With fewer buyers in the market for a new home through the winter anyway, selling your home around the holidays will take some pretty precise planning on your part as the seller. If you normally spend the holiday season filling your home and property with merriment and cheer, you are no doubt questioning if this is the right move when you are putting your home up for sale. Luckily, you don't have to completely skip holiday decor if your home will be shown to potential home buyers through the season. There are, however, a simple set of rules to follow that will ensure you make the best impressions.

Take it easy on the yard art.

If you have an attic or garage full of holiday inflatables, string lights, and plastic holiday decor, you may want to leave this stuff parked where it is if you are putting your home up for sale. Too much decor on the outside of the house will make it difficult for a potential buyer to see past all of the clutter. A few twinkling lights along the rails or a wreath on the door is fine, but skip all of the massive yard ornaments like a plastic Santa and sled or a massive inflatable snowman.

Keep the interior decor classic.

If the holidays are your favorite time of the year to think out of the box, it is best to stuff all those ideas in a box and save them for after the home sells. A massive purple tree parked in the living room, gaudy tinsel hanging from the ceilings, or anything too over the top will not be a welcoming sight when a potential buyer stops in to take a look. Plus, anything too off the wall in color could just clash with the rest of the interior design and leave a bad impression. Keep the interior decor classic and simple with normal decorations, like a conservative pine tree, white string lights, and silver or gold ornaments.

Be mindful of alternative holiday views.

Not everyone celebrates the holidays, and even those who do may not celebrate for the same reasons as you. The last thing you want to do is offend a Jewish or Muslim buyer with your heavily Christian themed holiday decor, for example. So try to keep what holiday decor you use as generic as possible during home showings. If you really want to include religious-themed items, quietly tuck them away before a potential buyer is scheduled to arrive.