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How to Get Guest Ready for Christmas
INSPIRATION

How to Get Guest Ready for Christmas

Carina Bartle
By Carina Bartle, VP Sales & Partnerships

The calendar may not have even flipped to November yet but here’s something you need to think about—Christmas guests. To be clear, there’s a difference between preparing your home for winter, updating your guest room for visitors, decorating your home for Christmas and preparing your home for Christmas guests.

All can be fun but preparing for Christmas guests, whether family travelling from abroad or recent empty nester friends, is surely the most joyful. Preparing to welcome your loved ones for the Christmas season can be rewarding and can prompt you to get into the spirit too, but it also requires planning. A few months out is actually the perfect time to start.

Here are the areas you won’t want to miss if your home has been chosen as the site of the festivities this year.

How to Get Guest Ready for Christmas | Navy Bedroom Ideas | Laura Hammett Interiors | LuxDeco.com Style Guide

1. Shop for Extra Furniture

If you’ve ever hosted a large dinner party or housed family or visiting friends, you’ll know that seating and beds fill up quickly.

You may need additional furniture. And quickly. Thankfully you’re thinking about it now whilst furniture lead times are on your side. Think dining chairs, maybe even a new dining table and more or new beds.

Of course, there is the option of mismatching chairs and using air beds but that might not work for a long period of time, nor might it be your style. You planned to redo the guest room anyway. This is as good a time as any.

2. Plan Your Seasonal Food

Now that your guests have a comfortable place to lay their head, it’s worthwhile planning the next most important thing—the Christmas menu. You might not need to start ordering for a while but make a note of your local butcher or grocery stores’ dates. No one wants to miss the turkey deadline!

Think of your guests food preferences or dietary needs; estimate how much food you’ll need (non-perishables and freezer items are great for last-minute fixes and prevent food waste); and balance your pantry by stocking it with equal amounts of healthy snacks and Christmas treats. Well, maybe 40% healthy/60% treats.

Polar Sky Christmas Crackers
LuxDeco
Polar Sky Christmas Crackers
£21
How to Get Guest Ready for Christmas | Green and Grey Bedroom Ideas | Laura Hammett Interiors | LuxDeco.com Style Guide

3. Add Extra Place Settings

If you’re a host or hostess with the mostess, your Christmas dinner tablescape—“a snowy garden theme with antique glass hurricanes and wintery florals”—is likely one of the first things you plan. With extra guests you’ll want to make sure you have a complete (or at least a complementary) set of place settings.

You may want to alternate this year’s accent colour with your classic neutral plates or add a set of gold cutlery to your existing silverware. Mixing patterns, colours and finishes is part of the fun. And don’t forget to buy enough Christmas crackers!

4. Christmas Stockings Just For Them

Whether you go to the trouble of having them personalised or not, choosing a lovely stocking for each of your guests will thrill them. Just imagine how your family will feel to have a special Christmas decoration for them at your home. It makes it their home for their time there.

You can fill them with goodies—we love the idea of including small toiletries, a couple of chocolate treats and a house key on a keepsake keychain—and hang them in their rooms in time for their arrival.

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Midnight Faux Fur Stocking
Helen Moore
Midnight Faux Fur Stocking
£15

5. Invest in new towels and bed linens

You may already have towels specifically for guests but if those haven’t been replenished (sometimes guests do accidentally take towels!) or renewed in a while, it’s a good idea to get those in time for Christmas guests. Similarly, your guest bed linens might need a refresh.

6. Think about house guest gift ideas

By no means last, gifts! What’s Christmas hosting without a thoughtful gift exchange? Not only will buying a few gifts for your guests prevent any awkwardness during the Christmas morning gift opening, it will make them feel welcomed to see a package underneath the tree with their name on it.

Choose something which isn’t too difficult to transport (remember, some of your guests might be flying in). Something small, such a candle, a pair of cashmere socks or a catch-all dish, works really well. In need of inspiration? Shop our edits for him and her.

How to Get Guest Ready for Christmas | Laura Hammett Bathroom | LuxDeco.com Style Guide

7. Stock up on games

Winter days can be rather short, the nights long and, if the weather doesn’t cooperate, there may be a fair amount of time spent indoors. The best way to prevent boredom, especially for kids, is to make Christmas days at home exactly what they should be—lazy, low-key and accompanied by lots of festive snacking. Games, puzzles and plenty of Christmas movies for the whole group are your best bet.

Backgammon Set, Navy Blue
Pinetti
Backgammon Set, Navy Blue
£1,508
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