups throughout the season, readying your house for visitors is a must. The more you can address up front and ensure your home can take on the holiday challenge, the less you'll spend worrying and the more you can enjoy your holidays.
But just how do you get your home ready for the holidays? Discover five ways to spruce up your home so that you and your guests have a jolly good time.
Get a jump start on the season
Depending on how much you entertain or how many people you plan to welcome into your home, there are degrees of early preparedness. Take stock of your intentions and what you want the holiday season to look like.
For example, if you're hoping to create an ornate winter wonderland, allow yourself time to sort through and inventory existing decorations. Determine what stays, what goes, and what requires replacement or needs an upgrade. From that point, develop and look for online or in-store deals well before the holiday rush.
If most of your celebrations will center around cooking and feeding a crowd, create menus for each event you plan to host. Shop for what you can early, and save any fresh or date-specific items for when you need them.
Similar to how you handle the decorations, take stock of your kitchen, its storage, and any tools, dishes, or small appliances you'll need to feed your guests. Better to know ahead of time what you need instead of scrambling at the last minute to replace a vital cog in your holiday cheer-making machine.
Foremost, make a plan that details your schedule for November and December, even if it's tentative. Of course, your specific timeline may vary. But keep in mind, once summer ends, the holidays come quickly. Give yourself as much time as you need to be ready. Those who plan and prepare ahead of time can enjoy more of the holiday festivities than those who try to get everything done last minute.
Check up on your home's comfort systems
Although a white Christmas isn't all that common around D.C., it can get bitterly cold and sometimes even unseasonably warm. Few things are worse at the holidays than a house full of uncomfortable guests. Although you should already have your home's comfort systems checked annually for seasonal readiness—air conditioning in early spring, heating system in early fall—it doesn't hurt to have a follow-up ahead of an abnormally busy hosting season.
Pay close attention to anything that can trap or blow around dust and debris. Vents, A.C. registers, filters, and ceiling fan blades are the primary culprits. With more people inside your home than usual, check these areas several times during the holiday season to keep them clean and dust-free air circulating through your home.
Clean, declutter, then clean again
What may be the simplest task for sprucing up your home for the holidays is also the most tedious. Keeping an extraordinarily tidy house when company is over is one of the most underappreciated aspects in guaranteeing everyone enjoys their time.
A clean, uncluttered house makes for a more comfortable and less claustrophobic environment. A key component involves removing items that are no longer useful to you or don't have a place in your home. Save time by performing the fall version of spring cleaning when sorting through your holiday decorations.
If you're parting with lightly used items, sell them and use the proceeds to help fund replacement decorations, accessories, or furnishings or to purchase supplies for your holiday parties. Such things also make for great donations at a time when many need a lifted holiday spirit.
It's also a good idea to create clutter-free spaces or areas that invite gathering amongst your guests. For instance, big, bulky furniture can make a room feel cramped by reducing floor space and limiting seating. If you're a holiday power host, consider having your entertaining areas professionally staged for the season's duration. You don't have to worry about your personal furnishings experiencing unnecessary wear and tear, and you give your guests room to breathe.
If you don't already, hire a service to do a thorough, top-down deep clean of your home. Schedule for them to come back throughout the season and maintain that pristine condition that's difficult to achieve on your own. It's money well spent to maintain a clean, welcoming house and worry about one less to-do item.
Breath new life into overlooked common areas
When you welcome friends or family into your home, consider the areas in your home where they congregate:
The living room for small intimate gatherings.
The more casual family-kitchen-dining areas for the large-scale get-togethers.
An outdoor deck or patio for daytime or early evening entertainment if the weather permits.
These spaces garner the majority of your holiday sprucing attention, and rightfully so. After all, it's where the action happens during the holidays.
But other areas in your home can benefit from a little TLC. They include your home's exterior front entryway or porch, the interior foyer and main hallway, and the main floor powder room or central bathroom. They may be small, transitory spaces that guests use to shuffle from one room to the next (or, in the case of the powder room, serve a utilitarian purpose). They present "showcase" opportunities to cast a warm, welcoming first impression.
With your front entrance and porch, start by clearing up any blemishes on the front door, sidelights, or nearby windows. Power wash the walkway and porch landing, and repair damaged trim. For a bold first impression that extends beyond the holidays, consider repainting (or even replacing) the front door.
Once inside, the foyer and main hallway serve as your primary reception area. The area of your home where practically every single visitor stops to be received or take off their coat and exchange a few pleasantries before gravitating elsewhere in the house. Make the reception feel larger by adding an elegant mirror on light neutral paint. Subtle holiday decorations in the fall will enhance your guest's first impression and put them into the holiday spirit.
As for your powder room, don't shy away from taking a few fun or fanciful risks. Especially if yours is a uniquely shaped half-bath tucked underneath a staircase or following the innermost contours of your home's interior framework. Daring or audacious wallpaper is a common design choice. Adding unusual or whimsical pictures, holiday accessories, or decorations can further enhance the "one-off" while showcasing your creative side.
Make sure your guest room is a welcoming place to rest.
To earn your holiday host extraordinaire badge, provide overnight guests with a wonderful place to lay their heads. If possible, start by designating a spare bedroom with an ensuite as your primary guest bedroom. Guests will appreciate the added privacy of a private bathroom, and you'll have an easier time distinguishing the room from the remainder of the house.
Update the guest room with stylish yet durable contemporary furniture. Provide high-quality cotton sheets and linens, and have extra travel-size toiletries on hand should your guests forget something.
Interested in more tips for making your current Springfield, Virginia, home shine bright during the upcoming holiday season? Or perhaps you're looking to upgrade and want to learn more about Springfield real estate or homes for sale in neighboring Alexandria?
Wherever you find yourself in your current real estate journey, contact Denise Buck and the D.C. Metro Realty Team today. Allow their experience and expertise to help you navigate the Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia luxury real estate markets.
