How to consider offers when selling your home

SOURCE: Homes

Getting your first offers when selling your home is exciting, especially if there are multiple ones.

While the price is important, it is not the only factor to consider when evaluating offers.

What to watch

“Please don’t solely focus on the price. The terms, closing date, financing, contingencies and more make a difference,” said Thomas McCormack, senior partner and broker for Resources Real Estate, located in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

In a home sale contract, contingencies are conditions that protect buyers by ensuring certain requirements are met before they close on the sale. If contingencies are not met, the buyer could back out and the sale could fall through, leaving the home still on the market. Common contingencies include having a home inspection to ensure there are no major or costly issues and having the home appraised to make sure the sale price is not more than the home value.Another common one is a home-sale contingency, which makes the buyer's offer on your home dependent on their ability to sell their current home.

Since contingencies give buyers more ways to back out of sale, they can be dicey for the seller. Closely look at the contingencies and the offer.

“A higher offer with a lot of contingencies can be riskier than a slightly lower offer with fewer ways for the buyer to back out,” said Andrew Fortune, a real estate broker at Great Colorado Homes, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Extremely high offers that are significantly over asking, like a $600,000 offer on a $500,000 list price, could be riskier if the buyer needs to secure financing. Cash offers and pre-approved loans are more secure, so ask the buyer to provide details on their financing when considering offers.

“Check the buyer’s financing terms and verify with their lender that the preapproval is solid," Fortune said. "Some preapprovals are weak, and those deals fall apart during underwriting.”

Your moving timeline is also an important factor. There likely won’t be a perfect offer, but you can negotiate on what is most important to you.

“Negotiate when the offer is close to your target but missing a few key terms you care about,” Fortune said. “If a buyer offers your asking price but wants a 60-day close and you need 30, counter with a closer date.”

You could also negotiate a rent-back agreement with a buyer, which allows the seller to stay in the home for a determined amount of time. The buyer becomes a landlord to the seller temporarily until the agreed upon move-out date. This can be helpful for sellers who are still working out where they are moving to or while they are in the process of buying.

Checklist to consider offers

Evaluate the offered price

• Is this over or under your asking price?

• If over, great!

• If under, by how much? Is this your only offer?

• Does it align with recent sales in your area?

Verify buyer financing

• Is the buyer preapproved or prequalified for a loan from a credible lender? Ask for a statement of approval. If only prequalified, consider asking them to get preapproval.

• What is the loan type: conventional, Federal Housing Administration or Veterans Affairs? Have your real estate agent review loan approvals.

• Did they provide proof of funds or a down payment?

• Cash offers? Verify proof of funds for cash offers.

Considering contingencies

• Home inspection: This is common for buyers to request to have the home inspected for issues. If issues are revealed, the buyer will likely request repairs, negotiate credits or walk away from the sale. Sellers can get a pre-inspection to uncover problems early or decide how much they are willing to negotiate on repairs.

• Appraisal contingency: Lenders might request an appraisal to make sure that the home’s value matches the offer price. If the home is being overvalued, then the buyer might ask to lower the price. Be careful when pricing and be prepared to negotiate.

• Financing contingency: This protects buyers if they are unable to secure a loan. Even preapprovals fall through, so if their financial situation changes and the loan is not granted, this contingency allows buyers to back out.

• Sale of another property: For buyers who are also selling a home, they might have this contingency to ensure they are able to sell their current home before closing on the new house. This can get complicated, but look at their timeline and if their home is close to being sold as well.

Review earnest money deposit

• Amount offered? Typically, people put down 1% to 3% of the sale price.

• Is it competitive for your market? In more competitive markets, more earnest money could indicate a more secure sale.

Consider closing timeline

• Does the proposed closing date fit your needs?

• Is the buyer flexible if delays occur?

• Would they consider a rent-back agreement?

Look at additional terms

• Requests for seller concessions?

• Home warranty included?

• Personal property included/excluded?

Assess buyer motivation

• Is this a primary residence or investment?

• Any signs of urgency? Relocation?

How to handle multiple offers

Having more than one offer is great because it gives you more leverage to negotiate with buyers. The downside is you have to juggle the different offers and terms at once.

“Create a deadline for all offers so you can review them at the same time instead of one by one,” Fortune said. “This keeps the process organized and prevents endless back and forth.”

Have a spreadsheet of all the offers to compare them side by side. Evaluate prices, terms, contingencies, closing dates and earnest money to see what works best for you.

“Seeing everything laid out helps you spot the strongest deal quickly,” Fortune said. “You can accept the best offer, counter one while holding the others or ask all buyers to submit their highest and best by a certain time. Requesting highest and best creates urgency and often improves terms without you doing extra work.”

To garner multiple offers, you must make the property as available as possible for potential buyers to see.

“My advice: Provide pre-marketing time to get the property out to the public before it starts showing,” McCormack said. “Provide enough time for showings. Allow enough time for everyone to get their offer in. This does not mean stalling or delaying unnecessarily. This means communicating so everyone knows the rules of the offering period.”

What if you only get one offer?

If you only have one offer, you are more limited in bargaining power with negotiations. If you don’t like the one offer, it can be hard to decide what to do — accept or reject.

“You realize you are in a moment in time and as a seller it is your right to refuse and kick the can down the road. But guess what? You may not find anyone subsequently willing to make an offer, let alone at the price you want or even the same price as you are now possibly declining,” McCormack said.

Markets change and the future is never clear. It could be a gamble to reject an offer, but that doesn’t mean it won’t pay off.

“I would say a good agent will have a keen understanding of the local marketplace, the activity, pulse and be able to gauge if there’s likely to be competitive buyers in the marketplace right now,” McCormack said.

Offers are the starting points for negotiations so don't discount any that are under the asking price.

“Rejecting offers outright instead of countering kills negotiations before they start. Even if an offer feels insulting, a counteroffer keeps the door open,” Fortune said.

What if you get no offers?

This can happen. If you don’t get any offers after 60 days on the market, you need to revisit your home’s marketing.

“Keep the house on the market. Adjust the price. Change up the photos, the marketing, the approach,” McCormack said. “There are always new buyers entering the market. The second you pull yours is the moment you may have just ‘disappeared’ just as your perfect buyer just entered.”

It could just be a stale housing market, but maybe there is something wrong with the property that could be improved. Before considering pulling the house off the market, look to see if there are things that can be done to bring buyers in.

McCormack's key factors to consider when a house is not selling:

1. Has the property received maximum exposure through marketing efforts in digital, email, social, print and otherwise?

2. Is your agent equipped with the experience and current market knowledge to adequately assess what trends exist in the current marketplace which may impact your listing?

3. Was the property priced correctly from the start?

How to handle getting emotional letters

In competitive markets or when a buyer really wants a house, you may receive a letter pleading for their offer to be accepted. McCormack described these appeals as “love letters” and says to be careful.

“For some sellers, yes, they’ll respond to the heart-tugging,” McCormack said. “For others, sellers don’t like the feeling that they’re being manipulated. And sometimes the description itself might have the reverse effect.”

If it’s important for you to have a young family buy the home, then maybe the letter is compelling. Have a conversation with your real estate agent on how you would like to handle any emotional appeals.

“The other issue for sellers is fair housing. If you as a seller disqualify or decline a solid offer and simultaneously are aware that the buyer is a member of a protected class — religion, race, creed, sexual orientation — you may be exposing yourself to claims of fair housing violations,” McCormack said. “This may not be the case, but the objectivity of the offer, its presentation and its reception may have been influenced by the love letter.”

Decide if you want to see any letters that are submitted with offers. If so, connect with me and I can help you decide if there is any revealing information that could cause issues.

SOURCE: Homes

Should You Hire an Interior Designer?

SOURCE: Realty Times

Whether you’re moving to a new home or considering a refresh or remodel for your current one, you might be asking yourself whether or not you should hire an interior designer. A designer is someone who can create a beautiful space, but this scenario isn’t for everyone.

The following are considerations and both pros and cons that come with working with a designer.

What is Your Budget?

Budget will have to be the biggest consideration when you think about whether you should hire a designer. Designers are not cheap, particularly when they’re experienced. If you’re doing a remodeling project or moving into a new home, you have to think about the significant costs a designer can add to your overall budget.

Some designers will charge a flat fee. Others will charge by the hour.

Some designers will make purchases on your behalf and charge a percentage on each item they buy.

Regardless of the pricing structure, talk to some designers in your area to get a feel for the rates. You may figure out a designer isn’t even in your budget. It could force you to sacrifice in other areas of your project that you’d rather not if you hire someone.

What Services Do You Need?

Designers can do a lot of different types of work, and they may have varying areas of specialty. Services many designers offer can include design consultations, space assessment and space planning. Designers may offer purchasing and procurement or full-scale project management if you’re doing a remodel or custom build.

Some designers won’t work with you unless you’re paying for their full services, but others will charge by the hour and work with you on an as-needed basis.

Do You Have a Distinct Style?

When you hire a designer, even if their vision is similar to your own, ultimately they’re bringing their personal style to your home. Some people like this, but if you have a style that you prefer or a vision, you might be better off doing things yourself.

If you’re someone, on the other hand, who’s indecisive and takes a long time to figure out what you like, a designer can actually end up saving you time and money. They can become someone who guides your decisions.

Some people love to make decisions and find that it’s easy for them to do so, and if you’re that person, you could find it hard to work with a designer. On the other hand, if you’re someone who’s overwhelmed by choices, a designer can be well worth their fee.

You may find that a designer doesn’t create a space you feel reflects who you are. A good designer will work with you to learn about your family, your priorities, and how you use spaces, but still they may not capture these elements as you would.

Are You Patient?

An interior designer can help you figure out the logistics of home design that you might not otherwise think about. They do tend to take their time with projects, however. Good design can take time, and designers will often carefully select items, and they may opt for custom pieces as well. If you want to work quickly, it’s unlikely a designer will be the best choice.

You might instead pick all of your items online or from a local store so that you can bring everything together at once rather than piece by piece.

For some people, hiring a designer is absolutely the best option. It makes things easier for them and helps ensure they get a beautiful and cohesive space. For other people, a lot of the fun of a home project or buying a new home is decorating it and personalizing the space, so you have to decide which category you fall into.

SOURCE: Realty Times

Is January the Best Time To Buy a Home?

SOURCE: KCM

You may not want to put your homebuying plans into hibernation mode this winter. While a lot of people assume spring is the ideal time to buy a house, new data shows January may actually be the best time of year for budget-conscious buyers. 

Kind of surprising, right? Here’s why January deserves a serious look.

1. Prices Tend To Be Lower This Time of Year

Lending Tree says January is the least expensive month to buy a home. And there’s something to that. January has historically offered one of the lowest price-per-square-foot points of the entire year. But the spring? That’s when demand (and prices) usually peak. And that’s not speculation – it’s a well-known trend based on years of market data.

So, how much less are we talking? Here’s a look at the numbers. According to the last full year of data, for the typical 1,500 square foot house, buyers who closed on their home in January paid around $23,000 less compared to those who bought in May.

Now, your number is going to depend on the price, size, and type of the home you’re buying. But the trend is clear. For today’s buyers, it’s meaningful savings, especially when affordability is still tight for so many households.

2. Fewer Buyers and More Motivated Sellers 

And why do buyers typically save in the winter? It’s simple. Winter is one of the slowest times in the housing market each year. Both buyers and sellers tend to pull back, thinking it’s better to wait until spring. And that means:

• You face less competition

• You’re less likely to get into a multiple offer scenario

• Sellers are more willing to negotiate (since there aren’t as many buyers)

With fewer buyers in the market, you can take your time browsing.

But winter doesn’t just thin out the pool of buyers, it also reveals which sellers truly need to sell. Because fewer people are house hunting during the colder months, sellers who really need to move tend to be more open to negotiating. As Realtor.com explains:

“Less competition means fewer bidding wars and more power to negotiate the extras that add up: closing cost credits, home warranties, even repair concessions. . . these concessions can end up knocking thousands of dollars off the price of a home.”

This can include everything from price cuts to covering closing costs, adjusting timelines, and more. It doesn’t mean you’ll automatically get discounts on every home. But it does mean you’re more likely to be taken seriously and given room to negotiate.

Should You Wait for Spring?

Here’s the real takeaway. When you remove the pressure and frenzy that comes with the busy spring season, it becomes much easier to get the home you want at a price that fits your budget.

But if you wait until spring, more buyers will be in the market. So, waiting could actually mean you spend more and you’d have to deal with more stress.

Now, only you can decide the right timing for your life, but don’t assume you should wait for warmer weather before you move.

Buying in January gives you: less competition, potentially lower prices, and more motivated sellers. And those are three perks you’re not going to see if you wait until spring.

Bottom Line

If you’ve been thinking about taking the next step, this season might give you more opportunity than you think.

Curious what buying in January could look like for you? Connect with me to take a closer look at your numbers and the homes that are available in your area.

SOURCE: KCM

Selling in Winter? Why Late-Year Listings Can Still Pay Off

SOURCE: Realtor

Conventional wisdom says the housing market peaks in spring and runs hottest through summer, when warm weather and school breaks draw more buyers in. Homes typically sell faster, spark more bidding wars, and command stronger prices—factors that prompt many homeowners assume that if they didn’t list by July, they’ve missed their moment.

“The traditional advice would be to avoid listing a house in November or December because oftentimes buyers tend to be distracted during this time of the year with the holidays,” explains Tali Raphaely, a real estate investor and president of Armour Title Company. “Additionally, listing a house in the winter in cold weather regions could also be tricky because bad weather could affect showings, open houses, etc.”

And last winter, the housing market really did stall. Homes spent an average of nine days longer on the market than they did in December 2023, and inventory slipped 8.6% month over month, according to Realtor.com® data.

But this year’s market is different. Mortgage rates are at 12-month lows, inventory is higher than last year (but growth is slowing), and prices remain steady nationwide. That combination is creating an opening for sellers willing to list when most others are waiting for spring.

“The collapse of the competitive landscape due to a lack of listings creates an opportunity,” says Sain Rhodes, real estate expert at Clever Offers. Here’s how sellers can take advantage of it.

‘Serious buyers only’

End-of-year buyers aren’t browsing for fun: They’re shopping with a deadline. Or, as Rhodes puts it, “a true market advantage: serious buyers only.” 

As a seller, you don’t need to deal with lookie-loos or noncommittal house hunters who end up stringing you along. Winter buyers are often up against hard deadlines themselves: Corporate relocations that need to be completed before payroll and tax calendars reset; school enrollment deadlines before the new term begins; divorcing spouses that need to transfer or purchase property before end-of-year settlement agreements.

Because these buyers are driven by urgency rather than curiosity, they tend to make decisions more quickly, write cleaner offers with fewer complications, and close on time. And with fewer listings on the market competing for their attention, sellers are likelier to secure solid offers from people who are ready, willing, and able to move forward right away.

Plus, there’s less downside to listing in the winter than most seller’s realize. 

“It's important to note that many houses remain on the market for several months,” says Raphaely. “It's usually not ideal to have your house on the market for too long because then it starts looking to buyers like something may be wrong with the house. But that stigma generally doesn't begin until after four months or so; therefore, listing in November or December still allows the seller to attract buyers who enter the market in January or February.”

In short, listing in the cold months can help you be well positioned for when the market starts to heat up again.

Mortgage rates and year-end financial strategy

Another benefit sellers may find in listing in the winter is the advantage that lenders extend to buyers as the year wraps up.

Buyers often find more flexibility from lenders who are trying to meet year-end volume targets with slightly better pricing, faster decisioning, or more willingness to structure a deal around a buydown or concessions. That can drive buyer activity that only sellers who list before the holidays can benefit from.

Plus, with mortgage rates already hovering near 12-month lows, another potential Fed cut before 2026, and affordability beginning to thaw in many markets, the end of the year is now motivating a very different type of buyer. Many who spent the first half of the year on the sidelines are reentering the market, not because they want to wait for spring, but because this may be their best chance to secure a rate they can live with.

Year-end tax strategy also plays a role. Buyers who close before Dec. 31 may be able to capture deductions—such as mortgage interest, points, or prepaid property taxes—within the current tax year, rather than waiting another 12 months. For some households, especially in higher-tax states, those benefits can translate into savings, motivating them to keep negotiations moving.

Properties that perform well late in the year

Some properties are especially well positioned to benefit from a late-year listing, and homes that appeal to investors often top that list.

Investor activity has shifted meaningfully in the past few years. In 2024, roughly 13% of homes purchased were bought by investors, according to the 2024 Investor Report from Realtor.com®. Today, small investorsnow make up the majority of investor purchases, and they’re relying more on financing rather than cash, which means they are often more sensitive to tax timing, interest-rate changes, and year-end financial planning. 

That makes sellers with homes that appeal to investors—like single-family homes and townhouses—particularly well positioned in the final weeks of the year when investors may be highly motivated to close.

Late-year listing can also work to a seller’s advantage in high-demand school districts, where families relocating for new jobs or trying to secure an enrollment spot for the next semester continue to search even as holiday travel and winter weather slow the market as a whole. 

Climate can even add an advantage, says Raphaely.

“In warm weather regions, sellers could also possibly benefit as a result of buyers leaving colder climates in the winter, thus setting up perfect timing to attract those potential buyers,” he says.

Across these property types, the advantage comes from the same underlying forces: scarcity, urgency, and timing. Whether it is an investor hoping to maximize year-end tax positioning or a relocating household on a firm deadline, late-year buyers need to be decisive—and that can be a huge advantage to sellers.

Pricing strategy for late-in-the-year sellers

Not every seller has a home in a top-rated school district or a property that investors will compete for, but pricing is one lever every seller can control. And, at the end of the year, it matters more than ever.

With fewer listings and more motivated buyers, lean on your pricing strategy to do the heavy lifting, says Rhodes.

“Pricing requires aggressive realism later in the season because the interested buyer thoroughly researches the purchase dollar amounts and will not pay more than the home’s true worth,” she explains. 

Rhodes advises sellers to price decisively from Day 1, rather than testing higher ceilings and risking a stale listing.

“Houses priced aggressively in the last month of the season will sell with multiple offers more quickly than houses priced more realistically during the same period,” she explains.

Once again, it's a function of urgency and timing. A home listed in November or December can capture serious year-end buyers and, if it doesn't sell by the end of the year, meet a new wave of shoppers returning after the holidays—without the baggage of months of market history and price cuts that weaken negotiating power.

And while strategy matters, Raphaely reminds sellers not to let timing anxiety dictate their decisions: “Ultimately, it’s good for sellers to list their house when they’re ready and not try to time the market or the seasons.”

Allaire Conte is a senior advice writer covering real estate and personal finance trends. She previously served as deputy editor of home services at CNN Underscored Money and was a lead writer at Orchard, where she simplified complex real estate topics for everyday readers. She holds an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from Columbia University and a BFA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College. When she’s not writing about homeownership hurdles and housing market shifts, she’s biking around Brooklyn or baking cakes for her friends.

SOURCE: Realtor

How to Get Your Home Ready for Casual Winter Entertaining

SOURCE: Houzz

Use this handy checklist to prepare for low-key gatherings during the colder months

When we think about winter entertaining, we often focus on the big holidays. But we host plenty of other gatherings this time of year — cookie-baking and football-watching parties, casual dinners, chats over a cup of coffee. Here’s how to make your house cozy and welcoming for you and your guests this season.

Finish the Big Maintenance Jobs

Take care of fall maintenance jobs before winter cold sets in so you and your guests are comfortable and safe.

Have your heating system cleaned and checked, and your boiler serviced. Experts recommend having oil heaters cleaned yearly and gas systems maintained every three years or so. You should have the filters in your furnace changed regularly as well. It’s recommended that boilers be serviced annually by a qualified engineer.

Get your gutters cleaned. Cleaning leaves out of your gutters ensures they function properly to keep water away from your building envelope and help you avoid leaks.

Call the chimney sweep. If you have a fireplace, have your chimney inspected and cleaned once or twice a year. A clogged chimney can lead to house fires or carbon monoxide entering the home.

Test your fire and carbon monoxide alarms and check your extinguishers. As you and your guests will be spending a lot of time indoors, be sure to check your safety devices. Test your fire and carbon monoxide alarms, change batteries as necessary and check the expiration dates on your fire extinguishers.

Do Some Deep Cleaning and Decluttering

Between the big holidays and casual get-togethers with friends, you may be entertaining more now than at any other time of year. Use this as an excuse to clean, declutter and organize now rather than waiting until spring.

Deep clean your kitchen, dining and living rooms. Make sure these rooms are spick and span — you’ll get more than enough grease and cookie crumbs on them over the next few months. Focus on the jobs that often get forgotten or put off: dusting around and under books and decor, vacuuming the couch, washing curtains, descaling appliances and cleaning or replacing exhaust filters. This is also a good time to tackle stubborn baked-on stains on cookware and baking trays, and replace any items no longer in good shape.

Get your windows cleaned. Light is at a premium in the winter so make sure your windows are letting as much of it in as possible.

Check your dishware and linens. Check dishes, mugs and glasses for chips and table linens for holes and stains. Toss out and replace any dinnerware that’s seen better days. Count your plates, cutlery and glassware to make sure you have enough for both smaller and larger gatherings.

For casual get-togethers, go easy on yourself and aim for simple table settings, such as easy-to-wipe placemats on a bare table. Check your tablecloths, napkins and any special glasses or dishware too. You’ll be grateful when it comes time to prep for holiday dinners.

Get Your Indoor and Outdoor Spaces Ready for Winter Coziness — and Mess

Prepare your mudroom for wet boots. Your guests will tramp in plenty of rain and snow so make sure your mudroom or hallway can cope with the added mess. Lay down heavy-duty mats outside the door for storing boots and lighter rugs inside to protect the floor and ensure your guests don’t slip on a wet surface.

Move extra coats and shoes to another storage area to make room for your guests’ things. Bring in seating to make it easier to put on winter boots and accommodate guests with limited mobility.

Lean into coziness in your living and dining rooms. Think throw pillows with soft, tactile, natural textures; warm blankets; and plenty of candles on tables and shelves to break through winter darkness. Think about creating small, cozy vignettes throughout the space, particularly for smaller gatherings.

Bring in natural accents. Branches in a vase make a beautiful centerpiece on a dining or coffee table. Evergreen branches — in vases, or as wreaths or garlands on the mantelpiece — are easy Christmas decor, and they can be used throughout winter if you remove holiday accents such as red bows or baubles. Indoor plants too can provide some of the greenery this season.

Prepare your outdoor rooms.
Winter doesn’t mean you have to stay inside if you keep your outdoor spaces looking good. Treat wood features appropriately so they survive winter wet. Clear away fallen leaves, debris and snow on a regular basis, wipe down outdoor dining tables and keep cushions accessible.

Think about setting up a fire pit or prep an outdoor fireplace. Cushions and candles won’t go amiss either. Get your grill or outdoor kitchen in shape if weather allows for cold-weather barbecues. And stock plenty of mulled wine or hot chocolate to keep everyone comfy.

Think about curb appeal.
For a quick update ahead of casual entertaining, consider hanging a winter wreath, creating a container vignette or setting out lanterns.

If you’re ready for a bigger project, plant varieties that provide interest through the colder months. Go for winter-flowering plants such as winter jasmine, plants with winter berries such as English holly (Ilex aquifolium) and grasses that can add sculptural interest even when they fade to brown.

Update Your Lighting Indoors and Out

In the dark of winter, lighting is especially important, so make sure you have a functional, layered lighting scheme that includes both task and ambient lighting. Plug-in, battery-powered and solar lamps and light fixtures can be placed indoors and out to add illumination where you need it without having to rewire.

Throw in some candles (real or electric) or twinkle lights for a touch of winter magic. They’re low cost and low effort, making them perfect for adding a lovely touch to smaller or casual gatherings. Be sure any lights you use outside are rated for outdoor use.

Set Up a Coffee Station

You’re going to be making a lot of hot drinks in the coming months, so why not set up a dedicated drinks station with everything you need for coffee, tea and hot chocolate? Assign part of your counter and cabinet space to the coffee machine, kettle, mugs and ingredients. If you’re planning a remodel, consider carving out space for a dedicated station for the future.

Stock Your Bar and Pantry

While big gatherings are going to have their own grocery lists, keep your bar and pantry well-stocked for surprise visits and impromptu get-togethers.

For your bar or bar cart, think about warming liqueurs, winter cocktails and boozy coffees in addition to your usual selection. Be sure to provide low- or no-alcohol versions of favorite drinks.

To make life easier, consider serving charcuterie or cheese boards, bowls of roasted nuts and quick dinners made with pantry staples.

Keep snacks, coffee, tea and sugar on hand. If you’re an avid baker, make sure you have what you need to whip up a batch of cookies. If that’s not a hobby, packaged snacks kept on hand are just as good for welcoming guests.

Treat Yourself Like the Guest

The best thing about low-key gatherings is that you don’t need fine china or elaborate centerpieces. Instead, think about how to create the most coziness for the least effort. That also means you don’t have to wait for guests to show up to light those candles or indulge in a nice hot chocolate. Set up your spaces so you can treat yourself to winter magic every day.

SOURCE: Houzz