Prepare Your Home for the Holidays
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There is no better time than now to prepare your home for the holidays.
Whether you host Thanksgiving dinner for multiple families, organize a cookie exchange or invite friends and family to spend the holidays with you, there are things you can do now to eliminate the stress and overwhelm that can easily take away the joy of the season.
Contents
Clean and Declutter
I can easily become overwhelmed by clutter. I find it hard to focus when my house feels messy. The affect that clutter has on your overall health and well-being is currently a hot topic. Just a simple search on Google for “how clutter affects your life” leads to 2.8 million results! To reduce the feelings caused by clutter, I spend time decluttering and creating spaces in my house for the “extra” holiday items that come in the form of food and gifts.
If it’s been awhile since you deep cleaned your home, now is the time. Not sure where to start? Find free printables and helpful tips by clicking on the following links:
Deep Clean Your House…Starting with the Kitchen
If you’ve already deep cleaned your house and simply need to tidy-up, check out these posts with free printables to help you stay on-track:
A Cleaning Schedule that Works
5 Daily Habits to Keep Your House Clean
Decorate
Finding time to decorate can be challenging during this busy time of year. Sit down with your calendar and select a block of time that you can dedicate to decking your halls. Rather than decorate your entire house at once, try instead to decorate the different areas of your house in small increments of time.
However, if you like to finish what you started, you may be happier getting it all done in one day. Sometimes checking-off the box is worth the effort!
You really have to do what works best for you and your family. For me, I decorate everything inside except for the tree. Next, depending on the weather (because living in Ohio, we have had anywhere from 82 to 14 degrees during the month of November), my husband and I decorate the outside. To complete our decorating, we trim the tree but not until early December. If we decorate it too early, we risk our beautiful tree drying out and losing needles before Christmas is even over.
I love the holidays and having my house lit-up with seasonal decor. The one thing I do not love, however, is the feeling I get when I am surrounded by a lot of extra stuff (as mentioned earlier). For that reason, I replace everyday decorative items with holiday decorations to eliminate the overwhelm.
Picture frames and vases are replaced by garland and white lights. Simply place the removed items in the bin where you stored the holiday items, this makes putting everything back in order after the holidays so much easier.
Prepare for Guests
If you’re expecting guests to stay the night, be prepared by adding a few additional items to the bedroom and bathroom. These items can include:
- adding a blanket to the foot of the bed for additional warmth
- bottles of water and snacks in a serving tray for those late-night or early-morning munchies
- phone charger
- extra pillows
- basket of toiletries in the bathroom
- sound machine (this is a luxury to some, a necessity for others)
- fluffy towels
- nightlights in the hallway/bathroom
Plan Holiday Meals
Meal planning is essential in my house when life gets busy. The holidays are no exception. Looking for ideas on how to plan meals that everyone will love? Check out my post Top 5 Fast and Easy Meals for Busy Families for kid-friendly recipes your whole family will love.
When planning your meals, be sure to take stock of everything you have in your pantry and refrigerator to avoid buying unnecessary items. After creating your meal plan, be sure to look over each recipes’ ingredients and simply highlight the items you need. Use my free meal planner and free grocery shopping list to simplify your trip and save time at the grocery store.
Find helpful tips here if you’re hosting Thanksgiving. Need help organizing your Thanksgiving plans? Click this link for your Thanksgiving Planner.
If you’re looking for an amazingly satisfying and tasty breakfast, try my Make-Ahead Sausage, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Casserole. This casserole has become a family tradition in our house every Thanksgiving and Christmas morning.
With so much to do on those mornings, it’s a great stress relief knowing breakfast is as easy as putting a dish in the oven. This way, you won’t have to miss out on a single memory with your loved ones since you’re not spending your morning in the kitchen.
Rotate Dishes & Coffee Mugs
Time to bring out the holiday dishes! Sitting down to a meal using our holiday dishes makes an everyday occasion feel special. We use our holiday dishes from Thanksgiving until January, sometimes longer depending on how long we decide to keep the season alive:-)
I have a thing for coffee mugs (probably because I have a thing for coffee) and I love to display all of my seasonal mugs, along with my dishes, inside my sideboard. Easy to find and beautiful to look at! Interested in finding one for your home? Check-out my post on coffee bars, you’ll find options for every style.
Now your Home is Ready for the Holidays!
Congratulations on preparing your home for the holidays! Now all that is left is to sit-back and enjoy this special time of year with your friends and family.
Wishing you all the best this holiday season and in the new year!
