AirBnB at Christmas - Help

[ChangingK]

Hi lovelies. So my brother and sister in law are coming home to the UK for Christmas from New York with their new baby who will be about 7 months at the time. They will be staying at my parents house but there isn't enough room there or at my house to host Christmas for us all (sis-in-laws parents and sister and partner coming too but staying in their own accommodation). Instead of going out for dinner we've booked a local AirBnB from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day. Myself and my husband and our 3 children all under 5 are all staying also. I am the organiser of the family and also the Christmas obsessed one but I need your tips on how to organise this. We won't get into the house until Christmas Eve which we (I) will then need to decorate and make cosy etc. before everyone arrives. How do I make it feel like home and welcoming without also breaking the bank? Help!

Message the host before booking and ask if the house will be decorated.

I have a holiday let and my house is decorated for Christmas from mid November

Have some mulled wine on the hob when people arrive, so the smell has time to fill the house. Could people send you stockings in advance so they could be out on beds when everyone arrives?

If you do a Christmas Eve box/have any family traditions, remember to pack the bits for them eg nice bubble bath. And maybe plates for the children so you aren’t worrying about them breaking things in the rental?

It’s the people that make a house welcoming, not realms of tat.

But a small cheap Christmas tree, a few packs of baubles and let the children decorate it.

A lot of places decorate for Christmas, so contact the owner, if you can and ask if they do, if not I wouldn’t go overboard with decorations, maybe a small tree, nothing pinned to walls in case it’s not allowed, a table arrangement and Christmas napkins, crackers etc.,

Awww! How nice. Sounds lovely. Nothing to add!

As said above, lots of owners decorate their holiday lets for Xmas/New Year, so best to contact them and ask them rather than spend a lot of time and money taking your own, only to find it's already decorated!

We stay at a lot of holiday lets and regular notice in the reviews and guest book where previous guests have said how nice the house was decorated for Xmas/New Year stays. Also in quite a few, there've been boxes of decorations and a tree stored in the cupboard under the stairs or in eaves storage or the garage etc.

I think it's quite a common thing for owners to decorate!

I suspect it will be decorated - one of my favourite days in November is going to my friends farm and making decorations for their holiday cottages.

but yes!
mulled wine
stockings
and money is no object I would do matching Christmas pyjamas!