Be My Guest!

Hello my readers : )

I had a lovely fall weekend in PA. I went to visit a dear friend for an overnight stay and to meet the special lady in his life. We spent the day at Longwood Gardens and had dinner at the Fair Hill Inn. This dear friend and I are more like family than friends. So Saturday morning my special guy and I packed up the car and went on a road trip to be house guests.

With the holidays approaching, I know, I can not believe it either, many of you may be guests of family or friends. We must all learn to be good house guests, because frankly we are seriously messing up someones routine when we come to stay with them....think about all the running around you have done when you have had guests come to stay, all the preparation involved, the cleaning, planning an outing or the agenda, PHEW, I'm exhausted just writing about it! We are all creatures of habit and have our own ways of how we do things and how we like them done...so when we are a guest we must keep that in mind. We must remember we are entering into a different home, a different way of doing things, we must adapt and leave our habits at home.

As a guest we have duties to uphold, we must allow our actions and our demeanor to be persuasive enough that our host, be it family or friend, finds us a nice distraction from their everyday life rather than a pain in the (insert your word here). It is always nice to be invited to come visit again.

Regardless if you are an overnight guest, vacationing at a friends winter/summer home, or staying with someone for an extended period of time, there are basic guidelines to follow.

Some rules to being a good guest:

No surprise visits
Ask if you can bring your pet and if you do, clean up after you pet
Notify your hosts when you will be arriving
Bring a gift (wine, flowers, baked good, a nice candle)
Unpack your bags and place them where you will be sleeping
Ask to strip the bed when you leave
Tidy up the bedroom and bathroom
Ask to help clean up dishes, sitting room etc
Send a thank you card when you get home
Reciprocate with an invitation to stay at your home

The most important rule to remember is to know when it is time to leave : ) I adore my friends and family and I love when they visit me in the summer since I live at the beach, but I am also happy when they depart. As a guest it is important to know when the visit must end. No matter how charming, witty, funny and lovely you think you are, you may also get annoying and boring after too much time in another persons home and space. A cognizant guest will stay no longer that what is necessary. Example, this past Sunday the four of us went to brunch and back to the house, when we got back to the house I packed up, thanked my host for a wonderful weekend of catching up, dinner and adventures, then I bid them adieu. I knew my host had plans later in the day and I did not want to overstay my welcome.... although I have to admit we are all excited to plan another weekend soon!

Also try not to take up too much room when you are a guest, don't litter the bathroom with your towels, bathrobe, cosmetics and toiletries. Do not leave your shoes, purse, briefcase or jacket lying around. Put your empty glasses in the kitchen and wash them.


Adieu,
Tara

A guest has not to thank the host, but the host the guest”
Russian Proverb quotes