Guest Post: Prepare Your Home for the Holiday Season
The Christmas season is fast approaching, so it makes sense to think about getting your home ready in good time, especially if you are expecting guests. Many people have relatives to stay over the Christmas period, and proper preparation ensures that things will run a lot more smoothly.
When you are expecting people to stay in your home for a couple of days at Christmas, it’s a good idea to undertake a maintenance check well in advance. Things like neglected bath repairs may not bother the immediate family, but you may want things to be right for your guests. Very often people will live with a dripping shower or cracked tray for months but if guests are coming to stay then shower repairs may be in order. Replace any loose or worn tap washers before there’s a problem.
Cleaning the House
You may want to make a list of all the jobs that you haven’t got around to this year such as kitchen repairs and any bath repairs that might be needed. Clean and defrost the freezer a few days before you shop for Christmas food so there’s plenty of room for any extras. Clean all the rooms and make sure that the beds are changed and well aired before your guests arrive.
Replace any missing curtain hooks and if you have nets or voile at the bedroom windows give them a wash as this will brighten the room considerably. A vase of flowers in the bedroom shows you care about your guests, and often means that they will care less about any jobs you may have missed.
Christmas Decorations
If you are like many other busy people the task of decorating the tree and hanging the garlands often gets left until Christmas Eve. Your guests may want to arrive the day before Christmas Eve to avoid any traffic problems or train and bus cancellations. When you are expecting company for Christmas it’s best to make time to put up festive decorations a day or two before people are due to arrive.
Make sure that any cards you have received from your expected guests are in a prominent position and that presents are wrapped and labelled before people arrive. If you normally have a real tree that should have been ordered well in advance and delivered a few days before Christmas.
Food and Drink
Make comprehensive lists of all the things you think you will need, including any special dietary requirements your guests might have. Despite what people tell you they always eat more food than you could possibly imagine, so have a good stock of all the breakfast basics. You should have checked that you have more than enough crockery well before the event when you undertook any necessary kitchen repairs.
Use a thermometer to make sure that your turkey has reached the right temperature before you turn the oven down. Keep a list of any likes and dislikes your guests may have expressed so that dishing up the Christmas dinner runs as smoothly as possible. After dinner you can sit back and relax, for a while at least.
This post was written by James Harper on behalf of Hometech who provide bath and shower repairs which are a great alternative to replacing damaged fixtures as it reduces the amount of waste going to landfill.
