PREPARING YOUR HOME FOR HOLIDAY GUESTS

It's wonderful having friends and family at your home to share the holidays, but it can also be a lot of work.

Hosting for the holidays comes with some challenges that are best met with preparation and an extra dose of patience. Here are a few quick tips to get your home ready for your holiday visitors.

Overnight Company

Whether you are expecting guests to spend the night or a surprise visit leaves you scrambling to find bedding for everyone, the simplest way to deal with it is to keep an air bed on hand. Today's air beds are a lot more comfortable than they were in the past, and you can buy a quality raised air bed for less than a hundred dollars. A raised air bed will keep guests off the floor and will feel more like a real bed.

A deflated air bed can be stored easily and blown up in a matter of minutes, so you can save space and still have a comfortable guest bed when you need it. Having an extra in the house comes in handy for all sorts of holiday guests.

Anticipate Their Needs

Be prepared with things holiday guests may use up or simply forget to bring. Stock up on things like toilet tissue. Pick up a few extra toothbrushes and toothpaste. Add a few extra towels as well, to avoid having to do constant laundry.

Buying in bulk can save a lot of money on the household items you go through quickly when extra people are in the house-make a trip to your local warehouse store before your guests arrive.

Clear The Clutter

Nothing makes clutter more obvious, or more of a problem, than having extra people in the house. When you are expecting guests, grab a few storage bins and put away some of the things that tend to clutter up counter tops. Make a sweep through the house and grab anything that won't be needed for a while. The less general clutter you have, the more room you'll have for guests and their luggage.

Getting through the holidays smoothly and with as few frustrations as possible can be done-even with holiday guests in your home. Just be ready for their arrival and anticipate what will be needed ahead of time, so you aren't running around in search of an extra towel.

Here is a great guest checklist you can download to help you during the holidays! Click here to download.

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