How to prepare your home for visitors this festive season
It’s December 1989. You, your parents and your younger brother have just arrived at your grandparent's house for the next week over Christmas.
All of the furniture is covered in plastic. Although you’ve spent the entire year looking forward to the chance to enjoy gran’s wonderful home‐cooked meals, you’re about to spend the entire week sleeping on the couch in the guest bedroom with your parents and brother on the bed. And your dad snores.
Thirty years later things are different: you’re now the host for Christmas, and your parents, brother and two nephews are coming to stay in your recently purchased home. That means that you’re under some pressure to get the house kitted out for the extended family.
Online rent‐to‐own retailer Teljoy’s Marketing and Sales Manager Aimee Miller takes us through her advice for this year’s Festive Season and New Year, focusing on no‐clutter and comfort.
In addition to these trends, current financial pressures arising from our slow economy mean that selecting functional and useful items, rather than those that are merely decorative, makes sense.
In the past, our grandparents hoarded sets of china, crystal glasses and silver cutlery for display or special occasions only. Today there are many beautifully decorated, long‐lasting cutlery and crockery varieties available at most retail stores, giving people the option to purchase one set that is sure to last a few years. The availability and range of kitchen appliances has also changed in the last few years with demand for health‐friendly appliances like juicers, Nutribullets and air fryers bringing a greater range to our stores.
Online home retail outlets like Teljoy give users an option to purchase packs of kitchen appliances which include juicers, steamers, food processors and blenders on a rent‐to‐own basis. Picture yourself and your parents breezing through Christmas lunch preparation with a healthy version of gammon and roast potatoes slowly sizzling away in the steamer or air fryer.
In the same vein, where the furniture is concerned, Miller suggests doing away with clutter while still focusing on style. This involves attention to colour schemes, purposeful and meaningful decor and multi‐use furniture and electronics. Take advantage of smart TVs which automatically include options for DSTV, Netflix and YouTube, allowing all members of the family to find something to watch that tickles their fancy.
Multi‐use furniture includes doing away with large dining room sets, futons and blow up mattresses, in favour of table and bench style dining room tables which can seat more and also be moved around to serve as seating for after‐dinner games of charades. Multi‐use living room furniture should be versatile, so functioning for a range of needs: e.g. for seating, relaxation and sleeping. Think separable block couches with chaise and recliner options for relaxation and sleeping with removable covers for cleaning or easy upholstery changes.
The festive season is a time for families and friends to reconnect, visit and make memories together. It is important to prepare your home for this. And to do so in an affordable way, keeping in mind sustainability, personal style and comfort.
Images: Supplied