With the holiday season fast approaching, you’ve got an important decision to make: guests or no guests? 

It’s easy to prepare for the no-guest scenario. Your routine stays the same apart from your personal level of seasonal accoutrements. For those who love the warmth and camaraderie of entertaining, though, there’s definitely an investment of planning and time to consider. 

Here at REALTOR.ca Living Room, we’ve got your back. Hosting can be hectic, and prepping your home for the comfort and safety of your guests takes more than just a killer shortbread recipe. Let’s take a look at how you can guest-proof your home, inside and out.

The driveway, walkway, and front entrance

Preparing for guests begins even before your front door. Shovelling snow is a good start. Sand or salt your walkway so that everyone can make it safely to the door. Keeping stairs clear and ice-free is particularly important. 

Consider adding mats to your foyer or mudroom to contain tracked-in dirt and snow. The savvy host also adds mats outside the door to start the debris collection early. Empty your hall closets to make room for visitors’ coats, choosing plenty of quality hangers to handle the load. 

Bathrooms

If you have more than one bathroom and/or a powder room you can worry a little less about space, but many must make do with a single, shared facility. Air fresheners—plug-ins, or sprays—are not optional.

Keep plenty of towels, tissues, and toiletries available and in plain sight to avoid hunting trips through your cabinets. The pro tip for bathrooms is to switch to a septic-safe toilet tissue, even if you’re in the city, for the duration of guest visits. This reduces the risk of paper-induced clogging.

The meeting room(s)

Whether your guests gather in the living room, dining room, or basement rec room, you’ll need to prepare. There’s no such thing as too much table space when your home is filled with company. Clear off end tables and other logical places to set drinks (with plenty of coasters) and plates of hors d’oeuvres. Napkins neatly stacked will also draw people to your preferred surfaces. 

Take your preparations to the next level by creating an area-appropriate clean-up kit. White carpet in the living room? Have the appropriate cleaners for a red wine spill on hand. Hard floors need a brush and dustpan to handle dropped glass. Dress up your kit in a stylish basket in plain sight for fast response times. 

Also consider removing valuables or trinkets you might not want others to touch or handle. If you have precious quilts or blankets that can’t be washed, perhaps move them to a place where they’re less likely to get dirty or even stained. 

The kitchen

If you’ve got a dishwasher, it should go without saying that it’s empty before your guests arrive (run and empty it frequently if you’re entertaining for a few days). However, encourage plate scraping into a garbage can specially placed for this purpose. Also be sure to keep a compost bin on hand to discard any food scraps. Rinsing the extra volume of food waste presents another plumbing clog. Relying on your everyday under-the-sink trash receptacle can create a bottleneck at a critical food preparation point. 

Choose a larger can, place newspapers or other absorbent material at the bottom, and double- or triple-bag ahead of your event, so changeover is quick and convenient. 

The sleeping areas

Sleeping arrangements will depend on how many people you have staying over, and how many spare rooms you have. 

If your guests are staying in a spare room that you currently use as an office, you’ll want to make sure any sensitive documents are put away, and that you have what you need to get your work done in the event your guests are choosing to sleep in (or take a midday nap). You may also need to temporarily convert your office back to a guest room. 

Not everyone has a spare room, so your guests may end up sleeping on pull-out couches or air mattresses in shared areas like the living room or basement. In these cases, portable privacy screens or other barriers can help create a sense of privacy for your guests. It may also be prudent to host the social portions of the event in other areas of your home, in case your overnight guests want to hit the hay a little early. 

Opt to give your guests a spot close to a bathroom, and in an area that doesn’t feature a lot of foot traffic in the mornings if possible. 

Pets

Sorry to Fido and Whiskers, but their personal space is about to become shared space. Before any guests come over, be sure to confirm their comfort levels with dogs, cats, or whatever animals you have.  

Consider keeping your furry friends in a certain part of your house during big events. Moving their water, food, toys, and bed to a quiet spot can make them feel more comfortable. Litter boxes should also be kept away from the main entertaining areas, not only for smell and litter tracking, but so your cat doesn’t get spooked having to wander through crowds of people.

Throughout the house

Protecting your valuables is a delicate situation. Even in intimate gatherings, accidents happen. When your house is full of friends and family, accidents can happen. Add children to the mix and the mischief level has the potential to skyrocket. 

Since clearing tables is a practical solution for food and drink, start with fragile table-toppers with financial or sentimental value. This might be something you do before bringing out seasonal ornaments anyway. 

In terms of safety, double check your smoke detectors to make sure they’re working, and address any potential tripping hazards, like rugs that are prone to curling over or pet toys that always seem to be in the way. The last thing anyone needs around the holidays is an unexpected fall. On the same note, stock up on items for your first-aid kit as well as basic cold medication. 

Guest proofing is a custom job based on your home and your guests. Everything you can do to aid your guests’ comfort will in the end aid your own, so you can enjoy the celebrations as much as they do. Happy holidays!

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