Make a handmade holiday gift in multiples. 

If you’d like to try your hand at homemade gifts this year, it can be tempting to choose a different craft for each person on your list — but this can be a recipe for disaster as the days countdown to Christmas and half your list remains unfinished. To maximise your time (and the cost of tools and materials) think up a project that’s easily repeated, and gift a version of it to multiple people.

Poll family and friends about a decorating or renovation decision you’ve been waffling on. 

Trying to choose the right paint colour, upholstery fabric or kitchen tile? Use the holiday weekend as an opportunity to poll the family and friends who come over — even if you don’t agree with their preferences, it can help you figure out what you do want!

Finally put loose photos in albums. 

Dig out a box of photos you haven’t gotten around to sorting, have a stack of blank albums at the ready, and hold a photo-organising session solo or with family. To get through a lot of photos in a single afternoon, keep your albums simple, with just a few notes about the people and places featured.

Try the KonMari method of tidying. 

By now you’ve probably read (or at least heard of) the phenomenally popular book on decluttering, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, by Marie Kondo. Use the time as an opportunity to try out her method of decluttering your home, starting with your clothes.

Decide on a new light fixture or two. 

New lighting can completely transform the look and feel of a space. Having a light fixture replaced is usually a quick and easy job — an electrician can typically get it done in about an hour, more if you’re relocating the fixture or if you want to add a light where none currently exists. Try replacing your old dining room fixture with a beautiful pendant light or pair of lanterns or create a beautiful row of lights above a kitchen island.

Sort through baby clothes to make a memory quilt. 

Even if you’re not a quilter yourself, you can hire someone locally to use the fabric you provide to create a one-of-a-kind keepsake quilt. Sift through all those boxes and bins of saved baby clothes and pull out the most meaningful and lovely pieces to include in the quilt — just imagine how wonderful it would be to enjoy using those sweet little clothes again, instead of hiding them away in a box!

Put up picture shelves. 

If putting up a gallery wall of artwork has you feeling overwhelmed, take a different approach and install a row of picture shelves instead. The horizontal lines give the display structure, so you can mix and match sizes and shapes of frames as much as you wish — and with picture shelves, you can swap out your artwork whenever the mood strikes, without measuring or adding nail holes.

Repaint the bathroom. 

Typically the smallest room in the house, the bathroom or powder room also tends to have very little wall space thanks to the tile and fixtures, which makes it a quick room to make over with paint. If you’ve been living with a plain white or builder’s beige bathroom, why not try a paint colour with a bit more oomph? Slate, charcoal, mocha and silvery green are all elegant choices for the bath.

Put new planters out front. 

Add fresh greenery to your entrance with a pair of matching topiary flanking the front door. Choose evergreen plants that can stand up to the weather, like boxwood or juniper. This simple change is a sure way to boost kerb appeal and make your home look more inviting.

Will you be working on any home projects this Christmas?