The holidays are a time for family, friends, and fun. You probably have lots of fun parties and activities planned. And, if you or your family lives far away, you might have house guests coming for the holiday. But before the holiday guests can arrive, you need to prepare your house!

This post will have 50 tips to help you get your entire home ready for your guests. From decluttering your house to getting charging cords for the guest bedroom and cleaning out the bathroom, these tips will be like a checklist to make sure you get everything clean and tidy before any company arrives.

These quick tips will help you feel confident that your entire house is prepared for your holiday guests.

50 Tips to Prep Your House for Holiday Guests

If you’re hosting holiday guests this year, you’ll need to prepare your house before your guests arrive. To help your holiday season go more smoothly, here are 50 helpful tips for decluttering, cleaning, and organizing your overnight guests arrive.

The Guest Room

Preparing the guest room when hosting guests is obvious, but it’s also the most important thing you need to do before guests come. You want to make sure your guests can relax and have no problem sleeping when they are at your home.

To ensure your guests feel comfortable, here are a few tips to help you prep your guest room.

1. Make sure the bed is made with fresh, clean sheets.
2. Change the pillowcases and fluff up the pillows. If you really want to help your guests feel comfortable, add a few pillows to their beds of varying levels of firmness so they can choose the one they like best.
3. Add extra blankets to the foot of the bed. No one wants to wake up cold in the middle of the night!
4. Declutter and clean the guest space. Whether they have a private room or they’ll be on an air mattress on the floor, make sure the space is clean, welcoming, and clutter-free.
5. Leave clean towels and wash cloths in their room or in the guest bathroom. If you have a guest bathroom, then leaving them in the bathroom is fine. If they’ll be sharing with other family members, set the towels in their room or space so they know which ones are meant for their use!
6. Add phone chargers in their room.
7. Make sure they have closet space to store clothes. If you don’t have a designated guest closet, clear out a bit of space in another closet so they can hang up anything they need to.
8. If your guest bedroom is large enough, have a luggage rack for them to set their suitcases on.
9. Set some bottled water or their preferred drinks on their bedside table.
10. If you are able to, adding a basket on their bed or bedside table with snacks or food is a nice touch!

The Bathrooms

Another important area to clean before the holidays is your bathrooms! If you have a guest bathroom, you’ll want to focus on that one, but you should probably clean all of the bathrooms in your home while you’re at it.

1. Clean the toilet. Use wipes for the outside and make sure you scrub inside the bowl as well. Be thorough and get around the bottom of the toilet as well.
2. Wipe down the sink and counters.
3. Wipe down the mirror and make sure you get all the steam streaks or toothpaste flecks from your kids, cleaned off.
4. Put out fresh hand towels.
5. Make sure there is toilet paper and stock other necessary toiletries such as refilling the hand soap.
6. If you can, set out new toiletries like a hairdryer, razor, toothpaste, floss, shampoo, conditioner, and soap in a basket for your guests to use.
7. Replenish cotton swabs, cotton balls, and tissues.
8. Empty the trash can and add a new trash can liner.
9. Sweep and mop the floor. Make sure you get behind the toilet and in all of the corners.
10. Have air freshener within arms reach (we also love this brand) and keep some cleaning supplies under the sink.

The Family and Living Rooms

When cleaning your house for guests, you need to make sure your large living spaces are clean and inviting. This means decluttering, dusting, and vacuuming.

Because you’ll probably sit and visit with your guests in these areas as you’re hosting, you want to make sure they are comfortable and clean for your guests.

1. Declutter your living spaces like the living and family rooms.
2. Pick up anything on the ground and put away any toys, books, or knick-knacks that are out of place.
3. Wipe down the remote control.
4. Vacuum and clean all carpets, rugs, and furniture.
5. Dust all surfaces, including ceiling fans, light fixtures, lamps, end tables, coffee tables, shelves, the mantel, picture frames, and the television.
6. Clean your windows both inside and outside.
7. Wash or vacuum throw pillows on your couches.
8. Keep some board games handy if your guests enjoy games. It’s nice to have them in arm’s reach as you’re all hanging out at night.
9. If you can, arrange your furniture in a way that allows for easy conversation.
10. Have comfy blankets ready for movie nights when they are staying at your home. And please make sure that throw blankets are freshly laundered. Nobody wants to snuggle with a blanket that stinks.

The Kitchen and Dining Room

The holidays are all about family, sure, but a big part of the holidays is also food! Holiday dinner is something a lot of guests look forward to.

If your guests are spending a number of days at your home, then you’ll need to have a lot of food ready to go, not just for the big day but for the rest of their stay as well.

1. Do a big grocery shop a few days before your guests arrive so you have all the food you need for the various meals you’re making. If you’re short on time, I genuinely can’t recommend the Walmart+ subscription enough. It’s gotten me out of a bind 100 times over.
2. Check with guests beforehand and make sure you know of any food allergies they might have so you can plan accordingly.
3. If you’re cooking a big holiday dinner, start prepping a few days in advance. This will make the actual day much less stressful.
4. Make sure your dining table is clean (wipe down the table and chairs) and clear of any clutter.
5. Add fresh flowers to your dining or kitchen area.
6. Stock your pantry and refrigerator with plenty of snacks and fresh fruit so your guests have options. You could even create a snack cart.
7. Make sure your guests know what they can drink (juice, water, tea, coffee, etc.) and eat while in your home. Adding a coffee bar, or Italian Soda Bar would be a really nice touch, too!
8. Make sure guests know where your cups and dishes are.
9. If they are early risers in the morning, lay out some breakfast options for them like cereals, oatmeal, or pastries.
10. Figure out extra seating ahead of time if necessary. You don’t want to be frantically searching for more chairs minutes before dinner starts!

Final Touches

1. Make sure your wi-fi password is easy for them to find, whether you put a note in their bedroom or you help them log in when they arrive.
2. Put away any clothes or personal items that are lying around in shared spaces.
3. Declutter surfaces like nightstands, dressers, and tabletops. They probably won’t be entering your private bedrooms, but it’s nice to have the whole house cleaned.
4. Clean outside spaces like patios and the garage.
5. Light scented candles before they arrive so your house smells nice.
6. Have an idea of activities and holiday traditions you’ll do with your guests.
7. Clean and declutter the entryway so your home is inviting and tidy right when they walk in.
8. Clean the laundry room in case they need it over their stay.
9. Disinfect all door handles and light switches throughout the house!
10. Make sure things are easy to find! Guests don’t always feel comfortable asking you where things are every 5 seconds, so try to point out where things are and make things easy to find.

Now you’re ready for your holiday guests!

Hosting for the holidays is a big task. Getting your home ready for holiday guests can feel overwhelming, especially if you are trying to create the perfect atmosphere for the holiday season. But don’t stress too much as you prep for everyone to arrive.

As you clean your house for guests, remember that you don’t have to spend tons of money to stock up on tons of stuff before your holiday guests get to your house. You also don’t have to have your entire home spotless. Your guests are coming to spend time with you! They won’t be angry if your home doesn’t look like a five-star hotel!

One last tip: you will obviously know how many guests are staying, but I like to plan ahead and prepare extra food just in case they eat more than I’m anticipating or I have unexpected guests at the last minute. Then I’m not frantically running to the store right before the holidays!

Finally, take a deep breath and relax! You’ve done everything you can to prepare your house for holiday guests, and now it’s time to enjoy their company and have a wonderful time.