Getting your home ready for Christmas

Today is the start of meteorological winter. And if you listen carefully you can probably hear the creak of millions of advent calendar windows being opened. Now it’s OK to start talking about Christmas in earnest.

If you really get into the festive season and enjoy all the entertaining that comes with it, you will now be thinking about preparing your home to receive guests.

Here are a few essentials to make sure your Christmas goes with a Ho! Ho! Ho!

1. Have a good clean and dust. Tidy up all the clutter and make yourself some space.
2. Have a think about your colour scheme. Are you going for cream and gold, traditional red and green, purple and gold – or something else? Make sure your choice complements your existing décor. This extends to the baubles and tinsel you choose for the tree
3. And talking of the tree, don’t forget to buy a fir or spruce that retains its needles – there’s nothing worse than hoovering up dropped pine needles every day. You could also consider buying a fake tree which you can bring out year after year.
4. Make sure you have all you need for entertaining in terms of crockery and serving dishes. Build your plans around what you already have.
5. Make things cosy. Use cushions and throws, and light candles to create a homely and timeless atmosphere.
6. If you are lucky enough to have a spare room or two, get them ready for your guests. If you are using them as dumping grounds for your ‘stuff’ give them a tidy so your guests have their own space.
7. Don’t skimp on towels and keep them in prominent view for your guests to see and use.
8. Make sure your heating and plumbing is up to scratch. There’s nothing worse than having to bundle up in winter woollies and coats indoors because the boiler has broken.

While we’re on practical matters, it’s worth noting that, according to statistics from the British Turkey Information Service, in the UK at Christmas we consume approximately 10 million turkeys, 25 million Christmas puddings, 250 million pints of beer and 35 million bottles of wine. Meanwhile, Santa chomps his way through roughly seven million mince pies left for him by children on Christmas Eve.

And with guests in the house to help you munch through all the food could add extra stress to your plumbing and make things even more uncomfortable for your guests so;

• Throw food scraps in the bin and put left over vegetable matter like sprout and potato peelings in the compost pile.  
• Avoid pouring grease down the drain, because grease hardens when it’s in your pipes and can cause a blockage over time. 
• Wipe off greasy plates and pans with a paper towel before washing them.

Keep coming back to the blog over the next few weeks as we bring you more tips for creating the perfect Christmas dinner and hosting the best New Year’s Eve and Twelfth Night parties.