Is your home prepared for guests over the winter? Most people would say they are, but it takes more than just cleaning up and decluttering to turn your home from a basic home into a winter wonderland worth remembering. With Christmas fast approaching, we’ve put together a few quick tips that will help you earn extra points when your guests arrive.
Preparing the Guest Room
If you want your guests to feel at home when they visit, then you’re going to need a guest room for them to stay in. If you need a temporary guest room, then consider converting one of your existing bedrooms or even using the study as a guest room. Building the perfect guest room isn’t easy, but if you love being a host then it’s worth the extra investment to buy things such as a guest tray, extra bedding and linen specifically for guests and also decorating it appropriately so your guests don’t have to look at pictures of your kids when they were young. Another good tip for the guest room is to ensure they have a place to put their luggage. Most bedrooms are cramped and aren’t designed to have a full-sized suitcase inside, so clear a bit of space for this.
Proper Furniture
You’ve probably grown accustomed to sitting on your sofa to eat dinner or throwing your shoes in a specific place when you get back from work. However, many of the things that you find normal in your home are going to be strange for your guests. Make sure you look into getting proper dining room sets so that you and your guests can eat comfortably and in style instead of sitting in sofa chairs with a tray in their lap. You’ll also want to prepare enough chairs for everyone to be seated comfortably, instead of relying on things like plastic chairs or fold-up ones. You also want to ensure that your guests are comfortable in their beds, so get a proper mattress instead of a tacky and cheap air mattress.
Food and Entertainment
Your guests are probably coming over for a reason, and that reason is likely for food and entertainment. If you want to impress your guests, then it’s a good idea to get the food and entertainment ready as early as possible. Plan what you’re going to cook, practice making the desserts and ensure your fun and games are ready. Whether it’s a board game, a new piece of gaming technology or something simple like a movie, make sure everything is in working condition and ready to go when your guests arrive. If you find it difficult to cook for your guests, then you might want to enlist their help if you know they’re great in the kitchen. For entertainment, if you’re completely stumped then it’s absolutely fine to ask your guests to bring something over. Whether it’s a copy of their favourite Christmas CD or a movie they enjoy watching over the festive period, they’ll probably have plenty of ideas up their sleeves.
