With the holiday period approaching, it’s time to start thinking about preparing ahead of time. There are different things you can do that, when done early, make the holidays more relaxed and enjoyable.
Here are a few preparation ideas to get you started.
Tidy Up the Garden
Tidying up the garden ahead of the winter freeze is an excellent idea. Not only are there weeds to pull up and plants to tend to, but if you have a greenhouse, this will need some tender loving care ahead of the rapidly falling temperatures too.
Mow the lawn and trim the edges to make them easily visible. You don’t want visitors, or kids if you have them, falling off the edge into the plants because the edge of the lawn wasn’t clearly visible. Rake up any leaves from autumn to avoid them turning into mulch. Put them into the compost heap, and if you don’t have a compost bin, now is an excellent time to get one setup.
When the gardening has all been done, secure every last gardening tool either in the garden shed, garage or elsewhere. Should it snow this winter, it will become increasingly difficult to see a rake on the ground, a trowel left out and so on. It’s all too easy for someone to step on the end of it and have the rake’s handle smack them in the face. Avoid unnecessary accidents necessitating a trip to A&E.
Clean the Oven Ready for the Turkey
When the family is ready to sit down to enjoy a Christmas movie after a traditional Christmas dinner, you don’t want anyone complaining that the turkey tasted a bit ‘funny’. If the oven hasn’t been cleaned in a while, then all the remnants stuck to the inside and around the rim will get into the meat as it cooks. That creates a different taste than should be enjoyed for the Christmas meal and leftovers too.
Use a quality oven cleaner to clean the oven thoroughly a couple of weeks before Christmas Day. Make sure that you leave enough time to air it out and rinse it, then do it again to make sure. Try cooking something smaller in the oven after to check how it tastes. If you can, cook the same thing before and after so you can see if there is any discernible difference on your taste buds.
Wipe the oven and grill down more thoroughly between uses over Christmas to keep them reasonably clean and avoid the need to use a strong oven cleaning over the holidays.
Test the Christmas Tree Lights to See If They’re Still Working
There’s probably a set of Christmas lights tucked away under the stairs or in the attic in a box. By now, it’s all tangled up and it’s uncertain whether they will still work when plugged in.
Locate them, take them out of the box and carefully untangle them. Then plug them in and see if they’re working or not. Depending on what you find, you might prefer to get a new set of Christmas lights from Amazon to jazz up the Christmas tree when you get it. There are plenty of different types of lights to choose from, including multiple coloured strips, traditional lights and even some that can be controlled remotely.
It’s also a good idea to get sparkly decorations for elsewhere in the home. To get some inspiration, you should follow these tips from Fishpools. Fishpools are specialists in improving décor and creating new ideas on how to redecorate a home and their recent blog posts provides some must-follow advice.
Make Sure the Home is Stacked with Entertainment Options
One thing you don’t want to do is run out of things to do at Christmas.Sure, there’s the TV and Netflix, but other than that, what will you do if it’s freezing outside and you want to stay indoors where it’s warm? Have a plan for different entertainment options to keep you and anyone you’re with happily occupied.
Get Some Better Christmas Themed Recipes
If you’re short on Christmas themed meals, then pick up a book of Christmas recipe ideas. There are plenty of celebrity chefs that bring out new books around this time with fresh ideas for seasonal breakfasts, brunches, lunch and dinner recipes.
Not every recipe will be a winner or one that you’ll feel confident trying out. Any that you do want to give a whirl can be tested ahead of Christmas. This way, if it doesn’t turn out how you intended, you won’t look foolish.
Preparing for the Christmas holidays that are fast approaching is often something people forget to do. They’re so busy still working that they leave shopping and preparations until the last minute. While online shopping helps avoid the crowds, not everything is solved by ordering online. There is some effort required that needs to help it run smoothly.
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