Happy Black Friday!!! Guess what that means? For those of us who wait until after Thanksgiving to get our holiday preparations into full swing, it’s time to get our game face on! I thought I would shared some things I do every year when Preparing for Holiday Entertaining to make your home shine!
When talking about holiday entertaining, I’m overwhelmed with memories! Why? Well, I was raised in a pastors home, so we did A LOT of entertaining. The biggest event of the holiday season was preparing for the church boards Christmas dinner at our home. Sometimes, when my mom had way too much to get done, she would let us stay home from school and help. Yep! And that we did — stay home and help clean, prep the food, set the table, etc.
I think that’s where all of my holiday preparations are rooted. Growing up in a home where every little detail made for a sparkling event! From cleaning the floors to ironing the table cloths. Of course, having my own home, I have some of my own holiday entertaining and preparations that are pretty routine for me. Let’s take a look!
The Decorating. I always decorate first! Trimming the trees, hanging the garlands and wreaths. Some keep it simple; however, I’m one of those folks who don’t. I have two trees and my whole first floor looks like a holiday Christmas store (hee-hee). I like to fill the space and make it feel super warm and cozy.
As you may (or may not) know, I love to bring the a piece of the outdoors indoors as well. I have bags and boxes of pinecones that are sprinkled throughout my home — especially over the holidays.
The Cleaning. Not always my favorite part of the process, but it is necessary! I like to make the mess and follow up with a good cleaning. Dusting, vacuuming and making my hard wood floors sparkle with my Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner.
With snow, slush and melted salt — my floors take priority. I love that it’s non-toxic (GREENGUARD certified) aaaand it won’t leave any residue behind. Boom!
Personal Touches. After the decorating and cleaning are done, it’s time to add a few personal touches to the space. I love to do that with fresh floral arrangements and candles. Have a lovely floral piece is always a great conversation piece. If you’re crafty enough to pull your own arrangement together, you’ll wow your guests even more {wink}. Here are some Holiday Flower Arranging tips too!
One of my absolute favorite parts of the holiday season are smells. Freshly baked cookies, fresh cut Christmas trees and CANDLES (or candle warmers). I think my favorite is spruce. I wish I could insert a scratch and sniff right here for you. Anywho, my home not only looks festive, but it smell festive too. Those personal touches make your company feel right at home!
I typically try to conquer all of this in a couple of days — but one thing is for sure — my house is sparkly, shiny and smells delicious. What about you? What are some of your traditions when preparing for Holiday Entertaining?
Happy Holiday Entertaining, friends!
Eat, Drink and Be Merry.
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Many thanks to Bona for sponsoring today’s story and encouraging me to making my hardwood floors shine!
Carrie says
Great tips, Kelly! I love to make our home warm and cozy, too. I always decorate first!
Maria says
Great tips for the holidays! Thanks!
Rachel @{i love} my disorganized life says
We love Bona! It does such a great job of cleaning our floors- and with 4 dogs, a cat and 4 kids, it gets pretty dirty! Love you Christmas decor!
Vanessa says
I totally need to give my floors a good cleaning!
Rebecca+Cooper says
So helpful! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Jane+Maynard says
I must admit, I am grateful to live in SoCal where I don’t have to worry about the weather attacking my floors all winter! 😉
Flortec says
We have the old-fashioned tradition of getting a real pine tree for Christmas. It fills the house with a wonderful scent but it is tough to clean up all the needles on our hardwood floors once we take it down. I think I do more cleaning after the holidays than before.