How to Prepare Your Home For Guests Over the Holidays

If you’re opening your home to guests this holiday season, it’s the small details that will make them feel relaxed and comfortable. You’ve selected your own perfume for the party season, now it’s time to scent your home. Whether you’re entertaining on Christmas Eve or hosting friends or family for an entire week, here’s how to use fragrance strategically to create a welcoming atmosphere for your guests.

Set the scene

When hosting a dinner, cocktail party or other holiday event, create a fragrance trail to welcome and guide guests through your home. First impressions count, so clear any hallway clutter and light a scented candle for a welcoming feel. Continue the same fragrance into your entertaining space, arranging a cluster of candles to establish a dramatic moment (be sure to keep them out of reach of children and pets).

Which fragrance to choose?

The juicy scent of Solar Neroli Candle is ideal for a summertime soirée or simply to infuse a feeling of warmth and joy throughout your home. This ode to Palm Beach in Florida offers a lush take on citrus, with a tangle of tangy mandarin, lemon and orange set against the sweetness of neroli.  

For a more formal affair, fill your home with the heady scent of Cuban Tobacco Candle – the mysterious tobacco and sweet-smoky clove are reminiscent of late nights in louche Havana cafes. 

Stay a while

If guests are staying overnight, they’ll appreciate having a sanctuary where they can enjoy a moment of respite. Crisp linen on the bed and a fresh robe in the closet will anticipate their needs but to make their stay memorable, arrange their bedside with care – select a couple of books you think they’ll enjoy reading, place a framed photo of the two of you together, and finish with a candle in a fragrance they’ve previously admired.

Alternatively, select a scent based on their past travels – the zesty citrus and arresting herbal aromatics in Paradiso del Sole Candle will take them straight back to a treasured holiday on the Mediterranean. 

If you’re unsure of their preference, Persian Rose Candle is always a thoughtful choice. This cleansing take on the rose feels fresh and modern, with the floral’s delicate sweetness set against a coil of bergamot zest. The matching Room Spray in the guest powder room is the finishing touch. 

Written by Michelle Bateman