Preparing for Guests During the Holidays

This time of year from Thanksgiving to New Year's, lots of friends and family will be coming around to visit. I love having people over, decorating the house and serving festive food and beverages. This was the first Thanksgiving we hosted and I can't wait to host a Christmas get-together!

There is so much to do in preparation for guests. Cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking, buying and wrapping presents...shall I continue? We all want a clean home to show off, but who has time to clean on top of everything else on our to-do list?! I have some tips and ways to clean up and make it seem like we spent hours scrubbing every inch of our home. 

Even if you only have a morning or an afternoon to clean up before your guests arrive, you can make it seem like you spent all those hours cleaning. 

First, empty trash cans in the kitchen and bathrooms. No one wants to smell or see your trash!

Next, if you don't have time to vacuum, shake out your bathroom, kitchen and other rugs to make them seem cleaner. Bonus points for vacuuming or sweeping/Swiffering! You only need to do the main rooms in your home.

Add new toilet paper rolls in the guest bathrooms so there won't be a chance it will run out and your guests have to hunt for extra rolls, or worse, holler for you to bring them one.

In your family/living room/den, fold blankets and fluff up couch cushions and pillows. Straighten books, magazines and knick knacks on coffee and side tables or even put them away in a cabinet so there is room to place drinks.

Empty dishwasher and load up dirty dishes, then wipe down sink and counter tops with Clorox wipes.

Close doors to bedrooms, offices, playrooms, and any other rooms that won't be used by guests. This gives you an excuse not to clean these rooms! For now...

Finally, light a candle in the guest bathroom, kitchen, and living room or dining room where guests will congregate. The scent and glow will make any home feel cozy and festive. 

See? That was easy! Never stress over cleaning for guests again! Now use all that extra time to cook some awesome goodies! I've been wanting to try out this recipe. Love a good muffin!! An excuse to eat a cupcake for breakfast :)

Christmas Reading

I love to read.  Ever since I was little, I enjoyed a good book. I especially love reading Christmas books this time of year! Curled up on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate and a crackling fire with a book is a great way to spend a cold winter day.

Here are some of my favorites and ones I can't wait to read:

Blue Christmas and Christmas Bliss by Mary Kay Andrews (sequels to her novels Savannah Blues and Savannah Breeze - LOVE this series!)

Winter Street, Winter Stroll, and Winter Storms by Elin Hilderbrand (my favorite author ever! All of her books take place on Nantucket and are GREAT beach reads. This series is perfect for Christmas!)
**Warning - there is another Elin Hilderbrand book called "Christmas on Nantucket". It is the SAME BOOK as Winter Stroll. For some reason they gave it a different name. Don't let it confuse you!

A Lowcountry Christmas by Mary Alice Monroe (A great South Carolina author!)

Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe and Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop by Jenny Colgan (Haven't read this yet but can't wait to! I LOVE Jenny Colgan, and both of these are sequels. Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe and Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams are two amazingly sweet and engaging reads! I love all things warm and cozy and any of Jenny Colgan's books definitely fit that bill.

Festive Sweaters for the Holidays

Sweater Weather! As soon as the air gets a chill in it, we can't wait to break out our coziest sweaters. I can't wait to see what fun, festive styles brands have each year.  Here, I have collected some of my favorites this year. Nothing like a reindeer sweater to make running errands feel a little more like Christmas shopping :)

Old Navy Reindeer Sweater

crown & ivy Tangled Terrier Sweater

crown and ivy Chilly Willy Sweater

crown and ivy Reindeer Sweater (love the back!)

J. Crew French Hen Teddie

Disney at Christmas

After Elsa *froze* Cinderella's castle

The best time of year to visit Disney World is at Christmas. It's also their busiest season so I guess I'm not the only one who feels this way. There's a reason so many people travel from all over the world to see Disney World at Christmas; think about it - the magic of Disney PLUS the magic of Christmas?? You see what I'm getting at?

The hubs and I had a 4 day weekend where we drove down to Florida on Thursday (had to stop at 4 Rivers Smokehouse for lunch), visited the Disney resorts that afternoon to take in all of their decorations, and finished Day 1 at Disney Springs (Downtown Disney) for supper at Earl of Sandwich and dessert at Ghirardelli.  Friday we did Epcot, and Saturday was all about Magic Kingdom. Sunday was our driving day :(

Day 1 outfit details - shirt Southern Fried Cotton, jeans Express (similar), shoes Nike

We spent 13 hours at Epcot and 15 hours at Magic Kingdom...we did it ALL. And of course had to stay until the very end to see the spectacular fireworks shows!

We made reservations for lunch at Le Chefs de France at Epcot - so good! We had fish and chips for supper in the UK then headed back to France for Buche de Noel for dessert. In America we got to watch the Candlelight Processional where the Christmas Story was read from the Bible by Chandra Wilson with a huge choir and orchestra to play Christmas music. So awesome! Another fun thing at Epcot was how each country had their own mini show talking about their Christmas customs. Loved hearing how the world does Christmas! After an epic Christmas-themed firework show, we headed back to the shuttle to get some rest before another long(er) day at Magic Kingdom!

Father Christmas in the UK

We took pictures with Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy - Mickey tried to run away with me...

Day 2 Outfit - shirt Victoria's Secret (similar), jeans Express (similar), shoes Nike, monogram necklace Etsy

Candlelight Processional

Buche de Noel

We got to Magic Kingdom an hour after it opened and headed straight for the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. We hit as many rides as we could and then parked along the side of the street for the Christmas parade. That night we stopped again for the Electrical Parade then camped out for over an hour in front of Cinderella's castle for the Frozen Special where Elsa froze the castle! Then there was a cool light show on the castle and fireworks!

We had so much fun celebrating the Christmas season at such a magical place and can't wait to go again!

Day 3 outfit - sunglasses Ray-Ban, sweater Forever 21 (similar), leggings Fabletics (similar), boots Ugg Australia, monogram necklace Etsy

Cinderella!

My favorite ride, the Mad Tea Party!

What are your favorite rides/things to do at Disney World? Has anyone been to any other locations?

Christmas Eve PJs

Prepping for a cozy winter morning!

My handsome pup wanted in on the fun

Lounging in my favorite flannel PJs from VS! with my fav Starbucks mug :)

Christmas is right around the corner!! Is it just me, or did the weeks leading up to Christmas FLY by?? We can be very busy this time of year (I know I have been!), but I hope y'all have had a chance to slow down and just enjoy it all! 

With Christmas Eve just days away, let's talk about those cute PJs everyone wants to wear! A lot of families have traditions where they all get matching Christmas PJs on Christmas Eve to wear that night and Christmas morning! I love this, so I have rounded up some of my favorite Christmas-y PJs for you to run out and snag if you haven't already as you make the final preparations for CHRISTMAS! Seriously, I feel like we just celebrated Halloween...

Nordstrom PJ Salvage Thermal Knit Lounge Pants in Fuchsia Snowmen

Nordstrom PJ Salvage Thermal PJs

J. Crew Marled Camp Socks - 30% off
(need warm socks to go with the PJs)

J. Crew Fair Isle Leggings - 40% off

Gap Printed cotton leggings in snowflake holly berry

Target Nick and Nora in Winter Snowglobe - on sale!

Target Holiday PJ

Victoria's Secret Fireside Long Jane in Grey Fair Isle - on sale!

Victoria's Secret Dreamer Flannel PJ (what I'm wearing!)

Christmas Gift Ideas

We are less than 2 weeks away from Christmas! Have you finished your Christmas shopping? Just now starting? No worries! There are TONS of great gift ideas out there, and if you follow a lot of blogs, everyone has their own version of a gift guide for everyone on your list!

One thing that pops up around Christmas that makes gift giving easier are gift sets! I think these take the guess work out of trying to find the perfect gift and they're a lot of fun! The packaging is great and often times various brands have "limited edition" sets that are only available this time of year! 

Here are some that I personally love (to give or receive!):

C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve Lip Balm Trio

Burt's Bees Holiday Gift Set - Tips and Toes

Drybar 'Escape Plan' Travel Set

Hanky Panky Original Rise Thong (3-pack)

Jo Malone Cologne Collection

Laura Mercier 'Little Indulgences' Hand and Creme Collection

L'Occitane 'Beautiful Hands'

Fresh 'Skincare Starters' set

philosophy 'candy cane' duo 

Volupsa 'Maison Holiday' Petite Decorative Candle Set 

Kiehl's 'Nourishing Essentials' set

 

What are you favorite go-to gifts?