I trust you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! I have been blessed with two weekends in a row filled with family and it has been such a satisfying time, we don’t get together nearly enough. It is such a nostalgic reflection to see all of my nieces and nephews grow and change and to witness their life choices as they grow and mature.

Nostalgia weighs heavily on me at this time of year. Thanksgiving and Christmas are always rich with memories and traditions yet as life changes we are sometimes not able to uphold traditions as we once had. Most of my families’ addresses have changed in the past few years and we are no longer able to gather around the traditional table to have the family meals we once coveted. Most often we meet in restaurants because of the size of our brood and the lack of space at our homes. The change of location does not detract from our time together; we still truly enjoy visiting and have a ton of laughs.

Perhaps you are allowing your environment to dictate your social gatherings. Have you used excuses such as ‘my house is not clean enough’ or ‘when we replace this carpet’ to keep you from having family and friends over? We can often get very house-proud and refuse to allow others in because of our assumption of what people will think of us. People have even refused to invite me over once they discover that I am an interior designer — imagine!

Let me be the one to tell you, it does not matter. Worn carpets or dust on your coffee table will not detract from the valuable time spent with loved ones if you can allow yourself to relax. The simple act of inviting people to your home is unheard of and rare and people really do appreciate the time spent and are less concerned with the state of your home. Now, I’m not giving you permission to leave your socks on the floor or not change the cat litter but I have seen a lot of people deny themselves the joy of company due to perceptions of their home or their ability to host.

Keep things simple and tasteful, a good bottle of wine, some cheese and a bowlful of delicious chocolate is all you need for a restful weeknight get together with friends. Or better yet, try a potluck around your favourite sporting event – it will be so much fun no matter who wins.

Try not to let your lack of perfection at home deter you from the memories created with friends and family. Very few of us live in a show home environment and even fewer of us are expecting to walk into a magazine cover interior when we visit people in their homes. If you are comfortable and happy in your environment then the people you invite in will also feel comfortable and welcomed. Open up your hearts, open up your homes and ignore the dust.

Kim Lewis is an interior designer in Red Deer with Carpet Colour Centre. Contact her at 403-343-7711 ext 227 or email her at klewis@carpetcolourcentre.com.