Tag Archives: holiday guests

Six Days til Christmas

Less than a week to go! Are you getting excited? Now that we’re in the home stretch, it’s time to take care of details. Do you have Christmas music? If not, you can pick up a CD or you can find some holiday music online and play it from your computer. Bookmark a site ahead of time so you don’t have to search for it during the festivities. While you’re on the computer, look for a nice, holiday wallpaper or screen saver too. You may have music stations as part of your satellite or cable TV package as well, so … Continue reading →

Surprise! Extra Holiday Guests

So, I was planning this quiet Thanksgiving for just the immediate family. I was organized and was following most of my countdown tips. As is often the case, I remind myself of things while trying to help remind others. A few things were switched around from one day to another, but overall, I was feeling good about my plan of attack. Late Tuesday night, my husband called. He had been talking to a relative, whom we had invited but had declined, and he informed my husband that his previous plans had fallen through. Instead, he and his family were going … Continue reading →

Some Guest Cleanup Strategies

For everything in life there is a plan and cleaning up after your guests leave is no exception. But you do have to think about it: what to do first, for example, after you decide to move rather than face it. Here are some thoughts about how to tackle the mess right after your guests leave, or at least a big part of it. Do as much as possible the moment your guests have pulled out of your driveway on their way down the road to bother other unsuspecting relatives. Even if you are dead tired, most messes will look … Continue reading →

House Guest Happiness: All In the Details

Houseguests are a part of life and no one wants to become a headline that reads: “Stabbed to death in home early yesterday during an argument with a house guest.” Make them happy and comfortable, and the way to do it is all in the details. Here are some tips to consider the next time guests cross your threshold. If a baby is coming along for the ride, think about renting or borrowing a crib, playpen or stroller so the parents don’t have to haul it all with their luggage. Make sure the crib’s mattress fits snugly within the frame … Continue reading →

Don’t Be TOO Nice To Your Guests!

When you are too nice to your guests and treat them like family, the problem is that, without your wanting them to, they can become your family. Only use the following suggestions if you really like your houseguests and are positive that even after three days they won’t smell as that old adage warns. Proceed, however, at your own risk. Give them the Ritz treatment. This does not mean stacking the VCR with old Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’s movies, although they are certainly not a bad choice on most occasions and are sure not to offend. Provide terry robes … Continue reading →

House Guests: Heading Them Off at The Pass

This time of year waxes nostalgic for reunions of all kinds. The problem is that some reunions not only are unplanned but are unwanted as well. The key issue is how can you tactfully, but with malice aforethought, head off your guests at the pass before they dare to darken your threshold and mess up (and stress up) your life? One way to control the situation is a little thing called a white lie. I am honest and a bad liar to boot. Whenever I tell a small, social lie to get out of some social occasion, it always backfires … Continue reading →