If you are searching for how to prepare your home for Christmas guests, how to make a guest room feel cosy, or how to host holiday guests without quietly spiralling, here is what I’ve learned after many seasons of both triumph and light domestic chaos. I genuinely believe that creating a welcoming, guest-ready home has almost nothing to do with perfection and everything to do with atmosphere. If your home feels delightful, your guests will adore being there.
I always begin with a proper clean, though never the sort that announces itself aggressively. I always use my multi-surface spray does all the work and leaves the house gorgeous. But I might also follow with a few mists of my Spirit of Noel room mist - I think homes should smell as if orange and cinnamon have wandered through of their own accord. It is extraordinarily soothing and guests always comment on it, even if they cannot quite articulate why.
Guest bedrooms matter more than anyone ever realises. I want my guests to feel they can escape at any moment, read a chapter of a book or take a long, indulgent bath without feeling as though they are abandoning the household. So yes, I have put electric blankets on every bed. You read that correctly. It is wildly luxurious but frankly, cheaper than leaving the radiator blasting all night. I add a pillow mist and magnesium sleep spray to every bedside because sleep is absolutely crucial to good humour, and I always leave a carafe of water within arm’s reach. Nothing derails a visit faster than a parched guest creeping around at 3am, trying to find the kitchen without setting off the dog, the floorboards or the entire household.
I also create a mini tea and coffee set-up with milk in a flask, add biscuits (essential) and include a stack of books or magazines. I often put in a Georgette Heyer because she is the literary equivalent of a hot water bottle. There are always more towels than anyone could ever need. And I think bath foam or Bath salts are vital because Christmas guests should be encouraged, relentlessly, to wallow.
And then there’s the loo parfum, stationed in the bathroom like a courteous but implacable maître d’. It exists to avert the small domestic tragedies that arise when too many people share too few pipes. A few drops before you go and poof like magic, its as if nothing untoward has ever taken place.
Snacks keep guests cheerful. I cannot overstate this. I think of snacks as social infrastructure. If guests are well fed between meals, peace reigns. I stock the cupboards generously and maintain a secret reserve. Guests do have a magical ability to make biscuits vanish.
Guests genuinely like to help at Christmas and assigning small, satisfying tasks is the secret to keeping everyone happy and involved. It creates a lovely sense of shared rhythm in the house where we can all muck in together.
So there are a few jobs I have up sleeve for when they ask and they always do. Numero uno is emptying/filling the dishwasher - It keeps the kitchen afloat, preserves my festive spirit and turns guests into quiet domestic heroes. Children are unexpectedly excellent at this too.
I also appoint a candle marshal, which sounds faintly absurd but is genuinely vital. Candlelight makes everyone look beautiful and everything look far more sparkly and flattering than reality ever intended, so someone must be in charge of maintaining the illusion. They light the candles, snuff them when everyone forgets, clear away the waxy little corpses and keep each room smelling faintly sublime.
A drinks station is my final hosting hack. I set it up before guests arrive and appoint a guest to manage ice and mixers. Lots of glasses (replenish every morning), plenty of spirits, non-alcoholic infusions and mixers - and on that, did you know you can freeze tonic water? And you can use frozen lemon or orange slice as chic ice cubes? You're welcome!
And truly, that is the whole secret to preparing your home for Christmas guests. A warm, scented, easy-feeling house. A few thoughtful comforts. A steady supply of snacks. Small, satisfying jobs for guests who want to help. And you, drifting through your own festive haven looking disarmingly serene, even if the snack reserve is already half gone.
