• There’s nothing as un-festive as a last minute panic, so make sure you have everything prepared well ahead of time. If you’re rushing around, frustratedly clearing clutter when your guests arrive, they aren’t going to feel very welcome, they’re going to feel in the way. So empty the boxes out of the spare room in good time and put in a few nice welcoming touches, like candles or fresh flowers.

• This is a real life saver: make a spare set of keys for your guests. Not only will this allow them to come and go as they please, making them feel at home rather than on lockdown, but it frees you up too, so you wont have to wait in or wait up.

• To supplement those sleepovers, invest in an inflatable air mattress. These things are invaluable, as at the touch of a button, presto, you’ve got an extra bed. And during the day, you can deflate it, roll it up, and put it in a cupboard out of the way. Just remember to check for leaks.

• Give your visitors that real “welcome guest” experience that they would get at a fancy hotel by laying out a basket of travel size soaps, shampoos, lotions and a pile of fresh towels in the bathroom.

• If you’ve got visitors coming from far away, from a different time zone maybe, then you could run into that age old problem of your guests waking up far earlier than you. Heck, this can happen if you have people coming from the next town over! You might have even experienced this from the other side of the guest room door, sitting fully dressed in a small bedroom waiting for your hosts to wake up. So why not put a little TV, perhaps with some headphones, in the guest room, along with some books and magazines. That should help keep everyone comfortable no matter the hour.

• Your guests may want to do some exploring of your vicinity on their own, so draw up a map of your neighborhood and environs, pointing out points of interest, and get them a guidebook flagging any special places or activities that they might be interested in.

• Make sure to provide a surface or suitcase rack where your guests can open their luggage. There’s nothing worse than having to spread out your belongings all over the floor, so clear out part of the closet and provide some hangers.

• Have you ever had that experience of being at someone’s house, you want to get a glass of water and you have to go through every cupboard in the kitchen till you find the right one? Well, you’re proud of your place so give your guests the grand tour. Point out where glasses, dishes and silverware are kept, as well as tea, coffee, cereal and snacks and you can encourage those early risers to help themselves.

• To help the process along, actually set up coffee stuff for the morning. Have the percolator loaded and ready to go at the flip of a switch, or at least make sure the mugs and spoons and so on are on the counter. Let’s face it, everyone feels better after some morning coffee.

• If you’ve got guests coming for a special event, let them know what to expect as far as household schedules are concerned. Clarify when people get up and go to bed, and mention any thing special that is in the works to minimize miscommunications.

Of course, the main thing is to have a good time with your guests. Let’s face it, you invited them there for a reason, so enjoy the time you get to spend together, kick back and enjoy some holiday cheer. In fact, you may actually hate to see them go.