4 Tips For New Homeowners To Host Memorable Year-End Gatherings

Organising gatherings with loved ones can be a breeze with a clear plan, good home appliances & entertainment devices

The holiday season is upon us, and it is the time of the year where most of us look forward to winding down and spending quality time with our family and friends. With celebrations, events and travel being put on hold and large-scale gatherings no longer feasible, 2020 year-end festivities are set to look vastly different from past years.

Here are four useful tips for new homeowners with little experience of being hosts – on organising an intimate yet memorable year-end gatherings[1].

1. Thumbs-up for a cleaned-up home

This could be the first time you are inviting guests over to your humble abode and you want to form a lasting, positive first impression. This happens with the first step they take into your apartment.

Channel your inner “Marie Kondo” and make sure that you have taken the time to clean the nooks and crannies at your place, scrub all surfaces, and declutter the mess. The perfect clean companion is a cordless vacuum cleaner. With a cordless one, you no longer need to manoeuvre a vacuum cleaner around the house encumbered by its electrical cord.

Samsung Jet™ delivers heavy duty vacuuming, without the heavy lifting

The Samsung Jet™ is a lightweight cordless stick vacuum cleaner that makes vacuuming as effortlessly as possible, thanks to its Digital Inverter Motor that sustains an industry-leading suction power of up to 200W[2] and a highly-efficient battery that delivers up to 60 minutes[3] run time. This ensures that you get the entire house clean in no time.

The Samsung Jet is also highly versatile, coming with a variety of attachments to clean different types of surfaces – using the soft action brush for hard floors, turbo action brush for carpets, combination tool for curtains, sofas, to even the table top! You can even turn it into a mop by switching to its Spinning Sweeper attachment with dual pads for the easy cleaning up of that inevitable spill of beverages during a home gathering.

2. Fun starts with a theme

Having a gathering at home doesn’t mean dressing down. Up the ante and make the gathering an event to remember by giving it a fun theme!

You can shake things up with a classic Bond 007, black tie theme with martinis being passed around. Or get everyone to dress up in a specific colour, maybe Pantone’s 2020 Colour of the Year – Classic Blue? Or get campy with an 80’s theme, dressing up in baggy pants and jackets with fat shoulder pads.

Capture and remember these moments by taking loads of pictures, share it on social media to make everyone else envious, or print instant photos with a Polaroid! This way everyone can receive a one-of-a-kind keepsake to take home.

3. Whipping up ‘belly-fun’ food

The great thing about having small-sized gatherings is that you won’t need to go overboard with the food menu. A twist of the rule of “K.I.S.S.” can be applied here – “Keep It Super Simple”. Stick to just two to three easy-to-prep and fun dishes that you can whip up. And if there are guests with a hearty appetite, you can just order some food to be delivered to your home.

A staple recipe for any cooking novice would be salmon fillet with roasted potatoes on the side. For dessert, try out the microwave mug cake and top it off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. To impress your guests, mix up some Skittles Popcorn!

The one thing in common about these three dishes is that they can all be prepared with just a microwave oven. With the Samsung Colour Series Microwave Oven, the only thing you need is to have all the right ingredients ready, and let the oven do the rest of the cooking for you. Its dedicated Grill Fry function[4] allows you to prepare healthier versions of party snacks like Buffalo wings and chicken nuggets, all cooked to crisp perfection without being overly oily. The Home Dessert function will satisfy your sweet tooth – a touch of a button is all you need to savour a wide selection of desserts from banana bread, brownies to walnut pound cake!

Samsung Grill Microwave Oven with Grill Fry in Mint Green[5]

With everything prepared in the Samsung Colour Series Microwave Oven, cleaning up becomes much simpler. Its durable CERAMIC INSIDE™ allows it to be cleaned easily without scrubbing, and will not discolour over time. Spend less time in the kitchen cleaning up and more time celebrating with your loved ones. What’s worth mentioning is the attractive colour palette that will certainly add a splash of colour to the kitchen: Pure Black, Clean Mint, Clean Pink[6].

4. Quality chill and play time

With everyone well-fed, keep your guests entertained with some classic holiday movies on Netflix, or compete with one another in video games. For the serious gamers that were lucky enough to get their hands on the latest next-gen gaming consoles this holiday, make sure that you have a TV that can support 4K content for an immersive gaming experience.

Samsung 85” QLED 8K Q950TS TV delivers breath-taking, vivid and sharp images

Whether you are using it to screen films or play video games, the latest 2020 Samsung QLED 8K TVs are ideal choices that deliver hyper-realistic visual and audio experiences. The powerful 8K Quantum Processor intelligently upscales[7] various types of sources and resolutions into 8K through AI deep learning technology, automatically improving textures, sharpens edges, and reduces noise pixel by pixel, fully immersing your guests into another world. The Real Game Enhancer+[8] feature also optimises the gaming experience by delivering smoother gameplay with minimal motion blur and halo effects.

Samsung’s The Sero offers 360 degrees of innovative beauty, perfect for viewing vertical-format social media content

Alternatively, if you are looking for a lifestyle TV that can turn into a social media engine, music zone, or just for consuming your favourite TV shows and movies, look no further than Samsung’s The Sero. With a rotating feature that optimises the viewing experience for vertical content, The Sero is bound to be a conversation starter amongst your guests. Mirror content from your phone, browse through social media and challenge your friends and family to viral dance moves, or test how flexible they are with yoga workouts!

The holiday season is a time to bond with your loved ones. In an especially challenging year, our bond with friends and loved ones is even more important. So, if it is hard or even impossible for you to be with your loved ones physically this year end, remember that you have the option to organise virtual gatherings with your friends, where you can still all be dressed up, coordinate what you eat and drink, play video games online and watch the same shows together!

[1] Samsung recommends individuals to comply with local government’s social distancing measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 when considering the organisation of home gatherings.

[2] Based on internal testing of the suction power at the inlet of the non-motorized tool, using Max mode, in accordance with the IEC62885-2 Cl. 5.8 standard.

[3] The stated run time applies to the minimum power level by using hand-held unit only.

[4] This feature is available in all Grill Fry Microwave Oven.

[5] Product featured is MG23T5018CN/SM (23L Clean Mint)

[6] Colours available are: MG23T5018CN/SM (23L Clean Mint), MG23T5018CK/SM (23L Pure Black), MG23T5018CP/SM (23L Clean Pink), MG30T5018CK/SM (30L, Pure Black), and MG30T5018CP/SM (30L, Clean Pink)

[7] Viewing experience may vary according to types of content and format. ‘8K AI Upscaling’ may not apply to PC connection and Game Mode.

[8] Real Game Enhancer+ is available on select game consoles.