Ah, Christmas: a time for food, films, merriment, and ‘quality time’ with the family. Indeed, the festive period wouldn’t be the same without our loved ones around us for the exchanging of gifts and cringe-worthy anecdotes. But it seems that whenever it’s your turn to have the family over, the Christmas preparations involve a lot more than just the odd bit of gift wrapping and sticking a tree up in your living room – there’s also the panic of where on earth to put everyone. Christmas may be a cosy time of year, but there is such a thing as too cosy. To keep your space organised, have a read of our handy Christmas checklist to work out which holiday essentials you may need to dig out of storage, the garage or the attic, and what you can stash away until the festive chaos is over.
What you’ll need
Christmas decorations
If you’re one of those people who likes to go all out with festive lights and decorations, you’ll need to get these up in advance of 25 December. And if you’re not, well, don’t be a Scrooge – invest in a few festive bits and bobs to get your family feeling all Christmassy and warm inside upon entering your abode.
Extra bedding and towels
We may love our relatives, but, let’s be honest: some of them can be pretty demanding guests. So that there’s no reason for them to fault your hosting abilities, get all the bedding and towels you need out before their arrival. Not only will it impress your loved ones, it’ll also mean you won’t have to worry about raiding the linen cupboard when you’re 10 mulled wines into Christmas Day.
Silverware/tableware
Christmas is the perfect excuse to dig out that fancy china and tableware you promised yourself you’d use one day. Once you’ve given every item a good old polish, your dining table will look even more inviting as you sit down to your Christmas feast.
Extra seating
Depending on how many family members you’re having over this Christmas, you may need back-up when it comes to seating. It’s inevitable that, at one stage or another during the day, you’ll all be slumped in front of a classic Christmas movie – so getting any extra chairs or beanbags out of storage to facilitate said slumping is crucial.
What to put in storage
Furniture you don’t need
So that there’s room for your extra seating, put any smaller pieces of furniture that you can live without for a short period of time in storage over Christmas. It’ll create much-needed space and you can call it all back whenever you’re ready – that’s if you decide you want it back after you’ve got used to all the extra space.
Summer clothes
Call British weather unpredictable all you like, but at least we know one thing about winter: it gets seriously cold. With that in mind, it’s fair to say that you won’t be needing your flip-flops and shorts over the seasonal period. By clearing your summer garments from your shelves or spare room, you can make room for your relatives’ belongings when they come to stay.
Gardening equipment
It seems similarly unlikely that you’ll be doing much gardening during the festive season, so it might be a good idea to store away any gardening equipment you’ve got taking up room in the garage. That way, if your relatives are driving down, they can use the space to park their cars.
Spare room clutter
If any of your loved ones are travelling from afar, they’ll need a comfortable place to retire to after a long, trying day of mince-pie eating and present unwrapping. Get any junk cluttering your spare bedroom out of their way and into storage – you can always save that big sort-out you’ve been planning until after Christmas is over.
Are you hosting Christmas this year? How are you making space for your family ahead of the festive period? Let us know in the comments section below!
Feature image credit: Buzznet
