The Gift of Guests

Are you currently panicking over your first time hosting guests? Or are you in need of a quick refresher on everything you need to do before?? Well, look no further, your guest guru is here.

Even though I absolutely love to travel and visit other places, nothing makes me quite as happy as hosting people in my own home. However, I know hosting guests can quickly become an overwhelming ordeal.

Having some experience with hosting both friends and family, I created a consolidated to-do list of things that are sure to be helpful for you and your guests this season. 

Clean your home early
This may seem counterintuitive considering that the most obvious thing you want to do to prep for guests is to clean your home, but for this one, I want to emphasize cleaning your home early.

Nothing is quite as stressful as the day of when all your guests are set to start arriving and you’re running around trying to change bed sheets, grocery shop and fit in some time for a glass of wine. To avoid the arrival-day mayhem, I recommend you start cleaning your home at least one week in advance.

By doing this, it also makes your to-do list much more manageable. I’d stick to one focus area at a time versus attempting to tackle your entire place in one day. If you need some helpful reminders on those random but one-off cleaning tasks you don’t want to forget, take a look at my Deep Clean Checklist which I’ll also be using to prep my home going into the next season. 

The Essentials
Once my house is all clean I then transition to preparing my guest room. I like for every guest in my home to feel like they’re getting a unique and relaxing experience. To do this I start my prep by making sure my guest room is stocked up with all of the essentials. I know the feeling of staying at someone’s home and how often I would want something but didn’t want to bother my host. Even if you don’t have a designated guest room, it’s a good idea to have some common essentials in a visible and easy to get to spot for your guests. Here are some of the essentials I stick to for a guaranteed good stay:

Dairy, gluten and peanuts, oh my! 
As someone who has their own dietary restrictions, I am always hyper aware of the ones applicable to my guests too. Make sure to double check with all your guests before they arrive if there are any dietary restrictions or straight up allergies that you need to be mindful of. Once you’re aware of all/any restrictions, I would make a run to the grocery store to ensure you have snacks and food that everyone can enjoy. I know it may seem like just another thing to add to the to-do list, but trust me your guests will truly appreciate you for going the extra mile to make sure they are included and feel at-home.

Warm Welcomes
Next, as someone who’s love language is gift giving, it comes as no surprise that I always look forward to gifting my guests with welcome baskets. It’s a super simple and yet thoughtful way to make your guests feel welcome. In this basket I typically try to include some of their favorite things and small little necessities that I think they might want or use while visiting, such as:

You can definitely add or remove items to fit the personality of your guests but just be sure to keep your home in mind. By that I mean thinking of the little things, like for example, my house is mostly hardwood floors so giving my guests socks or slippers is a nice and considerate touch.

Dress Down
Something that we don’t often think of is that our guests are usually spending their day leading up to arrival traveling. That being said, I recommend dressing down on the day everyone plans to arrive. Traveling during the holidays is absolute chaos and one way you can help your guests alleviate some of that stress is to encourage them to relax. By dressing more casual you can help your guests to feel more comfortable and to truly take a load off after their journey. 

Breathe breathe breathe
I know it can quickly get overwhelming anytime you’re sharing your space with others, especially if for the first time.

Let this be your reminder to take a moment before your guests arrive to breathe and find your inner peace.

However you ground yourself, make time to do so and remember what the sentiment of having loved ones visit is all about. Soak up all the cheer and liveliness that your guests have to offer and enjoy!

Whether it’s your first time ever hosting guests or you just needed a quick refresher, you’re sure to be a hosting professional now! Remember to get a head start on your guest prep work by cleaning your home early and grocery shopping in advance. Getting ahead of your guest prep will allow you more time to consider all those little items that your guests will really appreciate and helps avoid last minute panicking. With all of the thoughtfulness and effort that you put into making your space ready to host, your guests are sure to feel right at-home. So get your comfy clothes ready and prepare yourself for a cozy good time.

Happy hosting!