Selling During the Holidays: Can I Decorate While Selling?

With the holidays coming up I thought it was a great time to talk about decorating your home while you’re trying to sell it. In my opinion decorating for Fall and Christmas is fine, as long as you don’t go overboard. Buyers need to focus on the features of your home that will be staying, and not focus on the holiday decorations. With that in mind, below are several tips to consider if you’re planning to list your home during the holidays:

1. Have your home photographed BEFORE you decorate. Having good quality, professional, photographs of your home for marketing purposes is extremely important. If you know you’re listing your home during the holidays, plan ahead and have your house photographed before decorating. While the goal may be your home going under contract and closing before, or just after the first of the year, there’s a chance it won’t. You don’t want to be marketing your home in January with pictures that include Christmas trees.
2. Stick to Fall decor and keep Halloween decor to a minimum. You don’t want your decorations to be a distraction so keep your decorations simple and to a minimum. It’s okay to display Halloween decor but save the scary items for your next home :).
3. Twinkle lights add warmth and charm. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like twinkle lights. Use twinkle lights on the mantel, bookshelf or porch, they create a nice glow that appeals to buyers.
4. Burn a candle for showings. Not everyone likes a pumpkin or cinnamon scented candle. Play it safe with a vanilla scented candle for the holidays.
5. Update pillows and use throws strategically. If your couch pillows look tired and deflated, spend a little money on fresh pillows to perk up your couch and chairs. My go-to for pillows is TJ Maxx, Homegoods and Target. Drape neutral colored throw blankets on the backs of couches and chairs to add coziness to a room.

I was crunched for time this Fall and kept my decorations to a minimum. For the most part, my decorations would be fine if I had my house on the market, so if you’re thinking about selling soon, use this as a guideline for planning holiday decorations.

Is there anything more charming than a front porch decorated for Fall? I love to see mums and pumpkins on porches. This year I let the kids pick out the mums so we have quite the rainbow going on. One change I would make here if I were selling – I would only display the wagon and decorations around it. I might place a mum or two beside it, but I would remove everything from the front steps.

I always keep my ferns as long as possible. I’m writing this post at the end of October and they are still going strong. To make this display last longer, after Halloween I will take away the jack-o-lanterns and ghosts, and leave everything else through Thanksgiving. I start tossing mums one-by-one as they start looking shabby.

I love the glow of the lights at night.

I have this set on a timer so that at dusk it automatically comes on. The kids and I love seeing this when we drive up at night.

I have this hanging basket on the back door. I change out the faux florals for Fall, Christmas and Spring.

In the family room I kept things pretty simple. I love twinkle lights intertwined with florals on the mantel. It gives such a sense of warmth.

A closer look at the mantel. I purchased the garlands, stems and lights at Hobby Lobby.

My usual wreath above the cooktop has been replaced by a fun fall sign. This is one of my favorite spots to decorate for the holidays.

A few pops of Halloween here and there is fine if you’re selling.

Here’s an example of another decorative piece that I change out seasonally. It stays on the island during the holidays but moves around during the rest of the year.

I love unwrapping these pumpkins every year. My sweet friend Jessica gave them to me probably 15 years ago.

A fun, hand painted plate on the buffet along with a light up pumpkin and a small bowl of candy complete the Fall decor.

I hope you enjoyed the tour! If you’re thinking about selling in the upcoming months I hope you found this information helpful.