Christmas Home Tours 2011

Are you getting ready for the Christmas Home Tours at The Inspired Room?

I am! My house is still a little chaotic, so I’m hoping for a Christmas miracle to get everything photo-ready. If the weather cooperates and I can take photos, I’ll share a sneak peek of my mantel tomorrow. Then on Monday we’ll open the doors for the 2011 Christmas Home Tours!

Here’s what you need to know about linking up to the party.

The 2011 Christmas Home Tours at The Inspired Room will begin precisely at 6PM PST (9PM EST) on Monday, December 12th.

If you plan to share your home on the tour, you’ll have most of Monday to prepare your post—plenty of time to get things ready!

If you like to be among the first to link up, note that last month The Inspired Room had nearly one million page views. Early links can receive significant traffic.

Readers often report a lot of traffic from these parties and from links left in comments, so don’t hesitate to add your link and leave comments for others.

To be one of the first in the linky, come to The Inspired Room around 6PM PST on Monday so you can add your link as soon as the party opens. The linky will remain open all week, so you can join later if you can’t make the start time.

For the newbies

Welcome! If you’re not familiar with “adding a link” or “linking up,” don’t worry. It’s easiest to learn by doing, but here’s a quick overview of what to expect on Monday evening.

Join the party!

Three simple steps to join the Christmas Home Tours linky party:

One:

Take photos this week of your decorated home, a festive corner, or even just a holiday mantel. Don’t worry about the size of your house, your camera, or fancy editing skills—just have fun and welcome visitors into your space.

To make the online party feel lively, imagine you’re welcoming guests in person—set out cookies, greet visitors at the door, and enjoy sharing your home.

Two:

Upload your photos to a public place on the web where others can view them—this can be a blog, a public Facebook album, or any page with a shareable link. A blog post is great because you can add context and tell a story, but a public album works fine too.

Three:

On the day of the party, copy the URL where your photos are hosted and add it to the party linky in my Christmas Home Tours post, which will go live at 6PM PST on Monday the 12th. Once your link is added, everyone can click it and pop over to your home in an instant. It will make more sense when you see the linky live.

You don’t have to share your own photos to join the fun—visiting other homes is just as enjoyable.

Could you help spread the word about the party? Please tell friends via your blog, Twitter, or Facebook before Monday.

That’s all it takes to join the linky party. If you prefer not to share your own photos, set aside time to visit and enjoy other homes on the tour. It’s going to be a festive and fun week!

I’ll post photos of my Christmas mantel tomorrow. I also have another post scheduled for later today that was delayed overnight when my server went down, so stick around. While you wait, you can browse the new Room Tours I’ve added!