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10 Things to Do Now to Get Ready for the Holidays

10 Things to Do to Get Ready for the Holidays

Are you ready for the whirl of the holidays?  I wanted to help you by giving you some ways to get ready for the holidays now!  It seems like the time is just flying by and I know I don’t want to be overwhelmed during the holidays, so it is time to get to work now!

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1. Make your home look spit spot!

Take a critical look around your home and see what tasks need to be done!  Touch up any paint nicks on the walls.  Have area rugs or carpets cleaned now, before cleaning companies are over-scheduled.  

Clean out your refrigerator and freezer.  I don’t know about you, but I clean my refrigerator SO much more often than my freezer.  Just last week was the time to take on that freezer.  Get rid of any out of date or items with freezer burn.  

2.  Take a look at your outdoors.

Make sure any of your outdoor lights are clean and bright, if needed, add lighting.   With shorter days  and guests arriving you don’t want anyone to trip and fall.  I have begun using my smart device along with smart plugs and lightbulbs to have my outdoor lights come on at dusk and stay on long past the time that anyone would be coming or going at my house.  Smart lightbulb .

 

3.  Prepare for guests.

If you will be having overnight guests, clean up those rooms and make sure bed and bath linens are clean and in good condition.  Are those old towels assigned to the guest room looking a little worn?  Have a critical eye, or even spend a night in your guest room to see what you might need to do to make your guests more comfortable.  Are there enough outlets for all of their devices?  Do you need to add a power strip?  What about the guest bath?  Have you stocked it with spare toothbrushes, and other toiletries your guests may have forgotten? Pretty neutral bedroom with cream and gray colored linens on a campaign bed

If you need some more ideas to get ready for overnight guests, you can read my 10 Tips!

4.  Cook.

Herbs and seasonings and a lemon on a cutting board

Prepare frozen meals and holiday desserts now for easy entertaining later.  If you aren’t one to cook, you can always just stock up the freezer with some ready to pop in the oven frozen dinners.   Think… lasagna and garlic bread.  You can pair it with my favorite Caesar salad recipe

Stouffer's frozen lasagna and the ingredients for making a homemade Caesar salad laid out on a marble cutting board

5.  Refresh last year’s wreath with a new one or at least a new bow! 

I have finally mastered my Pro Bow the Hand!  If you don’t know how to to tie a bow by hand, or if you want to tie beautiful bows for holiday decorations and gifts, this is the way to go!  Pro Bow the hand homemade bow maker with ribbon and scissorsIf you want to try to master tying a bow by hand, you can watch one of my videos!  

6.  Prepare for the unexpected.closet with wire shelves stocked with gifts for christmas

Stock a “gift closet” with gifts to come in handy when someone stops by with an unexpected gift…here are some examples:
 

7.  Buy or order those personalized Christmas items now. 

I am not a personalized ornament girl, but I do add Hallmark ornaments to my granddaughters’ collections every year.  Hallmark victorian house christmas ornament on a christmas tree. Don’t wait and miss out on a special ornament.  If you want to get someone a personalized gift, it is time to put some time and effort into getting those ordered now.  This includes Shutterfly books, monogramed items and more!

8. Add a coat rack to your entryway.

If you live in a warm climate like I do, you may not need an entry closet to hang coats or jackets, but even in Florida, sometimes the need for a wrap arises.   Add a simple coat rack to hold those items as soon as guests come in the door.  I like this one with the umbrella holder because we are just as likely likely to get rainy days as cold.  This is easy enough to tuck into the corner of a guest room when not needed by my entry.  

Bentwood coat rack with umbrella holder

 

9. Take those Christmas card photos now.

This is a no-brainer!  If the photos you have taken so far this year aren’t quite capturing the feeling you want for your personalized Christmas cards, get snapping or make an appointment with a photographer now! 

10.  Take a timeout for yourself.

Take a day to yourself!  Splurge with an overnight at a local hotel and just take time for yourself or spend an afternoon at a local spa.  No budget for that, head to the library or local coffee shop and settle in with that paperback you have been wanting to read, or maybe a big stack of magazines!

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