Arranging Your Home for a Safe Holiday Season
Whether you’re planning a small or medium-sized holiday gathering this year, or, you’ve chosen to join the party remotely—we’ve put together a guide for safely arranging your home with holiday décor and a few additional tips to help your guests feel as comfortable as possible!
- Re-position your holiday tree—Many families are often inclined to place their holiday tree in the corner of their family room or a smaller room that isn’t used as often. During holiday gatherings, people naturally are drawn to gather around the tree—by choosing to place it between two of the largest rooms in your home, you’ll limit crowding small spaces.
- Set up socially distant seating—When arranging your furniture around your holiday décor, be sure to space seating out with the appropriate amount of space between each chair. Consider placing your living room furniture on a diagonal rather than directly facing one another and utilize all of your space, creating a spacious footprint. For mealtime gathering, invite guests to sit with their immediate family members at individual tables/chairs or opt for outdoor dining if the weather is conducive.
- Sanitizations stations— Of course, your guests will have access to your powder room when attending your holiday gathering, but it doesn’t hurt to set aside designated sanitation spots around the house for additional protection. Provide your guests with multiple spaces around the house stocked with hand sanitizer, wipes, and extra disposable face masks. To make the spaces look more appealing, consider placing the sanitizer into glass dispensers and displaying on a decorative tray.
- Deep clean before entertaining— Cleaning and sanitizing your entire home before having guests arrive is imperative at this time, but it’s also just as important to keep your home sanitized throughout the gathering since lingering germs are susceptible to spread. Be sure to wipe down all common surfaces with disinfectant like door knobs, light switches, and any other spots with high traffic. Wash your floors thoroughly and also wipe down furniture. At the gathering, assign someone in your family to actively disinfect high-traffic areas every 15 minutes.
- Sharing food—Rather than preparing a full meal to be shared around the table or even on a buffet, create individual options for each guest to enjoy. For example, grill fresh veggies and individual pieces of meat on skewers and then give each individual their own to enjoy. Place finger foods such as cheese/crackers, grape bunches, and other appetizers in individual packages that guests can ‘grab and go.’ Additionally, preparing individually wrapped “kits” with tableware for each guest helps avoid shared contact.
- Virtual interaction – Thankfully, we now live in a world where we can see whoever we want, whenever we want. If there are guests that should be joining you for the holiday’s, but are unable to, set-up a laptop or desktop that is capable of video chat. Using face-to-face video chat apps such as Facetime or Zoom for family and friends that have to miss out this year is an incredibly useful way to celebrate the holiday of togetherness even when you’re apart. When arranging your furniture, be sure to select a spot where your virtual guests can enjoy their view. Place the laptop on a taller piece of furniture or counter to allow them a better view of the entire gathering.
We hope that these tips have helped you plan accordingly for your next holiday gathering so that you and your guests can feel as comfortable as possible!
