The holidays are a wonderful opportunity to forge new memories with your loved ones, but the task of preparing your home for the festive season can be stressful, particularly when planning for holiday entertaining.
By doing some of the legwork ahead of time, you can enjoy a relaxing holiday season with your friends and family without the added stress.
Focus on your main spaces.
When decorating for the holidays, don’t worry about decorating every nook and cranny.
Instead, turn your focus toward decorating the areas of your home that draw the most attention from guests, like your front porch, entryway, living room, and kitchen.
Don’t deep clean your entire home, start by cleaning your floors and decluttering your main spaces with totes that you can hide away in your closet until the end of the season.
Decluttering rooms helps create the illusion of cleanliness, even if you haven’t had enough time to deep clean. Before bringing out your favorite decorations, be sure to give them a quick dusting.
When decorating outside, opt for simple, natural décor. For example, try accenting outdoor garlands with oversized outdoor ornaments and polyester ribbons for your front door.
Alternatively, hang large magnolia wreaths on driveway doors. Modern outdoor decorations add a hint of the holidays without overdoing it, and a touch of greenery is all you need to create an unforgettable scene.
Start preparing your kitchen.
When Thanksgiving rolls around, it’s time to bring out the fancy dishes. Setting up a seasonal tablescape—complete with holiday place cards and color-coordinated dinnerware—can help you prepare for holiday entertaining. All the while making your home feel more festive.
If you’re planning on hosting a holiday dinner, it’s a good idea to start decluttering your fridge, giving the oven a deep clean, and cleaning your dishwasher.
To make room for holiday leftovers, toss everything you haven’t used in the last few months, including jars and containers that are almost empty. Finally, be sure to wipe down your fridge’s walls and shelves with a mix of vinegar and water.
Before your holiday feast, set aside some time to plan your holiday menu and start going through your favorite cookbooks and recipes.
Testing potential recipes now can not only help you feel more confident, but it’ll also allow you to make any necessary adjustments.
Ultimately, there’s nothing more stressful than trying to prepare a holiday dinner for your guests in a single day. To ease the stress of holiday meal prepping, figure out which recipes can be made in advance.
In most cases, pies and side dishes can be prepped a few days before your holiday party, so all you’ll need to worry about is putting them in the oven.
Bring the outside in.
Don’t wait until the last minute possible to start decorating your home—you’re going to be way too busy juggling other projects to find the time.
For Christmas, consider trying to do your decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving Day or as soon as you can clear time in your schedule.
