1 Day to Christmas! 6 Last-minute Preparation Tips for Relatives During Noche Buena!

 

1. Childproof your home. Your kids may be past the curious-crawler stage, but keep in mind the other toddlers your guests will have in tow. Keep – or at least relocate – décor that might break or topple over. Cover up the Christmas light sockets – little fingers can easily poke these.
2. Set up a ground floor siesta room for the grandparents. Lolo and Lola might not be up for a hike, so save the upstairs rooms for the other guests. Prepare a quiet place downstairs where they can rest or take a nap before Noche Buena.
3. Prepare a first-aid kit. A bunch of kids, candy canes, and hot cocoa in one room? It’s best to be prepared. Assemble a kit with band-aids, cotton, disinfectant, alcohol, thermometer, and tweezers. Throw in some calamine lotion, eye drops, laxative, cough medicine, antacid, fever medicine, and anti-diarrhea medication for both kids and adults.
4. Spruce up the living room. Organize your DVDs and magazines or keep them out of sight altogether. Select just a few for the coffee table to minimize clutter. Put away breakables as well.
5. Set up the garden. Decorate a simple bench with Christmas décor to extend the holiday feel outdoors. This can be the area for guests who are smokers.
6. Go buffet. There’s no need for a proper buffet table, use the dining table instead. Just be sure to set up a separate service table for the flatware, dinnerware, and glasses. Rent extra chairs if necessary.

Photo from: