How to Prepare Your Home for Its First Post-Covid Gathering

How to Prepare Your Home for Its First Post-Covid Gathering : As spring blooms and the various vaccines available in the United States become distributed quickly, people are all wondering the same thing. How do I celebrate when it’s all over?

The U.S isn’t completely out of the woods yet, but, with vaccination rates rising rapidly, many homeowners are dreaming of finally inviting friends and family over for some much-needed quality time.

If you have the hosting itch — and want to impress your guests when the time comes — you might consider updating your home prior to your event. It’s been a while since anybody’s hosted even a small group at home, so here are some tips to keep in mind and some of the top amenities that’ll surely impress and entertain your guests.

Taking the party outside

Most of America has been cooped up at home for the better part of a year. Let’s not force your guests back inside for another night and take the party outside. The first step? Spruce up your private outdoor space with some simple maintenance.

Once your yard is tidy, you’ll then want to focus on buying some coveted outdoor amenities. According to HomeLights Spring 2021 Survey, 76.8% of agents claim the top outdoor amenity going into summer is a fire pit. Barbecue grills, outdoor lights, and comfortable outdoor furnishings are also at the top of real estate agents’ list.

If you don’t have the budget for huge purchases, outdoor games will also impress your guests at parties. Cornhole, horseshoes, cricket or other fun activities will keep your guests entertained all night long!

Hosting your party inside

If you don’t have the space to host outside — or weather inhibits your ability to do so — you’ll have to keep your guests inside. Entertainment should still be the name of the game, and nothing will keep your guests occupied all night like a rec room.

If you have extra space, a billiards table or ping pong table is a great addition to any party — better yet if you have a separate playroom for the little ones. If you’re planning on doing some heftier renovations, a separate bed and bath for guests is the top basement entertainment upgrade nationwide, according to top real estate agents.

Your next focus? Well, it’s hard to even talk about entertaining at home without mentioning the kitchen. Often during most at-home gatherings, guests spend a lot of time gathered around your kitchen, so you’ll want to do some upgrades in this area if you want to really impress.

According to real estate agents, the top kitchen amenities for hosting are extra bar seating, a large kitchen island, plenty of storage space to hide food prep messes, and a wine fridge — so you can easily pop open a second or third chardonnay to round out the evening.

As a bonus, these upgrades won’t just satisfy you — and your guests — in the short term, but you’ll also see a rather favorable return on investment when it comes time to sell. In fact, both the indoor and outdoor upgrades noted above will help your home sell favorably once the time comes, so long as you pick an experienced real estate agent to have by your side.