Lifestyle

Christmas hosting essentials: celebrating the festive season in your new Shared Ownership home

19 November 2025

You’ve reserved your Shared Ownership home, finalised all the legal steps, and moved in just ahead of the festive period. There’s probably a lot of excitement and nerves at the moment, which will only be amplified if you decide to host Christmas for the first time in your new home.  

But there’s no need to stress. With the right amount of planning and preparation – along with our Christmas hosting checklist – you can invite your family and friends round while being able to fully enjoy Christmas stress-free. 

Your hosting Christmas checklist

Whether your Shared Ownership home is the first time you’ve moved home, or you’ve done it several times before, moving house can be a busy and hectic time. Here’s a checklist to keep your Christmas party planning under control, and avoid preparation spiralling into something bigger than it needs to be: 

• Prepping and decorating
• Finalising your guestlist
• Planning your entertainment
• Organising food and drink
• Tidying up

Prepping and decorating: keep it simple

When hosting Christmas for the first time, it can be tempting to go overboard. You’ve suddenly got all this new space in your Shared Ownership home, and you want to fill it with Christmas decor. 

The thing to remember is that sometimes, less is more. While you’ll definitely want to put your mark on your new place, trying to fill every available space can make it feel smaller than it is. This is particularly true with Christmas trees and other decorations that can really eat up the room if left unchecked. 

You also don’t necessarily need to go all-out with splurging on decorations. Buying a new home can be expensive, and with Christmas presents still to buy, you might find yourself being more budget-conscious than usual. A few quick tips to get started with affordable decorations include: 

• Sharing is caring: Ask friends and family whether they could lend you decorations for this first festive period in your new home. Many people end up with more festive trinkets than they’d ever need, and they’ll likely be happy to share them out rather than gather dust in the loft
• Don’t neglect charity: There’s no harm in browsing charity shops around this time of year to try and find some festive bargains. You might be lucky enough to find a suitable tree, but if not, extra plates and glasses can help to serve up your food and drink on a budget
• Keep it homemade: If you want to keep hosting as affordable as possible, skip the Christmas shopping entirely and decorate your new place with homemade decorations. Paper snowflake bunting, for example,  is quick and easy and can add a personalised touch that your guests will remember

Finalising your guestlist: keep it intimate

Near the top of any list of Christmas hosting essentials is a guestlist that keeps the atmosphere alive without being overwhelming. You might be tempted to invite along everyone and anyone, but by keeping the list as modest as possible, you’ll create a comfortable space that remains manageable. 

This might mean hosting Christmas for the first time – twice. Invite your friends round a week or so before the big day, and then save Christmas day for just family (or vice versa, depending on your preference). 

While Shared Ownership homes are typically very spacious with modern design, there’s no need to make it cramped by inviting too many people round at once.

Planning your entertainment: keep it flexible

First things first: make a Christmas music playlist. This doesn’t even necessarily have to be festive tunes that you’d hear performed by carol singers; choose music that reminds you of the cosiness of Christmas, or even summery anti-Christmas songs that take you to sunny beaches and warmer nights. 

You might also buy or borrow a selection of board games and party games that can help out if conversation lulls. Keeping these in a cupboard of your new Shared Ownership home gives something to turn to any time you host – not necessarily just at Christmas. 

But remember that it’s okay if your evening doesn’t adhere to the plan you’d originally set out. If you’d expected everyone to get involved with Monopoly at 8pm, but the conversation is really warming up – let it. There’s nothing worse than killing a vibe for the sake of scheduling. 

Organising food and drink: keep it manageable 

Overspending at Christmas is common. When it comes to food and drink – especially if you’re hosting Christmas for the first time – you might end up buying far more than anyone would ever need. The best way to get around this is by making an objective list as early as possible, so you have something to try and stick to when the big day comes round. This might involve: 

• A turkey (or vegetarian-friendly alternative) 
• Vegetables for roasting
• Christmas stuffing
• Pigs in blankets
• Gravy mix
• Alcoholic and soft drinks
• Desserts and sweet treats
• Snacks for before dinner and late into the evening

If you can try to stick to this list as closely as possible, your refreshment budget shouldn’t balloon out of control. You might also ask certain friends or family members to bring food or drink round to help share the responsibility – particularly if there’s a childhood dish you’d love to christen your new Shared Ownership home with. 

Tidying up: keep it consistent

Whether you’re hosting Christmas for the first time or just another dinner party, there’s nothing worse than waking up the next morning and having a mountain of cleaning and washing up to do…particularly if you enjoyed one too many glasses of sherry the night before. 

The best way to combat this? Three words: little and often. If you’re popping to the kitchen to grab somebody another drink, wash up a glass or plate that’s left out before you return to the festivities. It’s a delicate balancing act, as you don’t want to disappear for too long and leave your guests unattended. But if you can get it right, the mountain of chores for the morning after is conquered before it even gets a foothold.