5 Last Minute Preparations for Holiday Guests

This post is sponsored by Sam’s Club and Acorn Influence. All opinions are mine alone. #FullHomeHappyHome

Preparing for guests is a breeze with these five last minute tips and giveaway for $500 in gift cards!

Can you believe it; Christmas is one week away! If you’re anything like me you’re not only super excited for Christmas Day but also a little stressed knowing that in one week your house will be full of guests. This holiday season has been my busiest yet and keeping up on the housework has been on my to-do list since Thanksgiving… and has yet to be done. But now with only seven days left it’s crunch time. 

I started thinking about what makes me feel like a house is clean, things I’ve noticed walking into friends’ homes or stores that make me think “Gee this place is spotless!” A few things came to mind and I decided to focus on those this week instead of worrying about cleaning my entire house from top to bottom.

The first thing that says clean to me are clean floors. Freshly vacuumed or mopped floors look better and make me feel better too (if one of my boys drops a cookie I don’t mind letting them eat it off a clean floor vs. a dirty floor). I also feel like if I come into a home with clean floors I need to take my shoes off to keep those floors clean. Clean floors are the easiest way you can make your house look and fell clean, even if they are the only clean thing in your home.

Another sign of a clean home is a place that smells clean. Spraying a room freshener (my favorite is Febreeze) 10 or 15 minutes before guests arrive is the best way to make your home smell warm and inviting. Also, make sure all garbage cans are taken out before guests arrive too. 

The third way to make your home feel clean and cozy is by making sure there isn’t a lot of dust or cobwebs hanging around. A quick 10 minute dust with Swiffer Dusters on your tables, fans and in door ways is an easy and time efficient way to make a noticeable difference in your home’s appearance.

Whether you have overnight guests or just guests for the day it’s important to have clean linens ready and easily accessible. Having fresh bath towels, hand towels and dish towels is a must for busy days in my home. I recently started using Tide Pods and I love how easy they are to use and also how much cleaner my laundry looks and feels.

So now we’ve got a clean house but what happens if you have unexpected guests stop in with gifts? We had this happen a few years ago and I felt horrible that I didn’t have a gift for them. I felt even worse knowing that I had to go out in the hustle and bustle of the holidays and buy something. There are a ton of easy and affordable gift ideas here that you can make ahead of time fore a few dollars and have ready for those drop in visitors. 

Cleaning the house seems easy in comparison to remembering to buy said cleaning supplies and also finding the time to go shopping to pick them up. That’s why I was so excited to hear Sam’s Club is now offering Club Pickup. All you do is go to SamsClub.com, pick the items you want, pick the store you want to pick up at and time slot you want to pick them up and wait for your confirmation email. Then you go to your local Sam’s Club to the Club Pickup Kiosk, enter your confirmation number and a store associate will bring your items to you. I can’t tell you how much easier this makes things for a busy mama during the busiest time of year. 

Not only is it more convenient but with the money I was able to save on the Febreeze, Swiffer and Tide I had a little extra spending cash (and time too). My boys have been so good this year in dealing with all of my blog craziness I decided to get them a little surprise while I was out. I picked up a big art set, bow with light up arrows, activity books, and a pack of my hubby’s favorite drink. I also was able to get a new winter jacket for me all for the same amount I would’ve spent buying cleaning supplies alone*. Talk about a Merry Christmas.

Remember those $500 gift cards I mentioned at the beginning? Well here it is! Sam’s Club wants to help you prepare for the holidays so they are giving 5 lucky readers $100 Sam’s Club Gift Card each to spend on Everyday Essentials! Enter through the widget below.$100 Sam’s Club Gift Card Giveaway for Everyday Essentials

Are you prepared for Christmas next week? If you’re not, take advantage of Sam’s Club Club Pickup and these Everyday Essentials to help you get ready by next Friday.

*Vendor calculation based on proprietary methodology comparing average non-promoted retail price per unit from a combination of leading U.S. retail outlets vs. average retail price per unit at Sam’s Club® for 2 months ending September 26, 2015. Pricing and item availability may vary in Alaska, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Wisconsin, and on SamsClub.com