How to party-proof your home this Christmas

It's party season. You've just bought a new [insert soft furnishing here] that you're mad about, invite your pals around to kinda show off the new [softie], they arrive, you pour four red wines and hand them round to each of your friends but inside you kinda die a little bit in case so-and-so laughs a little too hastily spilling red wine blotches over your brand new cushy-thing. 

Am I a house-nazi?

Is it just me who says a little prayer inside when you hand that drink over? 

What do you do if your house is the party house at Christmas and you're having a whole bunch of people over?

Whether you're a hosting goddess always making party plans and already have three gatherings lined up this Christmas, or if you're the only one of your friends who has a fairly big table for everyone to sit around, so your place becomes the party house out of habit, there are definitely some techniques we can all adopt to make sure we aren't being too Hyacinth Bucket on our guests and everyone (including you) can have a fun time. 

Below I've put together some tips for fellow house nazis to stay sane, prevent accidents or just plain get over it, and enjoy the party season!

If all else fails, there's always those beautiful big houses to rent. I always imagine how fun it would be to get all your friends and family staying in a luxury place across the New Year period, free from the worry of spillages! ;)

My top tips for protecting your soft furnishings when hosting a party

1. If it's a brand new sofa you've bought, put a pretty throw and multiple cushions over it, the less surface area on show the better.

2. If you've just had a brand new carpet laid, don't be embarrassed to ask everyone to take shoes off and lay a runner or rug in high traffic areas.

3. If people are chilling with drinks near your new carpet or sofa, make sure there's a coffee table or sofa side table that's reachable to pop their drinks on. That'll prevent any unwanted rings in surfaces. 

4. If you're trying to protect your new worktops, make coasters visible and casually say "do you need a coaster?" instead of racing to push a coaster under everyone's glass before they've even put their drink down (yes, I've done this.)

5. Invest in sturdy, shorter wine glasses. I always find that the taller more delicate glasses can topple easier if it's brushed with a hand accidentally. Invest in shorter glasses for the party season to prevent this happening.

6. If you know it's going to be a wild party with lots of people coming in and out, establish "no-go" zones. For example, keep the party downstairs not upstairs to protect carpets and soft furnishings on the stairs, landing and bedrooms. 

7. Keep the doors to rooms shut to encourage the party to remain in one area – if it's possible, put your new soft thing in a room that won't see much traffic during the party. 

I hope some of these help you to relax and enjoy the best time of the year for gatherings and festivities. 

Do you have any tips for keeping your soft furnishings clean when you have a house load of guests or when the kids are running riot? 

Thanks for listening, 

Fifi x

This post is sponsored however the theme of the post, the words, and tips included are all my own.