Decorating and preparing your holiday cottage for Christmas

Decorating and preparing your holiday cottage for Christmas

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Christmas in a holiday cottage can be a truly magical experience, giving guests the opportunity to bring their families together and celebrate in snuggly comfort, without having to drive home at the end of the day.

There are several ways to encourage Christmas bookings, which we will cover here, but once guests have chosen your cottage, there are also ways you can make their experience extra special. 

Read on for tips on cottage Christmas decorating ideas and advice on how to attract more festive bookings.


Christmas decorations for your cottage

A subtle and tastefully decorated living space

Nothing gets people feeling the Christmas spirit like tinsel, baubles and holiday home Christmas trees, and offering a holiday cottage decorated for Christmas will make your guests feel extra-special. The key is to keep things simple and understated to appeal to all tastes. Pick a colour scheme - gold, red, green, silver - which suits your property and hunt down a selection of Christmas cottage decorations that complement each other.

A wreath for the front door will immediately set the Christmas mood and a holiday home Christmas tree, faux or real, will provide the focal point for a festive living room. Take care not to go too over the top; subtle, natural winter decorations such as pine cones in a glass bowl, or sprigs of holly on the mantelpiece can be more effective than some of the manufactured decorations you can buy.

Small touches such as this painted pine cone can make a big difference

A few other touches to consider include:

  • multiple Christmas trees - try adding smaller trees to rooms other than the main living space to keep the festive feeling going throughout the house
  • wreath - a pretty, circular garland of holly, mistletoe and other festive foliage on the front door will welcome your guests in the perfect way
  • fairy lights - these will add to the cosy feel of your property
  • tableware - laying out crackers, doilies and festive napkins on the table could go a long way to make your guests' holiday extra special
  • stockings - hung up on the mantlepiece, these decorations will get young and old feeling excited

Prior to most Christmas bookings around autumn time, include a few marketing photos featuring your holiday home ready for the festive season. It will help people imagine themselves celebrating there with their families. Our owners are welcome to discuss with their Property Manager about optimising their marketing photos for Christmas bookers.


Be flexible with dates

A Christmas tree branch

The combination of weekends and bank holidays at Christmas varies from year to year, so your bookings are unlikely to come in neat, week-long chunks. Being flexible with changeover days and short break bookings will make it easier for people to book, and you may end up getting several short breaks in a row, for which you can charge a premium.

During the winter months, the weather can be unpredictable at best. If you are aware of travel warnings in your area, you could contact your guests to alert them to this and possibly provide an alternate route. Once they have safely arrived, they should have access to shovels to clear the driveway should they become snowed in and rock salt to safety-proof any slippery outdoor surfaces.


Get the price right

Friends at Christmas dinner

It is essential to price the couple of weeks around Christmas correctly in order to attract advance bookings. People are often willing to splash out a little more at Christmas, especially as they are likely to be spreading the cost between families, but they will still be looking for value for money.

At holidaycottages.co.uk, our Property Managers work closely with owners to analyse the market and set the correct price across the changing seasons.


Make your property feel cosy and warm

A young girl having a warm drink by a fire with a dog

Guests will love returning from crisp winter walks to your cosy cottage where they can snuggle up warm. Set the heating so it is warm for their arrival, and keep baskets of logs topped up if you have an open fire or wood burner. Make sure that the instructions for the heating and hot water can be found in your welcome pack and that your boiler and hot tub is serviced well in time for the Christmas period.

Bedrooms can get a bit nippy in winter, so check the radiator settings and ensure that duvets are an appropriate tog. You may wish to provide extra blankets, even a hot water bottle, for guests to help them feel extra comfortable.

A photo of a warming fire will add the right festive ambience

Before bookings come in, be sure to advertise hot tubs or wood burners and include photos of the room with the fire in action or the bubbling hot tub.

Although often beautiful, the weather at this time of year can cause homeowners problems. To try and tackle this, take a look at our holiday letting winter maintenance checklist.


Add a few festive extras

A Christmas hamper

Throwing in a festive hamper or sweet treats for Christmas bookers may just be the temptation people need to press the ‘book’ button. If you decide to do this, make sure that potential guests know about it by updating your online advert with details of what you’re offering. 

You could consider teaming up with a local caterer who can cook up the Christmas meal with all the trimmings. You can advertise this as an optional paid extra which is available over the festive period. We can also share our owners’ Christmas special offers on our social media channels to help drive bookings.

Christmas cookies wrapped in rustic string

If there’s a time of year to go to town on your welcome pack, this is it! Tasty extras such as mince pies, mulling spices or sachets of hot chocolate will add to the Christmas vibe, and if you’re a keen baker, goodies such as a Christmas pudding or spiced cookies will go down a treat.

See our guide to creating the ultimate welcome hamper for more inspiration.


Offer grocery services

Santa doing the grocery shopping for you

It is quite likely that guests will have travelled a reasonable distance to arrive at your property, at least far enough that they won’t want to travel with groceries in the car. They’ll need to go to a shop at some point but with Christmas organising often being hectic, it might be a godsend for you to save them time and offer to pre-order groceries for them, especially something like a turkey which does often have to be pre-ordered.

If they do prefer to arrange their groceries themselves, perhaps you could leave a list of top local suppliers to give them the best chance of a Christmas they’ll never forget.


Highlight local Christmas events

A Christmas market stall all lit up

It’s likely that there will be a lot of lovely events going on in your area over the Christmas and New Year period. Yet amidst all the Christmas chaos, it’s possible that your guests will have left any planning to the last minute.

From Christmas Markets to places to take a Boxing Day swim in the sea, providing a ‘what’s on guide’ will help your guests to plan their stay.

Let them know:

  • The best Christmas markets featuring local produce and mulled cider, and also when and where Christmas lights will be switched on
  • Give them some recommendations for popular local shops for some last-minute gifts. You could even contact the store owners in advance to try and secure an exclusive discount just for your guests
  • The best place to celebrate New Year’s Eve depending on their guest make up
  • Provide some restaurant options should they not want to cook on Christmas Day

Include fun activities

Friends playing board games together at Christmas

At Christmas, what better way is there to celebrate than by rekindling the sibling rivalry from 12 months ago? However, families are probably unlikely to use up vital packing space with board games. Therefore, if you can help nurture the competition and subsequent celebrations by providing a selection of board games and other entertainment, it could lead to great reviews and repeat bookings.

Things such as Scrabble, Monopoly, Jenga or karaoke could provide hours of entertainment, especially when the winter weather may mean that groups will spend more time indoors than usual. Arts and crafts and a selection of colouring books will be great for children too. See our blog here to help with ways to make your property more family-friendly.


Suggest some winter walks

A family go for a winter walk in the snow

Wrapping up warm and getting outside on a crisp sunny day is one of the best things about a winter holiday, so your guests are sure to appreciate suggestions on where to go to stretch their legs. Bonus points if the walks include a pub stop halfway to warm up with a hearty meal and a Christmas ale by a roaring fire.

If your holiday property is dog-friendly, you may wish to include a list of restaurants, pubs and attractions in the area where guests can take their four-legged friends.


Who is your winter customer?

A couple enjoying Christmas time together

Of course, families are going to be your likely source of income during the school holidays but think about who you might want to attract during off-peak periods. Couples are more flexible in terms of booking a last-minute break, so you might want to give your home a slightly more romantic feel in order to entice twosomes and help fill in those hard to fill gaps in your winter calendar. You could try offering an under-occupancy discount to couples if your property is on the larger side, or maybe some mid-week reductions to appeal to those who can come away at the drop of a hat.

If you do end up with a period of no bookings, put a positive spin on things and use the time wisely to declutter any areas you’ve been meaning to, or just give it an extra thorough cleaning.


We hope these tips will have your Christmas bookings flooding in, but if you find you need some extra marketing clout behind you, please get in touch with our friendly team. We can discuss everything from money matters, to the best room configuration for your property – ask us whatever's on your mind.

If you’re not yet working with us but looking to make more from your holiday home, find out more about letting with us.

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