12 Things Every Holiday Host Needs This Season

If any of winter’s biggest holiday events are playing out at your place, chances are you’re not ready for the throngs and are coming up short in some area of preparation: Maybe you aren’t done decorating, are short on space, or don’t have what you need for day-of cooking and cleaning. Checking as much as you can off your to-do list is the name of the game for an effortless holiday season.

This list is meant to help you think ahead to what you and your guests will need on those busy, boisterous days. It covers practical items that help with the most common hosting challenges, from extra seating and serving pieces to cleaning supplies and storage solutions. Whether you’re hosting Thanksgiving, Christmas dinner, or a New Year’s party, having these essentials ready means less scrambling and more time with your loved ones.

There’s really no easier way to sprinkle holiday cheer than to surround yourself with twinkling lights, and why take them down when the winter festivities are over? Govee’s Outdoor String Lights Set 2 rated well in our guide to the best outdoor string lights for a few key reasons: They’re shatterproof, IP65 waterproof, and can be controlled via Alexa or app. Surely some of the 16 million color settings or 47 scene modes will get you and yours into the holiday spirit. 

Use Zircon’s Multiscaner A200 to anchor wreaths, lighting, and other holiday baubles to a stud, and avoid hitting hidden electrical wires in the wall. The Best Overall pick in our tested guide to the best stud finders, Zircon’s stud finder can also detect copper piping, and determine if a stud is metal or wood.

Don’t have a coat closet in your foyer, and don’t want a bunch of people in and out of your bedroom, dropping coats and bags? This heavy-duty steel garment rack is the perfect solution: The top rod extends from 30.25 to 47.25 inches to accommodate few or many winter jackets; use the rack in the laundry room when it’s not on coat duty.

If you’re hosting one of the season’s big feasts or gift swaps, chances are, you don’t have enough horizontal real estate for everyone to sit. These steel-framed folding chairs from Nazura accommodate up to 350 pounds each and have padded backrests and seats.

Elite Gourmet’s triple slow cooker has three 2.5-quart pots, each controlled by its own three-temperature dial. Whether you cook your party hors d’oeuvres in this attractive buffet from the get-go or just use it to keep food warm, one thing’s for sure: the Maxi-Matic beats fussing with Sterno.

Made from FSC-certified, nontoxic bamboo, this oversized cutting board from Greener Chef gives you more food prep or meat carving horizontal space when you need it most. If your gathering is more finger foods and fewer forks, use the board to present a beautiful charcuterie spread. 

If you have sensitive electronics and are looking for a high level of surge protection, the Belkin 12-outlet PivotPlug surge protector is hard to beat. One of the top picks in our tested guide to the best power strips, this is a great pick if you want to keep the party going on your home sound or theater setup.

Like Hansel and Gretel, guests are sure to leave crumbs in their wake. Clean up after them with Black + Decker’s Dustbuster, our top pick in our tested guide to the best handheld vacuums. It’s cordless, and has a crevice tool that gets between couch cushions and in all the nooks and crannies.

This stuff seems to works magic, and is essential before and after holiday festivities: Folex Instant Carpet Spot Remover is VOC, petroleum, and CFC free, and removes stains without scrubbing or washing. Works on pet messes, wine spills, and so much more.

Every home has that one room—or that one nook—that’s super drafty, and luck always has it that it’s always where the family wants to gather. Keep your brood warm (and safe) with the 16-inch, oscillating Dreo Solaris H3 Slim Space Heater, which has automatic power-off protection and a 12-hour timer.

Keep SUPENUIN’s 4-foot heavy-duty rubber boot tray near your front door to corral guests’ muddy boots and wet umbrellas.

Keep the air in your home clean with a top-rated air purifier. This model uses a three-stage filtration system—a prefilter, HEPA filter, and activated carbon filter—to capture 99.9 percent of pollutants. 

 

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