5 Tips for Decorating Your Home for the Holidays

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The holidays are a time to come together with family and friends, celebrate traditions, and enjoy good company. If you're looking for ways to spruce up your home for the holidays, here are 5 tips to get you started!

#1. Add a festive touch to your front door with a wreath or garland

One of the easiest ways to add a touch of holiday cheer to your home is to decorate your front door with a wreath or garland. You can find these items pre-made at most stores, or you can make your own. 

If you choose to make your own, you can get creative and use whatever materials you like. This is a great way to personalize your holiday decor and add a little bit of your own style.

When choosing a wreath or garland for your door, keep in mind the overall theme or look that you are going for. If you want something more traditional, choose greens and reds. 

For a more modern look, try using white or silver. You can also get creative and use different colors that reflect your own personal taste.
Once you have decided on a wreath or garland, take some time to hang it up properly. Make sure that it is hung evenly and that there are no gaps. If you are using a wreath hanger, make sure that it is secure. You don't want your wreath or garland to fall and hurt anyone.

#2. Hang stockings by the fireplace or on the mantel

One of the most classic ways to decorate for the holidays is to hang stockings by the fireplace or on the mantel. This is a great way to add some holiday cheer to your home and get into the festive spirit! Plus, it’s a fun activity for the whole family to do together.

If you don’t have a fireplace, don’t worry! You can still hang stockings by the mantel or on a shelf. Get creative and have fun with it!

#3. String lights around windows and doors for a cozy look

One way to make your home feel cozy and inviting during the holidays is to put up holiday lights around your windows and doors. This will create a warm, festive glow that will make your home feel more welcoming. You can find holiday lights at most hardware stores or online. If you are someone from Connecticut, Blingle! in Fairfield can help you achieve that cozy look!

#4. Display Christmas trees in living rooms, bedrooms, or even bathrooms

One great way to get into the holiday spirit is to decorate your home with Christmas trees. You can put them in your living room, bedroom, or even bathroom! 

If you have small children, be sure to keep the tree away from any areas where they could climb it and hurt themselves. And of course, don't forget to water the tree regularly to keep it looking fresh and festive.

Another great way to decorate your home for the holidays is to put up some holiday-themed decorations. You can find these at most stores that sell Christmas decorations. 

Some popular holiday-themed decorations include: garland, lights, and stockings. No discussion of holiday decoration would be complete without wreaths. Many companies, like Heftyberry, make beautiful indoor and outdoor wreaths. Hang these up around your home to add some festive cheer.

Finally, don't forget the most important part of decorating for the holidays: having fun! Spending time with family and friends, decorating your home, and enjoying the holiday season is what it's all about.

#5. Fill bowls and jars with ornaments, pinecones, and other seasonal decorations

One of the easiest and most impactful ways to decorate your home for the holidays is to fill bowls and jars with ornaments, pinecones, and other seasonal decorations. This is a great way to add some holiday cheer to any room in your home, and it's a project that even the kids can help with. 

Simply gather up some bowls and jars of different sizes, and then let your imagination run wild with the decorations. You can use traditional holiday colors like red and green, or get creative with a more unique color scheme. Either way, this is an easy and inexpensive way to add some holiday cheer to your home.

These tips will help you create a warm and inviting holiday atmosphere in your home without breaking the bank. Whether you’re looking to decorate one room or your entire house, these ideas will get you started. Have fun with it and enjoy the holidays!

Guest Post - How to Protect Your Home’s Exterior From Christmas Decorations

The holidays wouldn’t be the same without festive decor. There’s nothing quite like hanging ornaments on a Christmas tree while seasonal music plays in the background! But what about those outdoor decorations waiting in your storage bins? Read on to learn how to protect your home’s exterior from Christmas decorations, no matter how you prefer to express your holiday joy.

1. Check Your Electrical Outlets

Most Christmas decorations require electricity. Your yard might quickly become covered in snaking extension cords hooked up to outlets around the outside of your home. Although the cords are weatherproof and able to withstand changing temperatures, the outlets may have become damaged over the past year.

Check each outlet to ensure the covering is secure against the wall of your home and that nothing shows signs of wear or tear. Chips along the outlet or visible burn marks may require a visit from a professional electrician. You won’t have to worry about burns along your siding or potential house fires if your outlets get a thumbs up from an electrical expert.

2. Use Removable Mounting Equipment

Instead of nailing lights or other decor to your siding, look for removable mounting equipment that doesn’t make holes in your home. Sticky hooks can hold signs and gutter clips can hold various types of light strings depending on the cord size and bulb weight. Find your decorations before buying mounting equipment so you can feel confident you’re getting the best hanging tools.

3. Rethink Your Lawn Care

Inflatable snowmen and wired reindeer take up lawn space, so they’ll leave brown spots behind when they go back into storage. Brown spots indicate dead grass, but they can also reveal fungal problems. If you have zoysia grass, it’s susceptible to the Rhizoctonia Solani fungal strain that spreads outward from a single point and quickly takes over a yard.

Spray your yard with antifungal solutions now and you’ll prevent outbreaks through the spring. If you’re unsure what will do the job, professional lawn care teams can locate signs of fungus growth and make your yard look perfect for holiday parties.

4. Wear Soft Rubber Shoes

If you want to put decorations on your roof, you can combine your safety with additional home protection. Wear rubber shoes to avoid slipping while positioning decor and you’ll stop your footwear from potentially damaging your shingles. It’s an easy fix that prevents numerous types of damage.

5. Find Decorative Ties

Traditional string lights and garlands look fantastic when they wrap around porch banisters. Unfortunately, they might scratch the paint or crack the wood if they hang by nails or harsh metal wires. Decorative ties are the perfect solution for this problem. They often use soft rope or ribbons to tie decorations to banisters without damaging anyone’s home. You can also use them throughout the year to pull curtains back or hang indoor decorations after the holiday season ends.

6. Use Wire Hangers

When someone puts a wreath on their front door, the wreath might scratch the paint. It happens when wreaths use small hooks or nails to stick closely to a door. Removing the hanging equipment could strip the paint away, but not if you use a wire hanger.

It’s easy to cover thin wire hangers with garlands, a wreath, or ribbons. Use one to hang decorations you already have or make a wreath at home before using the hanger to place it on your door knocker or a nail in your siding. The decorations will hang gently against your home and won’t tear the paint away when it’s time to take everything down in January.

Protect Your Home From Christmas Decorations

Your festive decor doesn’t have to create costly repair projects. Use these tips to protect your home’s exterior from Christmas decorations, and your property will look great without risking any damage.

Author bio: Rose Morrison is the managing editor of Renovated, where she offers advice on home renovation, maintenance, and organization.nd slow-paced lifestyle now, because your little ones will be back in school before you know it!

Guest Post - A Comprehensive Deep Cleaning Guide for Your Home Before the Holidays

If you’re expecting guests this holiday season, you’ve probably spent a good amount of time cleaning the house already. Yet, even the most attentive hosts can forget to clean the oft-neglected nooks and crannies. After all, there are more important things to worry about than cleaning your oven, right? Well, if you want to make a good impression and create a warm and welcoming atmosphere, it’s all about the details.

Use this comprehensive guide to lift the grime and make even the most shadowy corners of your home shine with holiday cheer.

1. Dust Blinds and Fans

It’s easy to forget about cleaning your blinds and ceiling fan blades. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Then, one day, you flip a switch or pull a cord and there’s dust everywhere. Don’t let this be you on Thanksgiving or Christmas day! Dust those bad boys off before guests arrive using a microfiber cloth. Fight buildup with a solution of equal parts white vinegar and water and leave blinds open to dry thoroughly.

2. Vacuum Drawers

You open and close your kitchen drawers multiple times a day, but how often do you actually remove their contents and clean them? In the chaos of cooking, all kinds of crumbs and food particles can fall in there. The last thing you want your guests to see when they’re grabbing a fork is some old lemon zest and rogue grains of rice, so grab a vacuum and get cleaning.

3. Clean the Oven

Before you cook the Thanksgiving bird, make sure you remove all those pieces of burnt, crusty food from your oven with a combination of water, baking soda, and white vinegar. That way you aren’t cooking up funky smells or tastes on the big day. Coat the oven interior with your homemade, chemical-free cleaning solution and leave it to sit overnight to loosen stubborn buildup and grime. Then, wipe everything clean the following morning.

4. Wipe All Surfaces

Remember to wipe down all of your home’s surfaces the night before guests or in-laws arrive. You can use an all-purpose cleaner or sanitizer for plastic, metal, and glass surfaces like windows, mirrors, and faucets. However, you might want to use a special solution of mild dish soap and water to clean more sensitive materials like wood veneer. Read product labels and spot test small areas to prevent stains and maximize your cleaning efforts.

5. Clean the Toilet

Toilets were made to get dirty, but sometimes even the toughest thrones fall victim to hard water stains and bacteria buildup. If you don’t remove them before guests arrive, those questionable-looking streaks will gross them out big time. Show your porcelain who’s boss with a mixture of vinegar and baking soda or get scrubbing with a pumice stone. With a little time and effort, your toilet will be good as new in no time.

Make a List, Check It Twice

Take a hint from Santa and make a deep cleaning list this holiday season. Add the above to-dos and take inventory of other nooks and crannies that might need some attention. If you remember that the big picture is all about the small details, your loved ones are sure to feel right at home in your humble — and sparkling clean — abode.

Author bio: Rose Morrison is the managing editor of Renovated, where she offers advice on home renovation, maintenance, and organization.nd slow-paced lifestyle now, because your little ones will be back in school before you know it!

How to Prep Your Home for Holidays This Year

There are certain times of the year you must prepare for. This is certainly true in regards to the winter holiday season. If you don’t get started early, you may be left scrambling with only days left and nothing to work with. This also holds true in regards to your home. Below are a few ways you can prep your home for the holidays this year.

Buy Decorations While They Are on Clearance

One of the most important parts of preparing a home for the Christmas season is decorating it. You can find all kinds of decorations in the clearance sections of stores, and they can be bought for a fraction of their original price. However, you shouldn’t wait until after Thanksgiving to shop for Christmas decorations. Traditionally, Christmas decorations go on sale the day after Christmas. Sometimes you can find things on sale in the days or weeks leading up to Christmas, but it’s a safer bet you’ll find something you love if you get started on next year’s decoration shopping the day after you’re done celebrating. Purchase your decorations for the upcoming Christmas season while these items are on sale and then place them into storage until they are needed after Thanksgiving.

Clean Out Your Gutters

Preparing for the winter holidays also, to no one’s surprise, means preparing for winter. One thing you must do to prepare your home for winter every year is to clean out your gutters and remove all the leaves, twigs, dirt, and gunk that has accumulated inside them since their last cleaning. If you don’t, ice dams could form on your roof. That, in turn, could lead to moisture damage inside your home as the snow on your roof melts.

Pump Your Septic Tank

The holidays are usually a time when you have family and friends over to visit. Many may, in fact, spend the night. If your home has a septic tank, you don’t want a nightmare scenario to happen in which it backs up. Your toilets may stop working, and human waste may be forced back into your house. Instead, it’s always a good idea to have a septic tank pumping performed by professionals before the winter season every other year.

Do A General Cleaning

The Gutters and your Septic Tank should rank high on your to-do list, but they shouldn’t be all you worry about getting clean. General cleaning of your entire house is a good idea no matter the season, but especially when preparing for the holidays. All the more so if you’re expecting company. Preparing the common areas in your homes, such as the living room or kitchen, will make these spaces ready and available to be used when celebrating gets underway.

Cleaning your house can also turn into clearing out your house as you make room for incoming gifts, decorations, and family members come Christmas Day. Getting your house clean before Christmas festivities get started will have you presenting a nice, beautiful home.

Prepare For Guests

Preparing your home for visitors can feel like a huge task all on it’s own. It would be a good idea to ready your guest room, or the living room, for your guests that are planning to stay overnight. This may mean providing extra toiletries, stocking up on more food, and preparing your home to handle small children if any are headed your way.

Install a Home Security System

Sadly, break-ins and burglaries do happen during the Holiday season. Criminals know that many families buy expensive Christmas presents and use the opportunity to break in and steal those gifts when they can. If you want your family to be safe during the holidays, certainly invest in a home security system. The mere existence of a home security system may be enough to ward off most would-be criminals.

Overall, don’t wait until it’s too late. Prepare for the holidays early. Part of those preparations should be prepping your house for winter and the company you will have over during the Christmas season. Doing things like pumping your septic tank and cleaning out your gutters may not be things you think of in connection to celebrating the holidays, but doing these things beforehand can save you a lot of trouble later on.