Moving is stressful, and so is Christmas. Here’s how to make sure your home is Christmas ready, even if you’ve just moved in
If you’ve just moved into a new home, then congratulations are in order. Particularly in the current climate, completing on a property purchase is a cause for celebration. And if you’re looking forward to the first Christmas in your new pad and it’s all in just the right decorative order, then even more congratulations are due. But what if it’s not? What if the decor is old and tired and you’ve only got six weeks – or less – to pull things into shape?
Obviously, you are not going to build an extension before the festivities begin, and you’re unlikely to have a new kitchen installed by then either. But there are lots of things you can do, so we’ve put together a list of six easy fixes that will go a long way towards making things comfortable and stylish, whether you’ll be entertaining on a grand scale or just spending the Christmas period holed up in your new home.
1. Paint your walls
This is the first thing you should do when moving in, before you unpack anything. Don’t get complacent and think you’ll do it later, because as soon as you have pictures on walls and books on shelves, it becomes a much bigger task. Decide on a colour, buy the paint, and get the job done. You won’t regret it.
2. Order a new sofa
This is a piece of furniture that will get a lot of use over the Christmas period, so it needs to arrive in time. Many sofas have a six-week lead time, but increasingly it is possible to find online brands that can deliver a brand new sofa of dreams within a few days. Do your research and make sure that pre-Christmas delivery is guaranteed.
3. Get rid of old carpets
If you have inherited tired or ugly carpets, just pull them up and throw them away. It’s a simple task. Replace them with rugs, which are easy to buy and can instantly update a room. If you plan to upgrade the flooring, you can do this later, but rugs are an excellent short-term fix.
4. Do you have a fireplace?
If there’s any chance that your fireplace might be working, contact a chimney sweep and have them come and inspect it. With a bit of luck, you might be able to get a real fire going – and improve Father Christmas’s access too.
5. Get the boiler and radiators serviced
This isn’t very exciting, but there’s nothing worse than having the heating fail over Christmas.
6. And finally: make sure you have enough fairy lights
Think about where to put them. Mantlepieces and banisters are good starting points, but there are more possibilities. Do you have a front garden with a tree in it? Put fairy lights in that. A window box in a bay window? Plants in the back garden? However large or small your home, there will be good spots for fairy lights, so start thinking about that now.