December is the time of the year where all of your distant cousins and judgemental elderly aunts and uncles decent to your hometown to join the entire family for Christmas. With holiday accommodation prices rising and availability few and none, most families opt to stay with relatives over the festive season. When you have guests to stay in your home, especially over Christmas time, it is imperative that you get your home ready for all of the extra guests. From cleaning and decluttering to making it cosy and festive, we have the ultimate guide on how to get your home ready for your Christmas guests.

 

While some people do not see the point in decoratingtheir homes and making them feel festive just to take all the ornaments and decorations down at the end of December. However, when you have guests coming to stay for Christmas, it is always nice if your home captures the spirit of the festive season and makes guests feel festive. You do not have to go all out if you do not want to. A few simple Christmas scented candlesin the bathroom, guest bedroom and living room will ensure your home smells as festive as can be. Another way to make your home feel a bit merrier is to have a few decorationsaround your home, as well as having the Christmas tree up in your family room.

 

Try swapping out your regular scatter cushions and throwsfor some cushions and blanketswith festive inspired colours of reds, greens, golds and whites. Alternatively, you can change the bedding on the beds in the guests’ rooms to some Christmas bedding or simply style the bed with some festive cushionsand throws.

 

While most peoples guest bedrooms remain unused for months and end up as more of a store room than a guest room, when it comes to Christmas time, you guest bedroom will need a bit of a transformation to make it feel cosy and inviting. Cleaning and tidying up is important, and is the first step that you need to take once you have removed all of the unnecessary stuff from the room. Ensure that you clear out some, if not all of the stuff that you have stored in the cupboards and chest of drawers so that your guests will be able to have space to unpack their clothing and belongings.

 

After you have done a deep clean, it is now time to decorate the guest bedroom with a festive feel. You want your guests to feel comfortable as this is now their home away from home for the time, they are staying with you. You may want to splurge and buy some new bedding for the bed in the guest room, and what is better at Christmas time than festive bedding! Once you have made up the bed you can now move on to the smaller details such as neatly folding some fresh towels and dressing gowns for your guests to use, as well as displaying a welcome basket filled with small toiletries and snacks for your guests.

 

We all have those places in our homes that need some TLC but we never get around to fixing or repairing. Use the time before your Christmas guests arrive to stay to ensure that all your home repairs and maintenance is done. This ensures you can avoid any accidents that may be caused by uneven flooring, windows that wont close or those mirrors and photo frames that keep falling off the walls.

Overall, hosting during Christmas time can be stressful as you want everything to be perfect and for everyone to feel comfortable and at home. If you ensure the basics of cleaning and tidying up are done and you make the effort to put up a few decorations and make your guests feel welcome you are off to a great start.