So, it’s your new Florida home for the holiday season, eh? Congratulations!
It’s definitely a blast to showcase your new abode by hosting family and friends for some or all of the usual seasonal festivities. Need a game plan? We at ICI Homes are ready with some handy tips to guide your preparations. Read on for easy ways to spruce up, tidy up and host with the most-est. (FYI — This doesn’t apply only to those big end-of-the-year traditions. Use these tips for holiday events throughout the year).
Child-And-Pet-Proof Your Home
The smallest house-guests deserve forethought of their own. If babies, toddlers or young children are visiting, remove breakable, heavy or valuable items from tabletops or other surface where inquisitive little hands might wander. Tuck sharp-edged furniture out of the way. Fido and Fluffy likely will arrive with what they require (food bowls, etc.). You can help by finding a space to store their travel crates or food containers. Speaking of storage…
Clear Storage Space
Visitors bring luggage and sometimes lots of it. If they hail from a colder climate, also provide a spot to store coats, boots and accessories. Chances are they won’t touch it in Florida.
Think ‘Hotel’ to Furnish Guest Rooms
Know how you have all the complimentary essentials when you check into a hotel room? Take a mental inventory (or list them somewhere) of those essentials and use it as a guideline to furnish your guest rooms — clean bed linens, an allotment of bath towels, easy-to-find soap, shampoo and the like (people tend to forget common items such as toothpaste).
Stock the Bar and Snack Drawer
Holidays are some of the most festive times of the year. Make sure your bar is convenient (only to adults, of course) and well-supplied with everyone’s favorite mixers and libations. Same goes for between-meals and late-night noshing. Put a basket or tray on a kitchen counter or pantry shelf and fill it with goodies. Don’t forget to add some healthy goodies.
Provide Info on Local Sites and Activities
Will your house-guests explore your town while they hang out at your place? Share a list of restaurants, fast routes to grocery stores and gas stations. And, of course, to the beach. Important: equip visitors with any alarm-system codes, perhaps a spare key and instructions on how to operate things like the feeding system on your aquarium.
Plan a Fun Activity
Don’t just cook and wash dishes! Go to a college football bowl game near you (there are nine in Florida). Storm some of the Sunshine State’s famous attractions. Attend a holiday-music concert. Definitely have a beach day if the weather’s nice — odds are good that will be.
‘Sweeten’ Guests’ Departure
Since departing often is such sweet sorrow, per William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet — sorry, we had to — craft a travel care package of holiday cookies or those leftover pies and brownies. They make great munchies (and good memories) en route back to reality!
Ready to begin searching for your new Florida home? As Florida’s Custom Home Builder, ICI Homes can build to suit future holiday extravaganzas. Click here to begin.
