The holiday season is a time for family traditions, which also means family visits. Make an impression on visiting family, friends that stop in, and your neighbors with these festive holiday season upgrades.

Your front door.

The holidays are an outstanding time to upgrade your front door. It’s the first thing family and friends will see when they visit. A new door will freshen the look and feel of your exterior and get your holiday entertaining off on the right foot. It will be the visual start to holiday-themed get-togethers. For thanksgiving, add an autumn wreath with red, yellow and orange leaves. For the December holidays replace it with a wreath of fragrant fir branches and holly leaves.

Your fireplace.

Fireplaces are often the focal point of the living room, making them the perfect home upgrade for the holiday season. While brick remains a beloved, classic look, worn out bricks can be an eyesore. Consider redoing your brick fireplace to make it fresh for the holiday season. If you want to move away from a brick look, leave the brick in the firebox only and cover the outer brick with stylish tile or wood. And since it’s the holidays, don’t forget the importance of the fireplace for decoration. It’s the perfect place for a shiny menorah or even a sleepy miniature Christmas village. Line the mantle with lights and let it fill the living room with a warm, holiday glow.

Your gutters.

If the holiday spirit and friendly competition with the neighbors puts you on a ladder adding row upon row of twinkling holiday lights to your rooftop, you’ll be up close and personal with your home’s rain gutters. This year, before you begin, inspect your gutters for any leaks or structural issues that may compromise their effectiveness.  Bad gutters can cause water collection or misdirection that can lead to structural damage to your home. If you want to upgrade, do so before the coldest parts of winter begin. Consider investing in new gutters with a high load-bearing capacity. And when you install those holiday lights, consider LED lights over incandescent – they can save you considerable money on your energy bill.

Your windows.

The holiday season can also be a very chilly season. If your windows are old and drafty, you might find your guests huddling around the fireplace or heater instead of around your holiday pies. Not to mention the energy wasted constantly running heaters to compete with the invading cold. New windows will not only instantly upgrade the look of your home, but new energy-efficient windows can dramatically lower your energy bill as well. Instead, keeping up with the demands from your guests for more hot cocoa, keep your home sealed with a windows upgrade. Then taunt the biting cold outside by decorating your windows with holiday candles and festive window clings of snowflakes and candy canes.

The holiday season is the perfect time for upgrades, but start them quickly to be sure your home is ready for your holiday guests – and the holiday weather. If you’re looking for a home this holiday season that has all of these features already, contact the experts at the Creig Northrop Team today!