Tips to help holiday decorating, entertaining go smoothly

This week’s column was written by Emily Morgan, Arkansas Realtors Association.

Every year the hustle and bustle of shopping for presents, decorating our homes and prepping for family celebrations — on top of all of our other errands — has us scrambling to finish our many tasks. So, how can we make it all a little easier on ourselves?

Here are some tips to guide you through a festive and worry-free holiday season.

Remember, as hard as you try, nothing will be perfect. Relax and enjoy the holiday with your family and friends, and they’ll enjoy it too.”

Make it easier to decorate your home with lights.

• Use extension cords. Choose heavyduty extension cords that are UL-listed for outdoor use, and only plug five strings of lights into each cord.

• Perfect for outdoor decorating, solar lights are more expensive to purchase — but they cost nothing to run. However, if there’s no sun during the day, it means there will be no lights at night.

• Light-emitting diode, or LED, lights use less energy to and last much longer than standard incandescent lights.

• If you know you’re going to hang holiday lights every year, save yourself some time and attach permanent light clips.

• Store your holiday lights in cardboard boxes rather than plastic bags. The cardboard will soak up any residual moisture.

Avoid disasters while preparing for the holidays and entertaining guests.

• Don’t self-clean your oven until after the holidays. Self-cleaning can lead to blown fuses or thermostats — and good luck finding a repair person over the holidays.

• Don’t freeze your guests. Replace your air filters and have regular maintenance performed on your HVAC.

• Don’t try to do everything yourself for that holiday dinner. Ask each guest to bring a side dish. And if guests volunteer to help, let them.

Store your holiday decorations efficiently.

• Use holiday stockings to hold and wrap special and breakable ornaments.

• Reuse gift boxes and paper to wrap and store ornaments.

• Use wrapping-paper rolls, garden-hose reels or pieces of cardboard to store lights. You can even use wire hangers — just turn up each end, wrap the lights around so they don’t slip off, and hang them in your storage area.

Remember, as hard as you try, nothing will be perfect. This is a great time to reflect on the past, to be grateful for the present and to share hopes for the future. Relax and enjoy the holiday with your family and friends, and they’ll enjoy it too.

From the Arkansas Realtors Association to your family, merry Christmas and happy holidays.

House to House is distributed by the Arkansas Realtors Association. For more information about homeownership in Arkansas, visit www.ArkansasRealtors.com.