Getting Your Home Ready for Christmas This Year
As 2020 is slowly drawing to a close, the time for seasonal celebrations is right around the corner to send this year off with as much cheer and joy as we can muster. Although Christmas this year might look and feel a little different, there are still many ways in which you can enjoy the holidays like always.
Your home will still play a central part in your celebrations, perhaps even more than in previous years, so preparing your home for Christmas 2020 will help your family get into the festive spirit. For those asking themselves how to prepare for Christmas early, we've written our list of 5 great ways to get your home ready for Christmas which will get everyone excited for the big day in plenty of time!
How to prep your house for Christmas
Deck the halls
One of the perks around spending Christmas at home is that you can decorate everything to your exact tastes, down to the style and colour scheme. There are so many options for Christmas decorations available now that you can express your holiday spirit in a way that's personal to you.
When decorating your home for Christmas, you'll probably want to start off with a big decluttering to both make room for decorations and see what you could do with getting rid of. That can mean putting things away in long storage spaces or sending them off to a charity shop if they've served their purpose for you.
From different types of fairy lights to adding tinsel around bannisters and doorframes, you can add little decorative touches to areas of your home that'll spruce things up and give things a festive feel. Plus, since we're all spending a bit more time at home this year, you'll get more time to enjoy your decorative flourishes - why not go all out?
- Weave tinsel and fairy lights together to add to your TV set-up for extra flair when watching Christmas films
- Put Christmas ornaments in the kitchen for when you're taking food photos for social media
- Get creative with where you put your Christmas cards so you can make the most of them
- Make your advent calendar a feature in your decorating to make it a proper daily event
- Crack out any extra ornaments you have to bring some joy to your working from home space
Let them know it's Christmas time again
Decorating isn't just limited to inside your home - it can also be a way of spreading Christmas cheer to others in the neighbourhood. Outdoor Christmas decorations like string lights and the classic door wreath can give your home a tasteful touch of Christmas. You can go all out or keep things subtle, but any additions you make will give your home some added festive flair for both you and any passers-by.
Not only can it be a nice experience when coming home over the Christmas period, it's a way to help spread a little Christmas cheer at a time when we're more distant from others in our communities.
While Christmas isn't celebrated by everyone, adding some light touches of decoration can be a little reminder of the feelings of togetherness and kindness that come with the festive period.
Rockin' around the Christmas tree
Back to things indoors, the biggest decorative feature you're likely to have is your Christmas tree. Whether you prefer an artificial tree for neatness and ease, or a real tree for authenticity, decorating its branches is a great family activity that can make things feel more personal.
If you have some little elves who're still captivated by the magic of Christmas and Santa Claus, why not let them pick out some of the Christmas tree ornaments and arrange them together. By having the kids put up some of their favourite decorations, it'll help tie everything together for them and feel like it's their Christmas tree - even if they're putting up the decorations you picked out for your decorative theme.
As with all your other decorations, you'll probably be able to appreciate your Christmas tree more this year since we're spending more of our day at home. If you want to try and kickstart your Christmas spirit then it might be worth doing this sooner rather than later, and it's the ideal place to gather presents from family and friends as things build toward Christmas Day.
All I want for Christmas is food
As signalled by the arrival of Christmas catalogues from all the supermarkets and the Christmas TV ads appearing in full force onto our screens, the seasonal ranges are flying onto shelves everywhere. Food is a big part of Christmas preparation, and with delivery slots a little harder to secure this year, you'll likely want to be on top of picking up your Christmas dinner ingredients in good time to make sure everything you need is present.
Although turkey is the traditional Christmas dinner choice, you might be wondering what you can have instead of turkey for Christmas if that's not your thing. Luckily, there's now seemingly more choice than ever before in terms of centrepieces for Christmas dinner, whether you prefer alternative meat options or vegan and vegetarian Christmas dinner options. You'll also find a wide range of snacks, starters, and desserts to round out the Christmas season, so you can pick the best food for Christmas that suits your tastes.
Christmas food isn't necessarily limited to just Christmas Day either - little festive treats leading up to the 25th can add a little magic to the days before. This is the time for enjoying good food with good company, so ensure you and your nearest and dearest have everything they need to be suitably stuffed (without overdoing it!).
Home (not so) Alone - online events for Christmas
While Christmas this year is bound to be a little different than we're used to, many families are now well-versed in making use of technology to bridge the gap between households and bring people together. While a video call doesn't capture someone's full presence, it can give grandparents the opportunity to still watch their grandchildren open presents and take part in the festivities.
Using group calls or video messages can also remove some of the arguments around who's hosting Christmas this year and the inevitable Christmas traffic jams, giving you more time to focus on enjoying each other's company remotely.
If you're feeling particularly social this holiday season, there are plenty of online Christmas events you can join in with, such as online wreath making classes where everything you need is delivered to your door. These can be a great way to both support local businesses running Christmas events, as well as sharing some Christmas cheer with others at a time when in-person Christmas events are few and far between.
For more Christmas news from Berkeley Group, check out our inspiration page throughout December where we'll have a few other seasonal posts for you to unwrap. If you're looking at potentially selling your home at Christmas in order to move home in the New Year, we can help you to find you ideal property for 2021 with our available property developments.