Whether it’s Christmas, Diwali, Durga Puja, or any other exciting time of the year, we all love a good party – a chance to get together with our family, friends, and neighbours and really celebrate. If you’re feeling generous, you may even offer to host one of these big events at your home; but do you know how to be a good host?
Some people believe that being a good host is all about making sure your guests have a great time, a time they’ll never forget! While this is a huge part of hosting an event, to be a good host you also need to focus on your home looking good while providing a safe, clean, and healthy environment for celebration. Part of keeping your friends happy is ensuring that they are comfortable in your home, after all.
These tips on being a good host will help you maintain a clean, cheerful party environment, and will reduce the amount of tidying up you’ll need to do once all your guests are gone.
Even when it’s not Diwali, keeping your home bright and well lit is one of the most important ways you can make it look and feel more inviting for guests. Make sure your windows and curtains are clean, and that any lamps and lampshades are free of dust – you’ll be amazed at how much of a difference it can make to your home!
3 Tips for Being a Good Host
1) Make It Easy for Guests to Stay Tidy
Want to know how to be a good host? The number one rule is to make it easy for guests to look after themselves, and to be independent. While you may think that, as the host, you should be waiting on your guest's hand and foot, this will just wear you out, and a tired host is a poor company!
Make sure that you place small bins around your home so that your guests can dispose their rubbish and waste. Provide adequate storage in guest bedrooms so that the guests can keep their own areas clean and tidy, and show your guests where all the facilities are early on. Include the washing machine and other appliances in your tour if they are staying for a long time and might prefer to do their own laundry. You want your guests to feel at home, to feel comfortable, and to treat your home as their own.
2) Give a Quick Tidy Each Morning
When you’ve got guests staying over, the last thing you want to do is spend hours cleaning! It’s considered rude to ignore your guests for so long, and if you haven’t seen your friends and family in a while, then you’ll want to be socializing and having fun – not cleaning up. However, if you ignore the household chores, you’ll not only have a messy home, but you’ll be left with lots to do when your guests leave. One of the best tips for being a good host is to keep on top of the chores. It takes no time at all for a quick clean-up each morning when you wake up – simply vacuum the carpets to remove dust, wipe down the kitchen surfaces with a cleaning product to remove germs and bacteria and make sure you stay up-to-date with washing the dishes. You can even clean the shower while you’re using it to save time!
3) Accept Help If It’s Offered
As a host, you may feel that it’s your responsibility to oversee everything, and you may reject your guests’ offers of help around the house. If this sounds familiar, don’t be so stubborn! There is something to be said for being a gracious host, and that includes accepting your guests’ generosity every now and again. Accepting offers of help doesn’t mean that chores are done more quickly and easily – it could also enhance your guests’ stay. Many guests often feel as though they are a bit of burden when they’re staying overnight, and they often welcome the chance to repay their host in any way they can, including helping out with the housework. Of course, if your guests offer to help, don’t ask them to wash your dirty clothes or treat the bathroom mould – instead, give them simple tasks, such as folding towels or washing up some glasses from the night before.
Believe it or not, there’s no need to fear hosting a big event such as Christmas or Diwali. All you need to do is spend a few minutes each day keeping on top of the cleaning, help your guests stay neat, and accept offers of help, and you’ll find that your home isn’t actually in too bad a state by the time everyone’s gone home. In fact, it might even be looking spotless!