The holidays are a magical time of year—friends, family, extravagant decorations, delicious food and all of your favorite family traditions. Hosting is exciting too, but it’s easy to put a lot of pressure on yourself to make your home impeccable.

Here are eight things you should do before your guests come over for the holidays.

Prep your home for the holidays:

Clean your closet

Know that when you have guests over, you need to have a place to put their jackets and boots. Clean your closet and make sure you have extra room and hangers for guests’ coats and shoes. Putting their shoes away will help keep dirt out of your home.

Deodorize everything

You can create DIY deodorizer out of essential oils and baking soda. You can sprinkle this mixture on carpet, mattresses, rugs and furniture and vacuum away 15 minutes later for a clean, fresh scent.

Color seal grout

Instead of incessantly spending hours scrubbing your grout lines to make them look new again, you can color seal the grout line and change the color back to the original, or change it to something new. Color seal also protects your grout from future spills and stains. Learn more about our color seal and tile cleaning services.

Clean upholstery

When preparing for the family to stay at your house, it’s possible a relative or two may end up sleeping on a couch. To make sure they are sleeping on a clean surface with no allergens or odors, get your upholstery cleaned by a professional furniture cleaning service.

Add baskets

Adding a basket to bathrooms and guest rooms is an easy way to give your guests what they need before they need it. Fill baskets with towels, hand towels, washcloths, toilet paper and extra toothbrushes for the bathroom. In the guest rooms and living rooms, fill with blankets and clean house socks. Baskets also work well in a room to quickly declutter.

Clean your carpet

Deep cleaning your carpet is a must do before your home is filled with guests during the holidays. Removing allergens and deodorizing the odors stuck in the fibers is the job for a professional cleaning company. Learn how to choose a professional cleaning company to clean your home for the holidays.

Declutter and donate

Making sure that your home is free of extra messes is essential for a smooth holiday get together. This includes cleaning countertops in your kitchen, making sure you’ve decluttered your bathroom storage and making sure guest’s rooms are free of extra “stuff”. Anything you’d like to remove put in a box for donations during the holidays.

Add rugs

To keep your home clean before, during and after the holidays, add rugs to your home to protect your floor and loose dirt from getting into your carpet or scratching your hardwood. Encourage guests to take their shoes off when they enter your home. Find more helpful ways to prevent wear and tear on floors.

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Hosting Thanksgiving this year? I hate to break it to you, but no matter how much you plan, if your household is anything like most, you will have half naked tiny humans running around refusing to wear their designated “Thanksgiving Attire,” as your guests arrive 45 minutes early, to a hectic kitchen, a burned casserole (or two) and a husband rushing around the yard trying to finish blowing the leaves so Uncle Fred can find the driveway.

Here are a few tips to help make your Thanksgiving Morning run a little more smoothly.

1. Prep the day before.  Anything from clothes for the tiny humans to food. Make sure outfits are clean and laid out. Let the kiddos know before they go to bed that their clothes are laid out and to get up and get dressed just like they would on a school day. For food: Items such as potatoes, vegetables, and casseroles, as well as some desserts, can be made the day before. If you leave it all to the day of your big feast you’re setting yourself up for a very stressful morning.

Speaking of stress…

2. Don’t stress your kids out. You stressing out, will stress them out, leading to epic meltdowns and puddles of children on your kitchen floor. Remember to keep your expectations of them in check. You’ve dressed them up, you’re asking them to interact with adults, a lot of them they see only a couple of times a year, and you’re expecting them to eat foods they probably never see except at the Thanksgiving or Christmas table. Assign the most laid back family member you have to them and let them play until dinner is served. Have a couple of board games, crafts and snacks set out to keep them entertained and most of all out of your kitchen.

3. Don’t be a Hero. Don’t be afraid of the word “Potluck.” Potluck is your friend. Keeping your kids alive and cleaning your house is chore enough without the added pressure of doing all of the cooking yourself. In our family everyone has a signature dish and that’s what they bring. It’s almost a requirement.

4. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Remember Thanksgiving is about being Thankful for what we have, and for spending time with our family. If you didn’t have time to iron the table cloth (or even find it.) No biggie, chances are no one is going to notice anyway.

5. Know your Boundaries. Don’t be afraid to say no to taking on any extra tasks, on or around Thanksgiving and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Keep Aunt Sally busy with setting the table, the kids with decorations and if cleaning is stressing you out, spend the extra bucks to have someone come clean for you. It will be well worth the money to keep your sanity in check.

In the end, it doesn’t matter if you forgot the pecan pie, or if the dishes all matched. It’s about spending the day with family and friends and being thankful for them.

What tips do you have for keeping your day on track and as stress free as possible?

When magician extraordinaire Justin visits Sesame Street to put on a magic show for the whole
neighborhood, Elmo wants to be part of the big event. But there’s one problem…Elmo doesn’t know
how to do magic!

That’s when Elmo teams up with Abby and Justin, embarking on an amazing journey where Elmo will
discover the “power of yet” —the lesson that with perseverance and practice, nothing can stand
between you and your dream. Along the way, Elmo and Abby, joined by their friends Cookie Monster,
Big Bird, Grover, Rosita, Count von Count, and Gonger, discover the many magical moments in everyday
life.

In the end, Elmo learns that you can do anything you set your mind to if you just keep trying! Join your
favorite Sesame Street friends on this magical adventure when Sesame Street Live! Make Your Magic
comes to your neighborhood.

Tickets available at Ticketmaster.com, by calling 1-800-745-3000 or in person at the BJCC Concert Hall
Box Office.

GIVEAWAY!

Each day this week BirminghamMommy will be hosting a Trivia Giveaway on our Facebook page, so get ready to test your Sesame Street knowledge and win some tickets and other great Prizes!

The BIG McWane Discount is back! We’re partnering up with the McWane Science Center for their Annual Membership Drive, and we’re offering Birmingham Moms some BIG Savings!

We’re offering this AMAZING discount of $10 off any membership level to our readers, and it’s good for 1 week only!! November 11th – November 17th.

It’s THE biggest discount you will see this year for the McWane Science Center and it’s only available through BirminghamMommy.com

Here’s how to take advantage of this deal:

Use Code BHAMMOMMY18 to purchase online at McWane.org
Purchase in person from a BirminghamMommy representative  (Schedule of locations below)
In person at the McWane Center

If you’re currently a McWane member, you can renew for next year at this rate!

You can purchase as many of these memberships as you want as gifts! Tip: Call the grandparents, aunts and uncles and let them know this is what your kids want for Christmas. They can mark you off of their shopping list and it takes up no space in your house! A win/win for everyone.

We’re moms, we know you’ll be out and running errands.  To make purchasing easier, we will be set up at some offsite locations that we hope will be convenient for you.

Here is a tentative schedule of where we will be and when. We will be updating any changes to these locations and times on Social Media. Please make sure to check before heading out. Look for a BirminghamMommy Rep in the following locations. (We’ll be wearing our BhamMommy t-shirts!)

Tuesday:

DIYC Crafts in Homewood,
No rep on location but forms available during regular business hours. 10am-6pm

Instant Sign Center in Trussville
No rep on location but forms available – 12pm-4pm

Wednesday:

Starbucks in Hoover off of Hwy 31
9am – 11am

DIYC Crafts in Homewood,
No rep on location but forms available during regular business hours. 10am-6pm

Instant Sign Center in Trussville
No rep on location but forms available during regular business hours. 10am-4pm

Thursday:

DIYC Crafts in Homewood,
No rep on location but forms available during regular business hours. 10am-6pm

Instant Sign Center in Trussville
No rep on location but forms available during regular business hours. 10am-4pm

Friday:

Lights Up at the Summit
Between the Movie theater and the former Pier One

5pm – 8pm
We’ll have forms available at our table, stop by and see us!

DIYC Crafts in Homewood,
No rep on location but forms available during regular business hours. 10am-6pm

Saturday:

The Heavenly Donut Co.
4911 Cahaba River Rd, Ste 105
Birmingham, Alabama 35243

8am – 10am
*Free doughnut and BhamMommy t-shirt with purchase of a membership

DIYC Crafts in Homewood,
No rep on location but forms available during regular business hours. 10am-6pm

A patient awaits treatment in Children’s of Alabama’s emergency department, anxiously rocking back and forth. Such behavior could be written off as fear of the doctor, but to Child Life Specialist Chelsea Brashier and other emergency staff, it’s often a clue to pinpoint the best method of care.

Brashier aided in the November 2016 launch of a pilot project to reduce stress for children with autism and
other sensory sensitivities when they visit the emergency department. Children’s Sensory Pathway removes the barriers to diagnosis and trains staff on how best to care for patients with sensory sensitivities like Down syndrome and autism.

Upon observing the patient, Brashier asked the patient’s parent to complete a brief questionnaire that determines sensory sensitivity. Once the patient is identified as sensory sensitive, a sensory friendly pathway for care is established. Patients on the pathway have access to kits that contain fidget toys, weighted lap pads and noise canceling headphones – items that sooth and comfort the patient.

“After going through the pathway, the patient who was rocking back and forth is now calm, laying down with his blanket and watching a movie,” Brashier said. “And the parent said, “This is the calmest he’s been this whole time. This is amazing.’”

Brashier added, “Every patient is different, but we have a starting point and we can individualize a plan. It’s been great to see the difference in our patients and patient families, and help a population that views the world differently.”

Michele Kong, M.D., who also helped launch the Sensory Pathway, said the emergency department can be
overwhelming to patients with sensory sensitivities, citing loud noises and bright lights. Now that a pathway to care has been tested and proven successful, what was once a highly stressful experience for patient and parent is considerably less so.

“The idea with the Sensory Pathway is for us as providers to be more preventive rather than reactive to some of the additional challenges that these children may face in the emergency department,” Kong said. “This is a huge opportunity for us to be pioneers in this space.”

The next step is expanding the Sensory Pathway to Benjamin Russell One Day Surgery, which specializes in
preparing patients and their families for common surgical services. Children’s staff who will treat those on the pathway began training in June.

“The core goals of this rollout will be the same along with a few anticipated differences,” Kong said. “For instance, unlike the emergency department where patients are unexpected, One Day surgery allows for more preparation time. We will be able to know who is coming, when they are coming and the individual’s unique challenges, therefore allowing us to prepare for the visit.

“We aim to roll out the Sensory Pathway to Benjamin Russell One Day surgery at the end of summer into the beginning of fall,” Kong said. “Our goal is to ultimately expand the initiative system-wide to the rest of Children’s of Alabama.”

ABOUT CHILDREN’S OF ALABAMA

Since 1911, Children’s of Alabama has provided specialized medical care for ill and injured children, offering inpatient and outpatient services throughout central Alabama. Ranked among the best pediatric medical centers in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Children’s provided care for youngsters from every county in Alabama, 45 other states and six foreign countries last year, representing more than 677,000 outpatient visits and more than 15,000 inpatient admissions. With more than 2 million square feet, Children’s is the third largest pediatric medical facility in the U.S. More information is available at childrensal.org.