Hosting a holiday party? These are the most time-consuming tasks youll faced
Sixty-five percent of holiday hosts are cleaning their home until the second before their guests arrive, according to a new study.The poll of 2,000 Americans, who plan to host guests for the holidays, found that hosting can be stressful when it comes to having enough time.For many, time is often not on their side — 45% don’t think they’ll have enough time to prepare for hosting guests this year.According to respondents, the source of stress has to do with the tasks they have to complete in preparation.
The most time-consuming task, by far, is preparing meals (40%), followed by shopping for groceries and essentials (16%) and cleaning the kitchen (10%).This stress has led six in 10 to feel like they sometimes have to neglect tasks around their home when preparing for guests — like putting self-care (44%), home improvement tasks (35%), or washing dishes (24%) on the back burner.Facing these time constraints, a quarter of respondents find hosting guests for the holidays to be “extremely” or “very” stressful (26%), particularly worried about cleaning before they arrive (55%) and afterward (64%).Commissioned by FINISH Jet Dry, a dishwasher rinse aid, and conducted by Talker Research, the study found that according to hosts, first impressions are important — especially when it comes to their cooking (69%), how meals are presented (43%) and how shiny their glassware/dishes are (17%).From beautiful tablescapes to sparkling dishes, table settings matter.Three-quarters of hosts also want to ‘wow’ guests with their table setting (76%), while 68% care to impress them with sparkling dishes and glasses.Looking at guest accommodations, this year, 44% will have guests that stay with them and aren’t feeling shy about getting them involved in holiday prep: 68% would ask guests to help with dinner preparations while in their home, and another 60% would ask for help with cleanup.The secret to being the perfect guest? Hosts shared that they’d appreciate help ...