Decorating for the Holidays

Now that Halloween's witches and gobblins have come and gone, our attention seems to turn to the next celebration time of the year - Christmas.  Decorating one's home for the season can be tricky especially if trying to sell.  Too many Holiday lights, nickknacks and overloaded Christmas trees only serve to distract prospective buyers from really seeing your home and what it has to offer.  Overly cluttered with Christmas decor does not sell houses any more that other types of clutter.  Here are some suggestions:

• Keep outside lights simple and white.  Remember that we live in a diverse culture and Snowmen, Santa Clauses and Nativity Scenes, although fun and/or symbolic of the season, may be too distracting.
• Inside, less is more.  For this one year only that your home is for sale, display only a few choice decorations that do not conflict with the the salient selling features of the home.
• If you have a Christmas tree, keep it smaller than usual and simply decorated.  Again, minature white lights work best with tasteful decorations. 
• Remember that this is the Holiday Season and a time the family is usually quite excited.  However, never lose sight of the fact that prospective buyers may want to come and view your home today or tomorrow.  Engage all family members in keeping up with a "staged" presentation of your home that highlights an appealing lifestyle image.  This cannot be a time to slack off or you may still find yourself with your home still on the market in the new year.

If you follow these few suggestions, your home may sell quickly leaving you and your family lots of time to fully enjoy the Holiday Season according to your family's special traditions.