Busy Mom Survival: Five Simple Ways to Make Guests Feel at Home
Okay, so you’ve done it. You’ve invited company over – maybe for Thanksgiving dinner, but maybe for something simpler, like dinner on an ordinary night or just a visit on a Sunday afternoon. Maybe for a Christmas cookie swap. Whatever the reason, you now need to prepare, and you’re wondering what possessed you in that moment of invitation. Why did you get yourself into this? “I’m no good at hospitality,” you say to yourself. Or, “Entertaining is too much work. I must be crazy.”
Friends, it doesn’t have to be hard. And it doesn’t need to require weeks of preparation. I’m going to give you five simple things you can do to make anyone who walks in your door feel welcome. If you’re having overnight guests, you’ll want to do a bit more than this, but you can certainly start here.
1. Choose the space you want to be in and make it your focus. You don’t need to spring clean the whole house if you’re having folks over for dinner, because you’re not giving tours (if someone asks to see the rest of the house, just say lightly, “You know, I’d rather wait on that. Will you take a raincheck?” and then smile and move on). Choose the room of the house you want people to be in, and make that room your main focus, along with your entryway and the nearest bathroom. Don’t worry about the rooms people won’t see. And don’t feel pressured to do any “deep cleaning.” The floor will be dirty after folks leave, and no one is really going to be focusing on the details, anyway. Just clear out any clutter, do some dusting, and give the floors their usual going over (vacuum carpet, dust hardwoods and laminates). If you’re pressed for time, skip the shower and tub in the bathroom if they’re concealable. Just do the toilet, sink, and floor. If your kids are old enough, enlist their help. It’s their home, too.
2. Create a little ambience. Buy some fresh flowers at the market. Set out candles and light them before guests arrive (in the bathroom as well as the main room). Put on some soft, relaxing music in the background. These will be the things your guests notice, not the one piece of furniture you forgot to dust.
3. Put something in the oven. Nothing is more welcoming than the smell of something baking. If you’re having a dinner party, plan a baked dessert. If people are coming over just to hang out, bake something they can snack on. It doesn’t have to be complicated – nothing is simpler or more delicious than a fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookie or brownie.
4. Be ready when guests arrive. Nothing makes people feel more awkward than a hostess who is still in the bathroom putting her makeup on. Even if they’re 15 minutes late, they’ll feel as though they’ve committed a faux pas and arrived early. If you’re serving a meal, it is still more important that you get yourself ready than that the food be ready. So give yourself enough time. People would rather have you dressed and looking relaxed, even if it means you’re in the kitchen chopping vegetables when they arrive. If you need someone to look after your littles so that you can feel relaxed and prepared, and your spouse is unable to do so, have a babysitter come an hour or two beforehand to free you up.
5. In the moment, remember to focus on the people. When it comes to what really matters, having company really isn’t about the food you serve or the way your dining room looks. It’s about relationships. No matter what happens – even if your casserole burns up and you have to order pizza at the last minute – remember that hospitality is simply about loving people in the spirit of Christ, and that whatever you are able to do, if you do it with love and generosity, then you’re doing exactly what God asks of us.
Blessings,
