How to Conduct House Tours During a Housewarming Party

Shine the spotlight on your new home and conduct tours during your housewarming party. You can wait until everyone has arrived and lead a group tour, take a few guests around at a time or put together a self-guided walking tour. Even if your house isn't on the National Register of Historic Buildings, your guests will get a kick out of seeing your new digs up close and personal.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A clean house is a must
• Stories to tell
• Literature for a walking tour, optional

Conduct House Tours During a Housewarming Party

1. Set up a virtual house tour. Take pictures of the main rooms of your new home and make a slideshow or screensaver that you can display prominently on your computer.
2. Plan a walking tour if you'll be too busy to guide your housewarming guests personally. Go all out and make pamphlets describing your home's history and architecture. Provide a floor plan or property map. Place numbered signs on rooms that correspond to info on your tour map.
3. Provide surprise treats or decor in different places as incentives to check out every room.
4. Get a volunteer who knows the place to conduct tours while you are busy hosting. "Train" a friend or family member by sharing stories about a room's furnishings or plans for your garden.
5. Give multiple, brief tours during the party yourself. (Do this only if you've got the food taken care of!) Share the most fun or important details, and encourage your guests to look around and ask questions later.

Tips & Warnings

• Ask guests to sign a guest book in the last room of your house tour, or make a video guest book with the help of a volunteer and camera.
• Keep tour groups small. If you must show the house to more than 5 or 6 people at a time, stop at doorways rather than entering rooms, and make a game of it. Describe the room or short anecdote and tell guests to "pass it on" down the line. Then see what wacky tales the last person hears!
• Ask your real estate agent for tips on showing your house at a party.
• Don't push your comfort zone. If you don't want to share your work space or laundry room with guests, don't.
• Keep walkways free of toys, cords or anything that might trip up your guests.

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