Here we are once again! The holiday season is quickly approaching as we all wonder what happened to the time! It’s a time for joy, fun, family and celebration from now until the New Year, but it doesn’t come without its stresses. As exciting as the holidays can be, there’s plenty of planning and preparation that goes into them, especially if you’re hosting in your home. No need to stress though! Bella Home Interiors is coming equipped with all the best ways to prepare your home for entertaining through the season and take away the pressure, so that you and yours can appreciate this time of the year with more ease than worry. Let’s get into the Holiday Home Edition!
We’ll start with the decor. Obviously, decorating your home the way you enjoy it is the best way to go. But allow the look to be versatile, elegant, and inviting. Going beyond the typical color schemes makes the transition from one holiday to the next super easy. Neutrals with a pop of color - think whites, tans, greens and a pop of warm metallics. Starting with a palette like this can get you from Thanksgiving all the way through to the New Year.
How do you take away the worry of feeding all your guests? Check out some of these awesome tips for planning the holiday feasts:
Plan the menu well ahead of time and gather help from family and friends for food prep
Create a timeline for food prep - know what can be bought well in advance without spoiling, grab those items while on your weekly grocery trip and store them until needed. Figure out what can be prepped a day or two before and leave the rest for the day of. There’s no need to get it all ready at once, break the work into small bites (see what we did there?!) and you’ll find that feeding your guests is a breeze!
Set up self serve stations - have an appetizer and cocktail station to kick the festivities off, allow guests to help themselves to some tasty snacks and fun holiday drinks. Check out A Couple Cooks 32 Festive Holiday Drinks for ideas and make batches of them ahead of time. Offer alcohol free refreshments as well. Place beer in a nice silver tin with ice, have a few bottles of wine open next to the wine glasses. After dinner, provide a coffee and hot cocoa station coupled with dessert options. Even going with a full buffet for the main course is a great idea!
Opt for Disposable - often people shy away from disposable because of its appearance, but opting for disposable doesn’t have to look “cheap.” There are plenty of heavy-duty disposable plates, cloth-like disposable napkins, and high-end plastic cutlery that look and feel “real” that can be purchased online. There are even options available for disposable flutes and glassware. These are great alternatives for those who don’t want real glass cups floating around the party, but also don’t want to compromise style for practicality.
Suggest a holiday sweets potluck - while providing invites, encourage guests to bring their favorite holiday dessert/treat. You can still provide your own dessert options, but suggesting a potluck option here lightens your load a little. Baking is a big part of the holiday season and everyone loves sharing their most loved treats, so why not let them!
Now let’s look at how the flow of your home will work during festivities. You’ll want to designate an area for guests to hang their coats, bags, etc that is out of sight but easily accessible for them when they’re ready to depart. Decide what rooms/areas you want your guests to primarily use, move the furniture around to create more space if needed. Remove or relocate valuable or breakable objects. Set up the drink station in the main area that you want everyone to gather. If there’s any parts of your home you’d prefer your guests to not use, close the doors to those rooms or create a barrier in an open doorway but placing a serving table in front of it. Call your local party store and rent some folding chairs, place them in the rooms you want your guests to use the most, providing ample seating in designated areas is an easy way to keep everyone together. And if you have an outdoor space, get a cozy firepit going with some comfy outdoor seating, leave ingredients to make smores and watch as your guests enjoy the chilly holiday weather while freeing up some space indoors for you to be the hostess with the mostest!
One more tip, get a deep clean done and from there, it’s just light upkeep such as dusting and keeping spaces decluttered. Get the family together for a deep clean day, assign each person an area of the home to focus on and work together. Or hey, save yourself the trouble and bring in a cleaning crew. However it gets done, do it early so it’s one less thing you need to think about.
So now we’re all set to come into the holiday season with ease and excitement. When you have a plan to prep for the holidays, you have so much more time to enjoy them and be present with your loved ones. Holiday entertaining is a wonderful gift to give!