**Updated November 27, 2022

The holidays are right around the corner, and that means busy lives, parties, socializing, buying gifts, and entertaining in your home. There’s always that hustle and bustle surrounding the holidays, so preparation is key to minimizing our stress levels.

The world-wide pandemic changed the way we celebrated during the holidays for the past two years, but now, with the knowledge we’ve gained about how to deal with COVID-19 and the innovative vaccines, we are once again able to celebrate with family and friends. There are a few home improvement projects that you can easily do to spruce up your home just in time for the busy holiday season.

Painting

Painting is one of the quickest and easiest things to do to completely transform a room. Changing the colour of the paint and putting a fresh coat of paint on old, worn-looking walls will make your space look fresh and clean. Your main-floor bathroom will likely get used a lot this holiday season, so why not start there? Pick a colour that speaks to you, and then have a look at the accessories in that room. A new wall hanging or new towels can make you feel like you did a complete renovation when, in reality, a weekend of painting and less than $100 for new accessories completely transformed the space.

If you don’t want to paint an entire room, try painting an accent wall! Painting just one wall a different colour in your living room, family room, or dining room can jazz up the room with little effort. Creating an accent wall will draw your eye to that wall and make that wall a focal point. Make sure you select the wall that you want to notice the most. This might be the wall with a fireplace, TV, or a special, favourite painting that you want to draw attention to. Make sure the colour you select for the accent wall accentuates your focal point and doesn’t detract from it. Accent wall colours don’t have to be bold, loud colours. You can create a focal point by painting your accent wall a muted colour or even white, as long as it is different from the rest of the walls. Always consider the room’s purpose and mood, and select a colour that complements the room’s overall colour scheme. You don’t want to select a new accent wall colour and then have to redecorate the room to make it work.

Basic Bathroom Maintenance

If you’re having guests over the holidays, particularly overnight guests, you’ll want to make sure everything is in perfect working order.

Assess the water pressure of your shower head in your guest bathroom. Does it need a good cleaning by first soaking it in vinegar? Is it time to completely replace the shower head or the trim kit in general? Most big hardware stores (you know the ones with the orange aprons or blue and red vests!) carry universal shower trim kits, which can even make this an easy DIY project.

Check to ensure the exhaust fan in your guest bathroom is working efficiently. Just because it turns on and makes noise doesn’t necessarily mean it is truly sucking out all that moist air from the hot showers. Try the toilet paper test. Take three squares of toilet paper. Turn the fan on. Place the toilet paper up to the fan. It should suck the toilet paper up and stick to the fan. If it doesn’t, your fan isn’t effectively drawing out the moisture. Start by properly cleaning the entire fan, including the motor. If that doesn’t help, it’s time for a new fan. For more detailed information, check out my blog post on the subject.

Your toilet will get a lot more use over the holidays, so test all the toilets in your home for function. First, do the potty dance. Straddle the toilet and “grab” hold of the toilet bowl with your knees. Try to rock it from side to side. The toilet shouldn’t move. If it does, it’s loose and needs attention. If not addressed, this could cause serious leaks that could leave you with water on the ceiling below.

Check to make sure water, solids, and toilet paper flush properly and that the tank fills properly. If you’re handy, you can likely address all of the items above, but if you’re not 100% sure about this, call in a licensed plumber. You don’t want this to become an emergency once guests are staying at your home over the holidays.

While you’re in the bathroom, check the toilet bars, toilet paper holder, and robe hooks. Make sure they are very securely in place and will hold with some pressure.

If you’re having any elderly guests staying overnight, you may want to consider installing a grab bar or two at the shower if they don’t already exist. It will help ensure your guests can safely and securely use your facilities.

You may also want to consider an anti-slip bath mat. Although you might be used to your tub or shower floor, your guests won’t be, and the added comfort of the bath mat will make it easier to get in and out of the tub or shower.

Check for any dripping faucets and ensure you get them fixed before the guests arrive.

Basic Kitchen Maintenance

Whether you are having guests stay overnight at your home or you’re just entertaining family at some special dinners or parties, the kitchen is usually the heart of the home, where everyone gathers for good food and conversation.

Go over your appliances and give them a good cleaning. Turn on the oven as well as all of the burners to ensure everything is in great working order. Give all of them a good, deep cleaning as well. That way, there won’t be any surprises on the day of the party.

Once you start putting together those big holiday meals, you’ll be in and out of your fridge several times more than usual. Go through everything in your fridge and get rid of any food that has expired, and use up anything that is getting close. You’ll need extra room in your fridge at this time of year, so take inventory of what’s in there and start looking for recipes that will use up the food for your next few meals. Here’s a great website that allows you to type in what ingredients you have at home and then provides you with lots of recipes using those ingredients.

Check all of the chairs that your guests will be sitting on in the breakfast area and dining room. Tighten any that seem loose.

General Home Maintenance

Test all of your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to ensure they are effectively working. If they are battery-operated, consider putting in new batteries. Smoke detectors only have a 10-year life span, so if yours is more than 10 years old, it’s time to replace it, even if you think it’s working fine. As someone who went through a devastating house fire, I can’t stress enough how this is one thing you must absolutely do.

If you don’t have a working fire extinguisher in your home, now’s the time to treat yourself to an early Christmas present and pick one up.

Check all handrails to ensure they are tight and secure. Tighten up any loose ones. If they can’t be easily tightened, they may need additional supports or brackets.

Front Door

Your front door is the first thing guests see when coming over to your home. Make your entrance inviting. Does it need a fresh coat of paint? If so and you live in a warm climate, then go for it. If you live in Ontario or a colder climate, you can still paint your front door at this time of the year if you have a screen or storm door as well. Keep the screen door closed and open your main entrance door all the way into your home. Purchase your favourite exterior paint and put on two coats of paint. Keep this door open for at least 4-6 hours to ensure it dries and cures properly. It’s best to start this project in the morning (and when you know you’re going to be home all day) so your door will stay open during the warmest time of the day.

Also, consider putting a beautiful wreath on your front door. This makes your front entrance look festive and very warm and inviting. You can purchase wreaths from your local greenhouse, craft store, local artisan business, or even make one yourself. Click this link for some DIY wreath ideas from Country Living and click this link for more instructions on wreath making from Good Housekeeping.

Dining Room

With holiday parties and family gatherings over the holidays, your dining room could end up being the most used room in your home. Here are a few ideas on how to spice it up a little.

• Make sure you have adequate lighting. If you want to create a romantic mood, then dim lighting works, but typically over the holidays, we want brighter lighting. Ensure you have a chandelier or pendant lights over the main dining table. Your lights should be hung 28”-32” from the top of the table to the bottom of the light. If you are happy with your chandelier or pendant light but you want more lighting in the room, consider wall sconces or pot lights on a separate switch.

• What is the look you are trying to achieve at your Christmas gathering? Fun and playful? Sophisticated and sleek? Warm and inviting? Make sure your tablecloth and centrepieces reflect that look. For example, a snowy white theme with crystal and silver can create a very sophisticated look, while splashes of red and green achieve a warm, comfortable setting.

• Consider how many guests you will have sitting around your dining room table. Do you have enough room once everyone is seated? Should you remove some items, such as buffets or china cabinets, to create more open space for guests to manoeuvre around?

Sitting Area

Outside of the kitchen, where do your guests mainly congregate? It’s usually in a living room or family room. Make sure you have adequate seating for the number of people who will be visiting. Do you need to have extra folding chairs on hand in case everyone ends up in the family room at the same time? Should you replace the pillows on your sofa to create a warm, inviting, and comfortable place to sit? Should you remove some of the end tables or coffee tables to allow a better flow of traffic during the holidays? Think through any obstacles or problems that could occur when your home is full of visitors, and try to prepare a solution before their arrival.

Decor

I love beautiful Christmas trees, and when you’re entertaining, the more the merrier . . . provided you have the room for it. Why not consider putting a second tree in your living room, dining room, or even your guest bedroom? Think of how wonderful it would look for your guests to wake up in the morning to a beautifully lit and decorated tree! Have one large, outstanding tree, and then consider smaller, tastefully decorated trees in additional areas of your home. Don’t overdo it, though, and only add in additional trees if you have the room for it. There’s nothing worse than an overly cluttered house during the holidays.

As much as we want our homes be be beautiful for our guests during the holidays, don’t forget that the holidays are all about spending time with family and friends. At Multi Trade Building Services, we wish all of you a very happy holiday season and much joy and prosperity for the new year!

If you need some help getting your home ready for the holidays, let the team at Multi Trade Buidling Services help you out! We LOVE doing the small jobs too and one of our professional, trustworthy employees will ensure your home is ready for your guest. You can call us at 905-259-3344 and tell us what you need done.