Getting the House Ready for Christmas Without Losing Your Weekends
A realistic seven-week plan to get your home ready for Christmas guests, gifts and food shopping, without giving up every weekend between now and the day.
Jo de Serrano OBE DUniv
6 min read
Last Updated: November 2026
Key Takeaways
Start with the three places that take the strain: the hallway, the spare room, and the kitchen.
Make room before the gifts arrive. It's much easier to clear a space than to find one after the fact.
Work in short blocks over six or seven weeks, not one heroic weekend in December.
Decide in advance where children's new things will live, and what leaves to make space.
Buying someone an experience for Christmas can be a kinder present than another object.
Consider using something like Giftster to ensure everyone gets a present they want.
Contents
Why Christmas Is the Hardest Test of Your Home
Start With the Hallway
The Spare Room Question
Kitchen Cupboards and the Fridge-Freezer
Making Room for New Presents
A Short Plan, Week by Week
Giving Experiences Instead of More Stuff
FAQs
Why Christmas Is the Hardest Test of Your Home
Christmas asks a lot of a house… There are more people, more food, more coats, more bags, and about a week when everyone is in the same rooms at once.
If your home is already creaking and bursting at the seams, then December shows it up fast. The spare bed has a laundry mountain on it, the cupboard under the stairs won't shut, and nobody can find the turkey tin.
The usual response is a frantic weekend in the middle of December, and it rarely works. You're tired, the shops are busy, and every decision feels urgent.
This is an easier option. Start now, in short blocks, and be done before the pressure arrives. The clocks go back on the 25th of October and the evenings draw in, which makes it a good marker to start: from this week, 30 minutes at a time.
Start With the Hallway
The hallway is where everything lands. Coats, boots, bags, shoes, parcels, umbrellas. In winter it does overtime, and at Christmas it takes everyone else's coats too.
A 30-minute hallway reset:
Take everything off the floor and the hooks, then put it on the stairs or a bed.
Put back only what the household wears in winter. One pair of shoes per person by the door, the rest in a cupboard or box. If there are still summer jackets there, put them away until next year.
Check each coat. Does it fit, is it used, is the zip working? Anything not worn last winter is a strong candidate for donation.
Clear one space for guests' coats. A rail, a few hooks, or a chair. Decide where it is now, not on the day.
That one change makes the whole house feel a whole lot calmer when people do start to arrive.
The Spare Room Question
If anyone is staying, the spare room needs to be a room they can sleep in. In many homes it's a dumping ground… A room that is "for guests" tends to hold a lot of other things for 350 days a year.
Sort by category (not by pile), take everything out, group like with like, then decide what has a proper home elsewhere, what can go, and what can be boxed and labelled and moved to the loft or garage.
If your loft needs sorting before it becomes your storage solution, read my guide to loft and attic decluttering before you start moving things up there, because there are safety points worth knowing.
Kitchen Cupboards and the Fridge-Freezer
Body doubling is a really simple idea with a slightly odd name. You do a task while someone else is present… They don't do it for you, in fact, they don't have to do much at all… They're there, in the room or on a video call, doing their own thing or keeping you company.
The Spare Room Question
Christmas food shopping is a space problem... There are only so many shelves, and if your kitchen cupboards and fridge-freezer are full of items from last year, the new food has nowhere to go.
So, do the cupboards first. Check dates, group by use, and move anything you won't use before the New Year to a less convenient shelf. Check what's in the freezer before you shop, not after. Love Food Hate Waste has practical advice on storing and freezing food if you'd like a second opinion. Look at the pantry too; my pantry guide covers storage in more detail.
Tidy the serving dishes, too. People are often surprised how many they own once they're all out on a table, and how few they actually use.
Anything you're clearing that is out of date or hazardous (old batteries, for instance) needs proper disposal. My guide to safe disposal of hazardous materials covers the UK rules, and your local council's website will tell you what it accepts.
A Few Things to Leave Alone
Not everything has to be done before Christmas… In fact, some jobs are better left until January.
The loft, the garage, the sentimental boxes and the mountain of paperwork can all wait. Starting a big job in November and abandoning it halfway leaves you with a bigger mess in the middle of December than you began with.
Give yourself permission to put them on a list for the New Year or that period of lull between Christmas and New Year... The aim now is a home that works for a few busy weeks, not a finished project.
Making Room for New Presents
This is the one most people skip, but it’s the one that makes January significantly easier.
Before the presents arrive, work out where they'll live… Children's toys need a home, so do clothes, books, and kitchen gadgets. If the playroom is already full, something has to leave for the new things to arrive.
A simple approach is one in, one out. Let children choose what goes to charity. It's easier to do before Christmas than after, because afterwards they're attached to everything. In a cost of living crisis, giving good quality toys to charity can make some children’s Christmas.
If you tend to receive gifts you don't want, the unwanted gift dilemma is worth a read, and if you're sorting a playroom, the playroom page explains how I approach it. Using Giftster to ensure that everyone gets what they want, saves money and means everyone has a real smile on their face on Christmas Day.
If You Are Hosting for the First Time
First-time hosts often buy more than they need. Before you do, count what you already have: chairs, glasses, plates, serving dishes, towels, then decide how many guests you're feeding and work backwards.
A Short Plan, Week by Week
Here's one way to spread it over about seven weeks, 30 minutes to an hour at a time. Adjust to suit your calendar.
Week one: the hallway reset. Check coats, boots, and bags.
Week two: the spare room. Clear the surfaces and the bed.
Week three: kitchen cupboards. Dates, duplicates, serving dishes.
Week four: the fridge-freezer. A plan for where the food shopping will go.
Week five: children's toys and clothes. One in, one out.
Week six: wrapping and gift storage. Pick one drawer or box for all of it.
Week seven: a final walk-through. Make it homely for your guests.
If you miss a week, carry on. It's not a test (I'd quite like you to still enjoy December.)
Who Is Doing What on the Day
If you're the person who usually holds the whole thing in your head, this is a good moment to hand parts of it over.
Write one list: who is cooking what, who is collecting whom, who is clearing up. Share it. If children are old enough, give each a job, such as laying the table or looking after the coats.
It's much easier to tidy as you go when everyone knows which end of the house is theirs.
After Christmas: A 20-Minute Reset
January is easier if you plan a small reset now… On a day between Boxing Day and New Year, set a timer for 20 minutes and do three things: break down the boxes and wrapping, put new things in their agreed homes, and take the "one out" items to the car.
If a daily habit would help, the daily reset is a short routine that keeps the new year's tidiness from slipping, and staying organised after a declutter goes into it in more detail.
Buy People an Experience to Remember
If you're looking for a present for someone who is already overwhelmed by their home, buy people an experience instead of something to go into the home. Give them the gift of relaxation at the spa, or a fast drive around a race track.
And if the preparation is the part that's weighing on you, you can book a free discovery call, and I can help you work out what's worth doing before December and what can wait until January.
FAQs
When should I start getting my home ready for Christmas? Late October to early November works well. Six or seven weeks of short blocks is much easier than one long weekend in December.
Where should I start? Start with the hallway… It's quick, it's the first thing guests see, and it makes everything else easier to keep tidy.
Can I donate things before Christmas? Yes, though some charity shops are busy at this time of year. Check what they will take and when, and ask before you drop anything off.
How much does a decluttering session cost? Individual sessions are £45 an hour, as a four-hour session (£180) or a seven-hour session (£315). Sessions include removal of up to five standard-sized bags of donations.
Where do you work? I'm based in Croydon and cover London and the Home Counties for in-person sessions. Virtual sessions are available worldwide.
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→ The Unwanted Gift Dilemma: How to Manage Unwanted Gifts
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