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5 Steps to Get Your Home Holiday Ready

It’s official. The holidays are here, which means that you need to get your home ready for all of the friends and family that’ll be visiting you this year. Today, we’ve invited Kathy Kuo back to the blog to talk about the five steps she always remembers to take before the doorbell rings. And as always, you can shop her holiday shop here


Clean Up Your Entrance

When we think about getting the house ready for guests to arrive for the holidays, we tend to focus on the interiors, but the first thing everyone will actually see is the front door. Make sure that your doorway is swept and organized, and maybe even throw on a fresh coat of paint if you haven’t touched up your door in a while. Find a beautiful wreath (or make your own if you’re super crafty!), and hang it before everyone arrives as a warm, holiday welcome before they even step inside.

Clear Off the Coat Rack

This may be an obvious one, but it’s easy to forget! You’re going to have lots of friends and family over, so make sure to put all of your coats and scarves away in a closet to make room for your guest’s outerwear. You may even want to pick up an additional set of hangers! Or if you’re throwing a party where people will be coming and going, put out a floating coat rack for easy access.

Load Up the Bath and Guest Room

You want your guests to always feel comfortable and at home. Make sure that you have visible access to plenty of soap, hand towels and toilet paper so no one needs to rummage through your bathroom storage if something runs out (and make sure to buy the good stuff). I also like to put out an arrangement of candles and lotions for guests to use. And if you’re having overnight guests, don’t forget items like bath towels, spare toothbrushes and travel-size shampoos and conditioners. Offer up some nice bathrobes if you really want to impress!

 

Prep the Living Room

You’re going to have a lot of people all sharing the same space, so before guests arrive, it’s important to take some extra precautions. Tape down your area rugs in high traffic areas to keep them from slipping and to keep guests from tripping on corners. Make sure all of your sofas and upholstered furniture is sprayed with Scotchgard in case of any accidental spills (if you have little ones in the family like I do, you know this is inevitable). We also recommend turning the thermostat down a pinch (just 3-5 degrees) as groups of people tend to generate a lot of heat within a space.

Stock the Bar

If you remember one step today, remember to always keep the party going. Make sure that the bar is stocked with your drink of choice for the night with plenty of glasses to go around. We also love a good bar cart because it’s easy to maneuver around the party. Need inspiration? Check out these four festive ways to decorate your bar cart.