With Thanksgiving coming up next week, you might be getting ready for some guests. If they’re staying for a few days during this busy time of year, you really need a plan. Well, today, I’ve got a checklist to help us all to slow down, get organized, and get everything ready so we can enjoy our time with our family and friends. So, let’s take a deep breath and look at what we need to get done. The following is a checklist for when you’re having overnight guests during the holidays. These can usually be checked off in a week or less.
1 WEEK BEFORE
- Plan menus and write your grocery list. Remember to also plan snacks and drinks.
- Plan entertainment for your guests. You don’t want them to get bored, so plan ahead for some fun activities near your hometown.
4-5 DAYS BEFORE
- Do miscellaneous errands to get them out of the way before company arrives, such as filling up your car with gas, picking up prescriptions, buying a few new towels for the guest bath, and other things like that. Then you’ll have plenty of free time with your guests.
- Buy groceries for the week. Take your list and try to get everything now to avoid trips back to the store.
3 DAYS BEFORE
- Do all laundry.
- Iron clothes for the week and hang in closet in order of what day you’re wearing them.
- Pay bills.
- Make all phone calls you need to make for the week.
2 DAYS BEFORE
- Clean the house.
- Get the guest bedroom ready and wash bedding if necessary.
- Get the guest bathroom ready. Hang nice towels, put out fresh soaps, and make sure there are toiletries there for them.
1 DAY BEFORE
- Prepare and make food ahead of time, as much as possible. You could at least make some snacks and desserts. You might be able to make part of the first day’s dinner.
- Finish up any laundry, cleaning, or trips to the store.
DAY OF GUESTS ARRIVAL
- Straighten the house and get rid of any clutter piles.
- Make sure every room looks clean, especially the living room, kitchen, guest bedroom, and guest bathroom.
- Spray a little air freshener or light candles.
- Start making snacks, lunch, or dinner.
That is my checklist for preparing for guests in about a week. This would give us enough time for Thanksgiving guests. You could also use this for getting ready for company at Christmas when you’ve got tons of other things going on. Sometimes we even get short notice and just need to hit the main areas. When you’re short on cleaning time, try my quick-cleaning checklist.
If you know you’re having company for Christmas and would like to start now to get ready, see my previous checklist for preparing for guests. This checklist gives you about a month to get ready and it’s great for when you really like everything to be perfect and want to spread out all your to-dos over a longer period of time. Besides, with other things going on around Christmas, you will probably need more time and need to start early.
I hope this helps you to stay organized, calm, and enjoy your guests! If you’ve got more great tips, please share them in the comments below!
Have a wonderful day!