Tuesday Talk: Welcoming Holiday House Guests

We rarely have house guests for the holidays because we are usually out of town, but we are almost always house guests during the holidays.  We split up time between staying at my parent's house and Kevin's parents house.  Both of our moms do a great job of making us feel welcome so I thought I'd share a few tips with you in case you were welcoming house guests to your home in the near future.

// 1. WELCOME BASKETS //

Oftentimes we will find welcome treats in our bedroom when we arrive.  They include our favorite candies or snacks and a little something for Olive.  They are often include holiday treats, current magazines and toiletries.

// 2. FAVORITE LOCAL TREATS //

We have a delicious donut shop in our hometown and it's always fun to wake up to donuts.  Sometimes our parents will take our order the night before and other times we get surprised with a fun breakfast.  We also have a great chocolate shop that makes special goodies for every holiday.  They have a big selection so I'd imagine I would be excited to see anything from Libs waiting for me.

// 3. FRESH FLOWERS //

I rarely have fresh flowers at home since my cats eat them so it's a treat for me to give flowers to others or get flowers when we are out of town.  I love to put together bouquets for people and it is so much more affordable to do them yourself.  Sending someone flowers usually cost at least $40 and those bouquets are tiny.  I picked up everything I needed for this bouquet at Wal-Mart.  The flowers were just under $10 and the vase was $3.  I used ribbon that I had on hand at home.

I bought two different flower bouquets and made sure there was nice variety in both.  All of the flowers looked fresh (there were lots of buds waiting to open up) and I loved the Christmasy color combo.  I put together this bouquet for my mom last week and think it would also make a great hostess gift for your holiday parties.

// 4. HOMEMADE GOODIES //

My mom is really good about remembering what our favorite things are and then making them for us when we're at her house.  She knows Kevin loves caramel corn, anything oatmeal and chex mix.  She knows I love peanut brittle, rice krispie treats, cookies and candies.  So we are often treated to fresh baked goods and then sent home with a doggie bag of treats for the road.

// 5. TOYS //

If your guests arrive with their kiddos, it's SO NICE to have some things provided for them to play with.  My parents have turned the floor of their coat closet into a toy closet for the little kids.  Olive heads straight for it when we get to their house.  She loves the things they have for her to play with.  They also have a toy area in their family room upstairs for the kids.  My MIL brings out buckets of toys for Olive in her family room and keeps a shelf of books ready for her at all times.  It's so wonderful to not have to bring toys along with us when we travel.

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