Preparing for Guests

Having house guests is a lot of fun 

but requires a lot of work to make things go smoothly.

My parents were just visiting for a week and we had a great time.

Here are my tips to ensuring that your house guests feel welcome.

1. Make a welcome basket for them.

I included their favorite treats, latest magazines, towels,

fresh toiletries, and sticky brush since we have cats.

 2. Come up with an itinerary for the trip.

I'm a scheduler/planner extraordinaire

but planning things out really ensures that your visitors 

get to do everything they want to.

I typed this itinerary out and posted it on the fridge.

It's just a list of possibilities for things that we could do.

Anything that was set in stone was bold and suggestions were in regular typeset.

 I have favorite restaurants and hot spots to visit

but it's crucial to ask your visitors what THEY want to do.

 I also generate a list of things to do, places to visit, etc 

for options of things I think my visitors would like.

This is a good go to item when you end up with unexpected free time.

3. Pay attention to the weather so that your guests will come

prepared for the weather conditions for your area.

The temps in Indiana were close to 100, 

in the 80s in Utah and we had snow in Wyoming!

I suggested winter coats, pants, light jackets, and clothes for the 80s.

They came well prepared.

 

4. Make comfortable sleeping arrangements.

We don't have a guest bedroom

so we let my parents have our room.

We have a snazzy air mattress that we slept on in our family room.

5. Other people probably won't love your pets as much as you do.

Obviously, I love my cats but I try to be respectful

and remember that not everyone loves a purry cat in the face.

6. Take LOTS of pictures.

7. Plan for some down time.

8. Keep in mind the normal routine of your guests.

My parents go to bed earlier and wake up earlier than we do.

So we headed to bed earlier and got up earlier while they were here.

They also went for walks in the morning and stayed up a little later.

9. If these are returning visitors, go to their favorite local spots.

My parents have favorite restaurants, shopping spots, etc so we went.

10. Make the trip easy for your guests.

Pick them up at the airport.

Help them check in on-line for their flights.

Remind them of the latest flying regulations if they aren't frequent flyers.

11. Enjoy your guests because the trip will go by too quickly.

12. Clean your place top to bottom.

Clean the bathrooms, carpets, kitchen, etc.

Dust, vacuum, clean carpets, wash sheets, wash windows, and more.

No one wants to stay in your mess.

We love having visitors and are lucky enough to have them regularly.