One of the reasons I want to make my home a haven is so that guests feel welcome. Today at church my pastor spoke on hospitality. He mentioned a few things that I thought I should pass on to my readers.
Hospitality is not about impressing people with ourselves, our furnishings or our food, hospitality is about relationships and caring for others.
- The first thing you need to do is to invite people to your home. This does not need to be a formal invitation, email or phone calls are fine.
- When people arrive at your home greet them at your front door. Invite them in and make them feel welcome.
- Create a comfortable space for your guests. You do not need to have expensive furniture, but there does need to be a clear path to a sitting area and places to sit that are not littered with clutter.
- Keep your home neat and clean, not sterile. Remember you are not operating on your guests so a sterile field is not necessary. If you have children people will expect to see some toys laying around your home. Just make sure things are picked up and orderly.
- Create an inviting environment. If you are a tightwad (like me) you probably keep your air conditioner or heat at a money saving temperature. When guests come, set the thermostat to a temperature that will make them comfortable.
- Food is a great way to make conversation. Have you noticed that at most parties people congregate in the kitchen? If you are having guests your menu does not have to rival one of a cruise ship. If you are on a tight budget, you can always invite people over for dessert or lunch, which are much cheaper.
- Plan your conversation before your guests arrive. This does not mean arm your children with 3 x 5 cards with a list of questions. Rather talk with your family beforehand about things you would like to know about your guests. This will open up lots of areas for discussion.
- See your guests off. My sister’s in-laws walk each guest to their car and wave in the driveway until the guests drive away. I think this a wonderful way to let your guests know that you had a great time and want to see them again.
A few more thoughts….
Invite people who are different from you to your house. It is a great way for you and your children to learn about other countries, states or backgrounds by inviting people who do not share your past.
Keep something in your pantry or freezer that you can make for last minute guests.
Check your bathroom before your guests arrive. Make sure there is soap, extra toilet paper and a hand towel. Many times in our house these things are moved around or thrown in the hamper and not replaced. Don’t make your guests search for these items.
Try to maintain your house so you are able to give an unexpected invitation if the opportunity arises. This is one of the reasons I love Making your Home a Haven Monday and Tackle it Tuesday. These memes challenge me to keep my house organized on a regular basis. I want people to feel like they can drop in anytime and I will not be embarrassed by the state of my house. There might be toys or school books out, but the general feel of the house will be one of cleanliness and organization. There are several methods of keeping on top of your household chores Flylady, Managers of their Chores, and Motivated Moms Planner are some of the more popular tools.
These tips can also apply to welcoming your husband home from work. At risk of sounding like a 1940’s housewife, take fifteen minutes before your husband comes home from work and do a quick pick up of your home. I know that when I come home to a picked-up house my mood improves greatly. If I come home and trip on toys, and step in a sticky mess on the kitchen floor it is hard to stay happy. Fifteen minutes a day is a small amount of time to invest in the happiness of someone else. The other benefit of this plan is that if my husband comes home to a disaster, he realizes I probably had a really bad day, and the chances of going out to dinner just skyrocketed!
I don’t want my home to be a stumbling block for fellowship with others. I want to make my home a haven so people feel welcome, anytime.
Our first home
Our current home and welcoming committee
Amy says
I needed those reminders. We host several “post game gatherings” throughout the school year. Thanks!
Amy says
What a nice post. I needed this list today! My house is always cluttered (clean, but cluttered) despite my decluttering efforts. Just this morning I was thinking of tackling another round of decluttering on the main floor. Thanks for the timely post!
Somebody's Mimi says
It is always a pleasure to come to your home because you actually practice what you preach… well, most of the time! I would like to think that my friends like me for me and not the state my house is in at the time of their surprise visit. So far I have’t lost any friends because of a dusty house. Great post!
The Chatty Housewife says
I loved this list- saving it for future reference! The last three homes of friends where we stayed overnight had fresh folded towels with chocolates placed nicely on top and it was such a nice surprise! One place even had a lip gloss for me, and another had water bottles. These little things really make a big difference!
Somebody's Mimi says
Of course you don’t want to make tooo inviting, they may not want to leave!!!
Renee says
Excellent ideas. And I love the photo of your house & welcoming committee!
Amy says
I needed to read this, because I never think my 4 BR and nice home (sometimes glistening with dog hair) is good enough. Thank you for encouraging me to cultivate a more hospitable spirit!
Molly says
Yay for the welcoming committee!
Young Wife says
I really like the idea of inviting different kinds of people over. We recently invited a bunch of different people from our church to come over for lunch (brunch is also a cheap, fun idea). It was really neat to have a single guy talking with a family with kids.