La Petite Fleur: November 2013

Hello everyone, I am Eva from Home Decor by Eva and will be sharing some winter inspirational holiday ideas with you today. I am so glad to be here at La Petite Fleur as Penny's guest. Hope you enjoy my post. Happy Ready :)

Winter Home Decor: Celebrate the holidays in an organised manner

Via Living with a Neurelec Cochlear Implant by Lisa B

The winter holidays will soon be upon us, and it is time to get ready for the hustle bustle and crowds that will be coming your way this Christmas! If you tend to run a less-than immaculate home you may feel daunted at the thought of getting your home to a high standard and, almost worse than that, keeping it that way while you try to feed, entertain and amuse all your guests!

Get Organized For The Holidays

Via Get Organized Wizard

Via My Cleaning Lady

First of all, make it clear to everyone in the family that they will do their part when guests are staying over! Teenagers can choose between chatting to family friends and relatives or working away out of sight, and even small children can be responsible for bringing dirty plates and cups through to the kitchen and stacking them neatly. Make a discreet checklist of everything that will need to be done so you do not forget anything, from vacuuming to blitzing the toilet – and remember that all of these chores will need to be done more often with so many extra bodies in the house.

Via Home Bunch

Light your home up. Not only does this dispel the gloom and cold of the outside, it brightens and warms your home, making it appear welcoming, cheerful and festive! Buy strings of plain or coloured lights and place them in dark or shadowy corners to bring some sparkle to every corner of the house. Invest in a couple of outside decorations too, to make your guests feel welcome from the moment they pull up outside the house.

Via Wallpaper Here

Put up your Christmas decorations as early as you like! Small flaws on the wallpaper or even ceiling can be neatly disguised by placing decorations in front of, or on top of, them. If you have been especially organised and have already bought your presents, wrap them using paper that complements your Christmas décor and place them under the tree, or in another prominent place, to bring a splash
of Christmas cheer to the room.

Via FanPop

Start your Christmas preparations very early, almost as soon as it is decided who is going to be coming over for Christmas. Leaving all the preparations to the last minute is not advisable as you will be exhausted, irritable and in a state of panic by the time Christmas arrives. As early as November, you can begin to tidy around the house, decluttering cupboards and cleaning out the spare room. Go through food cupboards, ruthlessly binning anything past its best by date and anything that has not been touched for months. Once the house has been stripped of anything unnecessary or unsightly, then you can start making lists of items that you need, not forgetting your Christmas alcohol, to make the whole experience a little more comfortable!

Via Pottery Barn

As part of the above decluttering, make sure that you check all your soft furnishings, from spare curtains, to bedding to napkins. Wash and iron anything that you might need during the busiest part of the holiday season so that you know that everything is present and ready to use. Update the bedding for the guest room if it needs it, rather than leaving it to the last minute and perhaps needing to rush out and spend money allocated to other Christmassy necessities.

Via Jessica B Interiors

Prepare the guest room as early as possible, keeping it dusted and aired out. Even if no-one plans to sleep over, plans can change suddenly! Parents are often grateful to have access to a room where their children can have a nap after exhausting themselves with a glut of presents, food and Yuletide joy. A tidy room is also handy for piling guests coats and handbags, if space in the hall or living room is short.

Via Bower Power Blog

Plan, shop and thoroughly enjoy your Christmas baking and cooking. Plan out menus at least one month in advance and make sure that you have all the required ingredients. Some foodstuffs need to be prepared days or even weeks in advance and if you are making any of these items, make a note in your diary of what needs to be done early. Fruit cakes and mince pies last fairly well, while biscuits can get soggy if not packed into airtight containers. Bake in order of durability and make enough to see you and your guests into the New Year. Once all the baking and basic food preparation has been done, you will hopefully leave yourself with very basic tasks to do each day. This means that you will get to enjoy Christmas along with the whole family. Cheers!

Happy Holiday Planning!

xoxo