There’s something special about hosting your first Christmas in your new home. From decorating the house to deciding what to serve, there’s a lot to think about, and sometimes it can even be a little overwhelming.
Our guide to hosting Christmas will help you hold onto the magic of the season and make your first Christmas one to remember.
If you have moved to New Zealand and bought your first home, or moved from one house to another, hosting Christmas not long after a home move requires a bit of planning.
Let’s face it, Christmas can be stressful at the best of times. As a general rule, the closer your move is to Christmas Day, the less you should take on.
If you’re moving close to Christmas, don’t offer to host all twenty of your cousins and cook a five-course menu full of dishes you’ve never made before.
Tip: If inviting your entire family is a non-negotiable, ask your guests to contribute to the kai by bringing a dish to share. We’ll cover more on this later.
Your guests won’t care if you haven’t unpacked the garage yet, but they might not enjoy eating Christmas lunch surrounded by moving boxes. Focus on unpacking areas like the kitchen, lounges and bathroom first. Leave the garage, study and spare bedroom until last.
Tip: If you can, host lunch or dinner outside. This will minimise the amount of unpacking you have to do and keep family members out of the kitchen while you cook.
Hosting Christmas in your new home is an invitation to do something new. In New Zealand, it’s common to have Christmas Day with more than just the members of your immediate family, including:
Don’t worry if you can’t get everything you would normally do done before Christmas dinner. Here’s how to get your new home prepared to host guests when you’ve just moved.
These are areas that will be visible, such as your shared spaces mentioned earlier. You can hide the rest of the mess (boxes, half-built furniture, stuff you don’t yet know where to put) in a spare room or garage.
Tip: Your guests won't notice or care about a half-unpacked house, but they will notice if it's messy or unclean. Vacuum, wipe down surfaces and stack stuff neatly if it must be out.
If you are cooking in a new kitchen this Christmas, keep things simple. Choose one or two mains you know how to make, or think about getting a meal box.
Tip: Fill the rest of the menu with store-bought items (cheeses, bakery desserts, and pre-made salad).
You don’t need to have everything set up to host Christmas. Think about what you do have set up and adjust your Christmas dinner to suit. E.g. If your outdoor furniture is easily accessible, have dinner on the deck. If you have your lounge set up, but not the dining area, make a meal that’s easy to eat on a couch or chair.
Tip: Think about what your guests need. Save the comfiest chair for grandparents or those who need it.
If people are having a good time, that’s all that matters. Things that can set the mood but are low-effort are: candles, fairy lights, Christmas music, serving bubbles and drinks when people arrive.
No doubt there will be something messy, but you don’t have time for it on Christmas Day. Simply put it in a plastic laundry hamper and hide it out of sight. It doesn’t matter if it's an unwashed pan from last night’s dinner or the packing rubbish that doesn’t fit in your wheelie bin.
Look, single-use paper plates and utensils aren’t ideal, but it may be all you have access to and time to clean up after dinner.
Tip: Don’t want to use plastic glasses? Turn your lack of glassware into a talking point and ask your guests to bring a festive cup or something creative to drink from.
Kiwi Christmases are all about enjoying time with friends and family, good food, and finally getting some sun. Here are a few ways to make your Christmas dinner setup work when you’ve just moved house.
If you are hosting a family gathering at your new home, you may want to ask your guests to ‘bring a plate.’ If you’re not familiar with this phrase, it means that you should bring a dish of food to share. This does not mean an empty plate!
But wait, isn’t it a bit rude to ask your guests to BYO food? Not in New Zealand. It’s very common to host a ‘potluck’ style lunch or dinner, where each guest brings along something to share.
There are things you should do to make your potluck run smoothly.
Christmas in New Zealand takes place at the start of summer. You’ll probably want to prioritise food that is fresh, fast and seasonal. Common menu ideas include:
New Zealand has some of the best and freshest kaimoana (seafood) in the world. Whether you buy prawns from the seafood market or have a friend of a friend who can get you fresh crayfish, seafood is a winner for your Kiwi-Christmas table.
Hosting a barbecue is a great way to keep Christmas fun, with minimal fuss. From barbecued meat to prawns or corn, you can keep the menu varied and easily ask guests to contribute to the main course.
New Zealand supermarkets largely stock seasonal food. Salads aren’t just popular because it’s summer; it’s also easier to find summer produce.
Strawberries are a quintessential part of hosting a Kiwi Christmas. Most popular desserts, such as trifle or pavlova, require them. There is a catch, though. If you buy them too soon, they will go off before Christmas Day. Buy them too late, and they will go up in price.
This giant cake-sized meringue is a Kiwi staple come Christmas time. Be warned: although a pavlova only requires a few ingredients, they can be tricky to get right.
It’s summer in New Zealand, so you’ll want to consider hosting Christmas outdoors. Just make sure you have a backup plan in case it rains. Here are some tips to set up your first outdoor Christmas in your new home.
Want more tips on hosting a Kiwi Christmas? Check out our guide on how Christmas is celebrated in New Zealand.
Trying to find the balance between enjoying the delights of decorating and not feeling overwhelmed if your home doesn’t look as festive this year can be a bit of a challenge. It doesn’t have to be, though. It really depends on your approach to the process.
Christmas isn’t just about hosting your family and unwrapping presents; it’s about enjoying the magic of the season. One of the best things about decorating is that it almost forces you to slow down and enjoy the process of making your home look festive.
Tip: You can’t do everything, so consider skipping some tasks that you might do this time of year in favour of decorating your space. This could be saying ‘no’ to other Christmas activities (it’s easy to say yes to too much this time of year).
If you usually go all-out on the Christmas decorations, it’s important to temper your expectations if you’ve just moved house.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to think small. Small touches can still make a big difference. A wreath on the front door, stockings hanging from the fireplace, or simply focusing on one visible area can bring festive cheer to your home.
Tip: If you have friends, family or children who love Christmas, why not turn decorating into a fun event? All you have to do is find your box of decorations and leave them to it.
Christmas purists aren’t going to like this one, but trust us when we say that you should consider skipping the real tree this year. Yes, they smell divine and make your home look and feel magical, but driving to the Christmas tree farm, securing it to your car and getting it inside will take more time than you have right now.
Tip: With a fake tree, you can set it up in minutes, and you won’t have to vacuum dead pine needles up every day.
Did you know that New Zealand homes are increasingly getting smaller? Due to more multi-unit dwellings and smaller stand-alone houses, the median floor area of new homes has fallen year on year since 2010. This makes it tricky to find the perfect Christmas tree spot in your new home. Here are some workarounds to make it possible:
One of the best parts of moving into a new home is the opportunity to create new traditions. You might want to:
It wouldn’t be Christmas without the art of gift-giving. Hosting Christmas in your new home is a great way to put a few ‘must-have’ items on your wish-list.
Here are some ideas that you (or those buying for a first home buyer) should keep in mind:
If you haven’t moved yet, booking a professional mover is one easy way to set yourself up for success. At Wise Move, you’ll find trusted and affordable movers ready to help you move anywhere in Aotearoa. Book now to lock in the best moving teams in your area for your move before Christmas.
