Top Tips for Holiday Hosting
Let your hospitality shine this joyful season as you welcome friends and family from near and far. Here are a few tips to create a generous reception that will help your guests feel comfortable and enjoy visiting your home.
A Welcoming Entrance
Considering first impressions, your entryway is the first environment your guests will experience as they enter your home. Try adding a welcoming touch to any entrance and gain some ‘curb appeal’ by decorating your door with a wreath, placing a holiday pillow on a foyer bench, and lining your stairwell with lights and greenery. Another great way to welcome loved ones is with a pleasant smell in your home such as freshly baked cookies, a holiday candle, or diffusing essential oils. Small things like these go a long way in establishing the mood of the evening and collectively set the stage for a joyful time together.
A Clean Happy Home
There is a saying out there, “A clean home is a happy home”. Sometimes in our day-to-day living we can become overly accustomed to our space, overlooking some potentially dusty nooks and crannies. Consider having your carpets cleaned, and even hiring a cleaning service to help give your home that sparkly clean shine before guests arrive. Remember to launder guest bed sheets and lay out fresh towels for your overnight company. Your visitors will appreciate that you have gone the extra mile to make them feel happy and at home.
Take time to rejuvenate and take-in the delights
of this wonderful season!
Eat, Drink and Be Merry!
Once the guests arrive it’s time to start the fun! For most events that fun will be centered around some type of holiday cuisine. Offerings can vary from party to party; from a plated meal, to heavy Hors d’oeuvre’s, to buffet style. Some even offer a culturally themed dinner. Considerations of doing all the cooking yourself, to hiring a caterer, or asking guests to bring a side dish each have their strengths. Whichever you choose, consider your number of guests and always plan and prepare for more. For a dinner event, expectations will likely include a combination of appetizers, main dishes with sides, and certainly desserts. Bon appétit!
Make It Memorable
Before the event wraps up, carve out a few minutes to address your guests and honor them and the time spent together. A prayer, a toast, a few words of encouragement - these moments bring to light the treasure of warm company and the real significance of the season. As the event approaches, reflect and prepare a few words before-hand so you may deliver them with ease when the time is right.
And finally, even in all the preparations, take time to rejuvenate and take-in the delights of this wonderful season! Ultimately, the joy of simply being together is the biggest merriment of all.
The Realtors® of Mike Thomas Associates wish you glad tidings of great joy from our family to yours this holiday season! We are your local Realtors; always ready to help you buy or sell your home in North East Indiana. We are here to serve your real estate needs!