The Clean Green House Blog: Creating the BEST First Impression to Holiday Guests

***We teamed up with Walmart and RewardStyle on this sponsored post. All opinions are our own!***

They say first impressions are the most important and this goes for your home as well!

It’s the FIRST thing you guests see once they open the doors to your home – the ENTRY WAY!
Do you ever stop to think how important this, sometimes small, space is? When I have visitors walk in the doors of my home, I want them to instantly feel welcome and comfortable.
The best way to do this? DECOR!

Decorating for the holidays is always a fun task and this year, I teamed up with Walmart to create a holiday ready entry way!
I love shopping Walmart.com. There are SO many choices! Did you know Walmart even carries third party products? This means a HUGE assortment to choose from! They also offer 2 day shipping on TONS of items, which means, I’m always ready for last minute guests.
I just discovered the option to shop by STYLE on Walmart.com and it’s the best thing ever. Be sure to check it out here.

The stairs are a huge part of our entry way. They can feel rather cold and abrupt so I wanted a way to spruce them up and get them holiday ready.

First, I added gorgeous garland. I like the prelit kind so I don’t have to worry about stringing lights in it too. I had a difficult time choosing between the more classic green and this gorgeous flocked version, but I’m happy with the final result. It took two separate garland pieces to fit my stairs, and I think I’m going to get two more to extend the entire length. You should see how beautiful it looks at night! The perfect Christmas magic. I also found this pretty wreath that goes perfect with the garland! You can NEVER have too many wreaths!

I also snagged this darling stair basket. It’s just a nice touch that is adaptable to all seasons. This time, I stuck a red blanket in it to flow with the red decor in the hall and the red berries in the garland. I love that pop of color. My kids can’t stop cuddling up in the blanket so I’m not sure how much time it will spend actually IN the basket! 😉

I wanted to keep the decor on my hall cabinet all coordinating, but rather simple. I’m all about the buffalo check so when I found these stockings, I had to have them. Did you notice the little tags on them? You could even write your GUESTS name on them for an extra special personal touch! There’s even a matching Christmas tree skirt!

I’m all about some pattern mixing, and I fell in love with this brand of linens after finding the perfect kitchen table runner. I had to have one for my hall table too. I again, went with a pop of Christmas red, but this runner could be used YEAR round!

I hung the stockings from these red lanterns. I love the color and the farmhouse vibe they give. I also loved the price! I think I’ll stick some little LED candles inside of them to get them to also glow at night. What do you think?

I wanted to add some sort of greenery, but wanted something artificial. Truth is, I like low maintenance and things I DON’T have to water. These pre lit decorative trees were the perfect size to adorn each end of the hall. I love that they’re “Christmas” without being over the top. The gold base they sit in add just the right amount of “sparkle’. On a more practical note, the lights add the perfect glow to my entry way, in case any late night owls might be coming down the stairs or finding their way to the kitchen. So much more fun than a night light too!

This was such a fun project and I’m so happy with the results. No doubt, we’re decking the halls and I’m so excited to have our first guests. I know this first impression is going to be a good one!