Selling your home is stressful enough, but during December it can be unbearable. Your spacious floor plan now appears tiny because of the almost real looking Douglas fir tree that's standing in your family room and a full-scale, inflatable manger scene that dominates the living room.

In addition, you are breaking all the rules in the Home Staging for Dummies book because every horizontal surface in your home is covered with holiday cards, homemade fudge or half-wrapped gifts. You're still trying to figure out where to set up your Christmas villages.

On top of that, your cousin Eddie and his family are on their way to spend the rest of the month with you. That's not as bad as it sounds, but their 40-foot motor home parked diagonally across your 50-foot-wide front yard does a number to your curb appeal.

Who would blame you if you just decided to deny all showings until the first of the year? Before you do, you should be familiar with what Murphy has to say. Murphy's Law, the one that says that if anything can go wrong it will, is alive and well in real estate, even during the holiday season. Here are three Laws sellers should heed this holiday season.

• Law No. 1: Murphy says that the showing you just turned down would have been the buyer that bought your home for full price.

Realize a poor showing is better than no showing. My grandpa, who loved to fish, always said "you can't catch fish if your pole is in the car." Likewise, you won't sell your property if you take it off the market or decide not to allow anyone to see it during the holidays.

Homes may not sell as well as GI Joe's this time of year, but they do sell. In fact, if someone is house shopping during the holidays, it usually means they are serious buyers, or they are hiding from their house guests who happen to be eating them out of house and home.

Resist the temptation to decline any showing. The reality is that you probably won't be bothered very often. Historically, December accounts for only 7 percent of our annual sales of condo and homes. That means about 600 sellers will receive a Christmas gift in the form of a sales contract. Each of these had one thing in common. They said yes to the showing appointment.

• Law No. 2: Murphy says that someone will want to see your home at the most inconvenient time and when it's in its worst showing condition.

Try not to sweat the small stuff. Sellers should resist the thought that their home has to be perfect in order for it to sell. Sure, it's cool to walk in and see a living room vacuumed in a pattern to match the infield at Dodger Stadium, but it really isn't a major selling feature. You would be surprised to learn that buyers will decide to buy a home even if it has a couple dirty dishes in the sink or the beds are unmade.

Buyers recognize the difference between a home being clean and it being cluttered. Your house guests and the holiday trappings will add to the clutter, but if your home is dirty now, it was probably dirty before December. Buyers will give sellers a pass on the seasonal clutter, because they have to go home to the same situation. But there is little dispensation given for a home being dirty.

• Law No. 3: Murphy says that an offer with a deadline will be made on your home just after you leave town, and your agent cannot locate you until after the deadline.

For those who may be traveling for the holidays, be sure to let your listing agent know where you are and how to contact you.

One of my listing clients drove off in their motor home for the holidays without telling me. We received an offer the day after they left. We had no idea they were leaving and didn't even know they owned a motor home.

Luckily, they had an uncommon last name and we knew the town in Michigan they came from. So, we called every person with the same last name in the telephone book. Two days later we finally reached a relative who was able to help track them down.

This story had a happy ending, because the buyer waited well past the deadline. With the selection this market has to offer, we probably would not be as fortunate today.

The process of selling your home and enjoying the holiday season does not have to be mutually exclusive. So, instead of dreading the intrusion of a potential buyer, welcome them in. After all, you may find them more enjoyable than Cousin Eddie.

(courtesy of newpress newspaper - author Denny Grimes)