If Thanksgiving is at your house, I’ve got some nice finishing touches to add...

If you’re hosting Thanksgiving, there’s more to it than the meal...

Here are a few tricks from the professionals to warm up your house, and your guests:

• To fill your house with a welcoming aroma, burn or simmer some herbs like rosemary or cinnamon. Those scents will complement the scents of your dinner. Strong or sweet scented candles tend to compete too much with the smell of food.

• Set the mood with music ahead of time, it helps to make the house feel full for the first guests who arrive.

• Greet your guests in person and have some food and drinks set up where you’d like people to sit, stand or socialize. Otherwise, they WILL wander into the kitchen.

• Lower the lights and light some candles. That naturally puts people at ease and you want to minimize any tension that might be lingering, or arriving.