Photo: Bloglovin’

Follow our easy step-by-step guide to help you plan your fabulous dinner with all the trimmings and minus the fuss!

Your Guests

The most important thing, and the first step in our plan, is knowing how many people to cater for. Once you know this, everything else will fall into place. You also need to find out about people’s food preferences and if any of your guests have allergies, so you don’t have any grumbling or unexpected hospital visits on December 25^th!

Photo: Occa-Home

Pre-dinner Prep

Once you know who is coming, you can start to plot out your seating arrangements. Is your dining table big enough for everyone to comfortably sit around it – and have you got enough chairs? Is it a case of emergency chairs or can you borrow or buy seats?

Photo: AM Dolce Vita

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”#f71e5b” class=”” size=””]BDB Tip: You may also want to consider what type of decorations you will have on the table, which may interfere with your dinner. A large floral centrepiece may not be such a great idea if you have a tight table. Re-think your decorations and make sure everyone comfortably fits.[/perfectpullquote]

It’s also a good idea to check your home appliances ready for the big day. For example, is your oven clean? Are your hobs up to scratch to cook your Christmas meal or do they need to be repaired?

Make a First Impression

The first thing your guests will see when they arrive to your home is the front entrance and foyer room. To achieve the perfect front door this Christmas, take a look at our post here. To get your entrance in tip-top shape, de-clutter and remove any furniture or knickknacks that you may not need or will interfere with your décor. If you have an old shoe rack, a worn out rug, and a whole wall hanging with dog leashes, it may be time to stash this in the laundry room until the holidays are over.

Photo: Traditional Home

Next, decorate your entrance in a holiday spirit but make sure to keep it tasteful not tacky. Stick to designer approved Christmas decor, such as a trendy color scheme like white, grey, and silver to keep things looking chic and stylish. Garland draped around a large mirror at your entrance and even icicle ornaments hanging from your chandelier add a nice, festive touch to welcome your guests.

Defrosting Your Big Bird

If you bought your turkey in advance and froze it, you will need to allow plenty of time to defrost it. Don’t think you can get away with taking the turkey out to defrost on the big day. Allow a defrosting time of around 11 hours per kilogram of meat and if you need to keep it in the fridge, allow two days for it to defrost. Make sure to place your turkey at the bottom shelf so that any juices do not drip and contaminate other foods in the fridge.

Christmas Eve Prep

When Christmas Eve arrives it’s time to kick back with a drink and watch some festive TV. However, you can’t escape chores completely as you want to spend as much of Christmas Day as possible with family and not trapped in the kitchen or decorating.

Photo: Cmwyn.com

Trimming sprouts and peeling potatoes can be done on Christmas Eve and stored overnight in your fridge. You could save even more time by getting out your best crockery and setting the places around the table.

[otw_shortcode_quote border_style=”bordered” background_color_class=”otw-pink-background” color=”#ffffff”]Suzy’s Tip: Thinking of placing fresh arrangements around the house? Fresh evergreen branches look best when picked or bought the day in advance. Hang them around your front door frame, wrap them around your stair’s banister, and even place them above your kitchen cabinets and let them hang slightly at the sides.[/otw_shortcode_quote]

Christmas Day

With all your preparation work complete, cooking Christmas dinner and welcoming your guests should be easy.

Photo: Michelle Jennings Wiebe

Always preheat the oven at the required temperature and leave your turkey outside of the fridge for around 30 minutes before placing it in the oven. After the turkey has been roasting for around a quarter of an hour, begin to prepare your tasty treats such as mini sausages wrapped in bacon, Christmas biscuits, and stuffing cakes, before placing them in the oven for around half an hour.

After all that’s complete, you can relax as dinner is served! Merry Christmas!

Photo: Vale Garden Houses

The holidays present a special opportunity for decorating your home. You can create a new style for the season and help everyone get into the holiday spirit at the same time. It really only takes a few key pieces or a few key changes to make a big impact. Follow our guide on a few small things you can do to impress your guests for the holidays:

Make the Tree Your Centerpiece

A lot of people put up their Christmas tree wherever they can find a space — which often ends up being in some corner where there’s not a lot of room. Your Christmas tree is the centerpiece of your holiday celebration and the decoration that gets the most attention. Make it the centerpiece of the room, as well.

Move furniture if you need to, or put items in the attic or the shed to make room. You shouldn’t have to store your couch, but you might have to lose an accent chair or buffet table. Make sure there is plenty of room on all sides of the tree, and arrange your remaining furniture toward the tree. Imagine the tree being the star on a stage and the rest of your furniture and decor being the props or the audience.

Add Garland and Greenery throughout Your Home

So many holidays are related to the seasonal foliage they elicit, such as spring daisies for Easter or brightly colored mums at Halloween and Thanksgiving. For Christmas, the options include pine garlands, pinecones, and poinsettias. 

Photo: Regina Gust Designs

Add pine garlands to your fireplace mantle and along a few key shelves. Sprinkle pinecones around decorations. Make a pine wreath and mount it on your front door. Flank your entry way with two large poinsettias.

Don’t overlook the bathroom! Put a small pine garland over the toilet or a towel shelf, and add a bowl of pinecones to the vanity. 

Create a Tablescape

The next most influential part of your holiday celebrations is the dining room table. It is where you will serve your big family dinner and where you may host plenty of dinner parties or cookie swaps. Create a gorgeous tablescape that will not only make the dinner seem more special but that will also enhance your home decor.

Photo: Susie Watson Designs

Not sure what a tablescape is? It is a well-decorated table setting that includes a table runner, individual place mats and place settings, and a row of decorations down the center of the table. The decorations typically include one centerpiece, surrounded by candles and smaller items. For the holidays, you might have a gold poinsettia at the center, surrounded by candlesticks and small glass bowls filled with pinecones and glass Christmas ornaments. Be creative to put together a tablescape that reflects your style.

Replace Art Pieces

You likely have a lot of art on your wall throughout the year, including family photos. Enhance your holiday decor by replacing some of these pieces with holiday themed art. Don’t go crazy and replace every single piece of art in your house! Just choose a few key pieces, such as the picture hanging over your mantle or a few pieces in your hallway.

Photo: Kipnis Architecture + Planning

The holidays are a magical time of year — partially because of the decorations associated with them. Make your home come alive with the spirit of the season and impress your guests by making some of these simple changes to your décor!

We’ve rounded up some of our favorite spaces that make us want to sink in, get comfy, and never leave! What makes these spaces so amazing? Here are some of our easy tips on how you can get the look at home, and transform your space into a homey winter escape!

Create a Welcoming Well-Lit Entrance

Nothing else makes or breaks a home more than a first impression – the entrance to your home! A sparkling chandelier, twinkle lights and garlands draped around the stairs and throughout will make your home inviting and holiday-ready!

Photo: BeColorful Typepad

Multiple Trees Throughout Your Home

Don’t think a Christmas tree needs to be reserved for only your family room, place another one upstairs to spread the holiday cheer! Who doesn’t like sleeping next to a beautifully decorated tree with twinkling lights all night long!

Photo: My Sweet Savannah Blogspot

Use Warm and Toasty Colors

Colors such as burnt orange, brown, deep red, forest green, and gold make a room feel so many degrees warmer! It’s all about creating the perfect ambience and the right balance between fall, and winter color schemes. Don’t go all-out with red and green, try to incorporate some of your decor from the fall season.

Photo: Christmas Cheerishere Tumblr

Photo: Vogue

Pink for the Ladies

You know how to make a Christmas tree look glam? Buy a white Christmas tree and cover it with eye-popping colors such as pink, turquoise, purple and green. Drape pink ribbon down the sides and you’ve got yourself the perfect tree for a teen girls room!

Photo: Southern Sorority Girl Tumblr

Warm Up a Space with Fur

Faux fur or genuine fur, whatever your taste is make sure you add this cold weather staple to your decor. Fur throw blankets, fur pillows, and even sheepskin rugs are ideal to keep your toes toasty and give your home a lodge type of feel.

Photo: DecoHolic

Photo: Wealden Times

Make Movie Nights Magical

Cozy up to a great movie on the big screen using a projector, bean bag chairs, a roaring fire and tons of twinkle lights. Use fur and thick wool blankets to snuggle up and don’t forget the hot chocolate, marshmallows and popcorn!

Photo: Design Serendipity Interiors

Make Sure to Keep up Furnace Maintenance

The best way to make sure you don’t get chilly this winter is to keep your furnace in tip-top shape! We’ve asked the experts on what was the best way to reduce the risk of your furnace breaking down. They simple answered – HVAC maintenance to avoid premature wear and tear. Keep up your maintenance and you’ll keep down your repair bills.

Photo: Aiken House & Garden

Create Your Own Special Corner

A corner where you can cozy up to a great book, sip tea, and have a nice view of the falling snow is what you really need to wind down and relax. Try to create a place in your home where you can enjoy ME time. Trust us, after a long year you really do deserve it!

Photo: Aiken House & Garden