If you are having guests over to stay at your house this Christmas, chances are that you’ve taken a look around and are feeling embarrassed about the condition of your property. However, there are many quick and relatively simple DIY projects you can complete that will leave your home looking fantastic once again.

1. Give your Yard a Makeover

Spending a few hours in your yard removing weeds, raking up leaves and picking up any litter that may have found its way into your yard can make a tremendous difference to the overall appearance of your home. You can further add to the aesthetic appeal of your home by planting some bright and colourful flowers along your grass borders or in pots placed around the yard. If you prefer not to use chemical-based weed killers, boiling water or even vinegar will help remove them.

2. Beautify your Bathroom

One of the easiest ways to give your bathroom a makeover is to clean or paint the tile grouting by using grout pens or paint that has been manufactured specifically for grouting. Other ways to spruce up your bathroom before welcoming guests over for Christmas include giving fixtures like taps, mirrors, basins and baths a good scrub, or even purchasing new towels and fancy soap to put out.

3. Replace Toilet Seats

There’s little else that’s worse than trying to sit on a toilet seat that keeps moving around due to it having dodgy hinges. In many cases, older toilet seats simply don’t look good after a while as well. For around $20 to $30, you can purchase a high quality toilet seat that will last for many years.

4. Give your Home a Coat of Paint

If painting your entire home seems like too much of a daunting task to tackle yourself, why not just give a few rooms inside a fresh coat of paint? If money is tight, focus on one or rooms that will be most used by guests such as guest bedrooms, bathrooms, the kitchen or even the lounge room. You can complete the fresh new guest room look by putting up a new set of curtains or replacing the doona.

5. Don’t Discount the Spring Cleaning

Another excellent – and highly affordable – way to prepare your home for Christmas is to give it a deep clean inside and outside. Washing windows will make everything look brighter almost immediately, while doing a quick vacuum and dust throughout the inside and lighting one or two scented candles will help ensure that there are no mystery smells doing the rounds when your guests walk through the front door for the first time.

Roping the family in to help you with accomplishing these tasks will enable your home to be as welcoming as possible to your guests during this festive season. When performing tasks such as those mentioned above, always keep your physical limitations in mind. If a task is too big to tackle, it may be a good idea to call in a professional instead.