It’s hard not to love winter, because our family comes to visit and holiday spirit is in the air! With all the coldness and excitement also comes the stress of preparing for our lovely house guests and holidays all at the same time. Here’s a checklist for those last minute preparations when your guests are arriving in a few days and you still need to get ready! Forget all the frantic cleaning, cooking, and anticipation so you can focus on a few of these things to get your house guest-ready!

First thing to do for you guests, cover the basics! Quickly dust over any areas that haven’t been touched in a while. Follow up the dusting by vacuuming the perimeter of the room to get anything icky out! Use the vacuum’s attachment to once-over your blinds and smaller areas that tend to collect dust frequently.

Making sure you have coverings for all the windows is another important step, wouldn’t want to blind them every morning! Leaving towels on the bed is a courtesy that will be appreciated when your guest is trying to figure out which towels are theirs to use. Leave out a box of tissues and tray table with a couple of glasses for anything they may need! A luggage mat may also be helpful for them if they’ve come to stay a while or you want to keep things a little cleaner.

Upgrade your guest room by adding a nice alarm clock or mp3 dock for the guest to use if they need to wake up at a specific time, or if they simply enjoy listening to music! Adding additional pillows and throw blankets will also be a cozy touch to the bedroom, well appreciated during these cooler months! If you use a creaky old mattress in the guest bedroom, a cheaper way to update it would be using a cozy mattress topper made of feathers or memory foam to fake the brand new feel of a more expensive option!

Before you clean anything, spend a day in the guests’ soon-to-be-bedroom, including sleeping in it! If there’s any way to find out the things that need to be tinkered with and fixed for family, this is it! Check for light bulbs that need to be replaced, open closet space, loose knobs, working locks, working drains, and creaky doors! These little things will make a big impact on how great your guests’ stay will be, so this is a great way to work out all the kinks ahead of time! Quickly label remote controls and light switches that make confuse guests with tape just to make sure they don’t feel the need to ask you about every little detail.

Last but not least, leave a couple air fresheners in the room to make things cozy as ever. Warmer musky scents are great for the winter seasons, or stick with a fresh clean scent for universal appeals. With all these tips, your guests’ holiday stay is sure to be a good one! Happy holidays from Epoch Design!