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16 answers and 16 difficult questions when you host somebody

As usual…. to see better “click” on the photos!

Question No. 1: Can I ask my guests to take off their shoes before coming in?

Do you have a little child or a very white carpet with long hair? In this case you can ask your guests the kindness to take off their shoes. It would be nice to prepare them another possibility.

Your guest got dressed nice to come to your dinner and now you ask them to take off their shoes….. especially for women it will be terrible! Imagine the time and the money they have invested to choose them…. you kill them their outfit! If you love inviting people maybe it’s time to change your carpet instead your friends the shoes!

Question No.2: We have no guest room, but a beautiful sofa bed. Do we have to give our bed to our guests?

If your sofa bed is comfortable,  big enough and gives your guest a little privacy you can keep your bed. On the contrary if your sofa bed is in the kitchen or in a place where you can reach all the other rooms you have to sacrifice yourself!

Question No. 3: We have only one bathroom! Do I have to let the guests be the first and me the last one?

No. If you want to host well you have to be the first in the bathroom, because it’s your job to prepare breakfast, tidy up around and make a sunny face, even if you don’t feel so. Let your guests take your time in the bathroom.

Question No. 4: Do I have to pay all the time for my guests during their stay?

You have to do nothing! If your guests stay for a short time you can also pay for them, but if they are smart they will ask for the bill by themselves.

Question No. 5: Often I have untidy guests at home. I can’t stand them and seeing their things everywhere. Can I say something?

A perfect hosting means closing your eyes for a short period. You want that your guests feel like at home, but you also have to feel still like at home or things turn bad! A compromise can be:  “cancel” the guest room for this period and tidy up only the rest of your house. I know it’s not easy, but once you understand this it’s really lighter for you. If they want to live in the mess…it’s up to them!

Question No. 6: Your friends’ visit has been planned for a lot of weeks. Now an invitation for a birthday brunch from one of your friends arrives….. Is it possible to ask the guests to spend some hours alone?

If your friends come only for the weekend and only to visit you, I would say it’s very difficult! Better will be to ask the birthday friend if you can bring your friends with you, but be sensible:  you can’t bring a half football team with you! If this it’s not possible you have to stay with your friends because they are the older date!

Question No. 7: How do I have to organize the program for my guest during their stay? 24 hours fun?

If your program is well organized not only your guests will enjoy it but everybody will be in a good mood. Nothing is worst than to be bored. This doesn’t mean that you have to plan every minute of the stay, find the comprise between free time and organization. Your guests will love it, when you leave them free time for a nap, visiting the town, make shopping also alone. The more you know your friends the surer you are about what they love.

Question No. 8: Do I have to ask my guests about their favorites o not?

Let’s say, if you ask you can save yourself from terrible moments. It’s stupid to prepare sophisticated plates when your guests have to say no to the raw fish.

Question 9: Do I have to invite friends of friends or not closed relatives to me only because I am the only person they know in town?

If it’s only for 2 or 3 day you can also think about. Maybe they are funny people and you can start a friendship. So when you tell the story after a lot of years, you can start: “They just needed a place to stay…….”.

Question 10: Friends are in your town and call you to ask if they can pass and sleep in your house without informing you before. You have time but your are not in the mood. Can you say no and in which way?

If you don’t want you don’t have to! You don’t feel good when your friends arrive and your fridge is empty and your home is not tidy. It’s not nice to cause troubles to people! You can say no without any problems and you can also tell a lie, but you have to say it with a determined voice and not with a shakily voice.

Question 11: Can I go to bed before my guests do it, when I am tired?

Difficult. You can do it when you have to get up very early in the morning the following day or if you got up today at 5 a.m. to get your mother in law or other guests from the airport that is 200 km from your house. In all other cases, sorry but you have to be awake! If you have guests they pay attention how you feel, they will realize by themselves when it is the right time to go to bed, because they can see that your eyes are gonna be closed in few minutes.

Question 12: Do I have to clean the whole house from the base until the top before my guests arrive or can I leave some stuff around in some corners?

Tidy and clean has to be the part of the house where the guests are moving, for example the kitchen and the bath. It’s up to you to keep them clean, that they don’t will find hair in the shower or the curtain in the shower is mouldy or full of lime. There is a chaos that looks creative, this will be o.k. If you like living in this way it’s not a problem. Let some free space where your guests can keep their things.

Question 13: I love my privacy and I don’t really like having guests in my house. How can I explain that to them?

If you really feel uncomfortable with people staying in your house, never accept guests longer than a weekend, because you will lose their friendship. It helps nobody if you say yes to have guests and you go out of mind for that, it will be a terrible atmosphere. But if they are really good friends you have to accept them for a weekend at least! It’s only a weekend, you can survive with this!

Question 14: Not very close friends tell you they are coming to visit you.

If you can’t say no, invite other friends, this will help you with the communication and makes the situation less heavy. If you are lucky they will like each other.

Question 15: What  do I have to do with my cat or my dog when friends at home are afraid of?

Bad education from your pets won’t be a great help in this case. If you don’t tell them, that you don’t have to hug everybody that enters in your house, they will stay for a while in the sleeping room. You and your pet have to pass through to this. Both will survive. If your pet is well educated maybe it’s just enough to tell him to go into his basket and place that far away from you guests. You both will survive this as well.

I know exactly what I’m talking about.

Question 16: Your choice of soft drinks, wine, drinks etc. is not the best, should you buy some more?

Yes I think so. A little more choice will not cost the world. If they are good friends you know what the like drinking, it’s nice to have that at home. Also in this case don’t buy too much, find the middle way!  

16 answers and 16 difficult questions when you host somebody

As usual…. to see better “click” on the photos!

Question No. 1: Can I ask my guests to take off their shoes before coming in?

Do you have a little child or a very white carpet with long hair? In this case you can ask your guests the kindness to take off their shoes. It would be nice to prepare them another possibility.

Your guest got dressed nice to come to your dinner and now you ask them to take off their shoes….. especially for women it will be terrible! Imagine the time and the money they have invested to choose them…. you kill them their outfit! If you love inviting people maybe it’s time to change your carpet instead your friends the shoes!

Question No.2: We have no guest room, but a beautiful sofa bed. Do we have to give our bed to our guests?

If your sofa bed is comfortable,  big enough and gives your guest a little privacy you can keep your bed. On the contrary if your sofa bed is in the kitchen or in a place where you can reach all the other rooms you have to sacrifice yourself!

Question No. 3: We have only one bathroom! Do I have to let the guests be the first and me the last one?

No. If you want to host well you have to be the first in the bathroom, because it’s your job to prepare breakfast, tidy up around and make a sunny face, even if you don’t feel so. Let your guests take your time in the bathroom.

Question No. 4: Do I have to pay all the time for my guests during their stay?

You have to do nothing! If your guests stay for a short time you can also pay for them, but if they are smart they will ask for the bill by themselves.

Question No. 5: Often I have untidy guests at home. I can’t stand them and seeing their things everywhere. Can I say something?

A perfect hosting means closing your eyes for a short period. You want that your guests feel like at home, but you also have to feel still like at home or things turn bad! A compromise can be:  “cancel” the guest room for this period and tidy up only the rest of your house. I know it’s not easy, but once you understand this it’s really lighter for you. If they want to live in the mess…it’s up to them!

Question No. 6: Your friends’ visit has been planned for a lot of weeks. Now an invitation for a birthday brunch from one of your friends arrives….. Is it possible to ask the guests to spend some hours alone?

If your friends come only for the weekend and only to visit you, I would say it’s very difficult! Better will be to ask the birthday friend if you can bring your friends with you, but be sensible:  you can’t bring a half football team with you! If this it’s not possible you have to stay with your friends because they are the older date!

Question No. 7: How do I have to organize the program for my guest during their stay? 24 hours fun?

If your program is well organized not only your guests will enjoy it but everybody will be in a good mood. Nothing is worst than to be bored. This doesn’t mean that you have to plan every minute of the stay, find the comprise between free time and organization. Your guests will love it, when you leave them free time for a nap, visiting the town, make shopping also alone. The more you know your friends the surer you are about what they love.

Question No. 8: Do I have to ask my guests about their favorites o not?

Let’s say, if you ask you can save yourself from terrible moments. It’s stupid to prepare sophisticated plates when your guests have to say no to the raw fish.

Question 9: Do I have to invite friends of friends or not closed relatives to me only because I am the only person they know in town?

If it’s only for 2 or 3 day you can also think about. Maybe they are funny people and you can start a friendship. So when you tell the story after a lot of years, you can start: “They just needed a place to stay…….”.

Question 10: Friends are in your town and call you to ask if they can pass and sleep in your house without informing you before. You have time but your are not in the mood. Can you say no and in which way?

If you don’t want you don’t have to! You don’t feel good when your friends arrive and your fridge is empty and your home is not tidy. It’s not nice to cause troubles to people! You can say no without any problems and you can also tell a lie, but you have to say it with a determined voice and not with a shakily voice.

Question 11: Can I go to bed before my guests do it, when I am tired?

Difficult. You can do it when you have to get up very early in the morning the following day or if you got up today at 5 a.m. to get your mother in law or other guests from the airport that is 200 km from your house. In all other cases, sorry but you have to be awake! If you have guests they pay attention how you feel, they will realize by themselves when it is the right time to go to bed, because they can see that your eyes are gonna be closed in few minutes.

Question 12: Do I have to clean the whole house from the base until the top before my guests arrive or can I leave some stuff around in some corners?

Tidy and clean has to be the part of the house where the guests are moving, for example the kitchen and the bath. It’s up to you to keep them clean, that they don’t will find hair in the shower or the curtain in the shower is mouldy or full of lime. There is a chaos that looks creative, this will be o.k. If you like living in this way it’s not a problem. Let some free space where your guests can keep their things.

Question 13: I love my privacy and I don’t really like having guests in my house. How can I explain that to them?

If you really feel uncomfortable with people staying in your house, never accept guests longer than a weekend, because you will lose their friendship. It helps nobody if you say yes to have guests and you go out of mind for that, it will be a terrible atmosphere. But if they are really good friends you have to accept them for a weekend at least! It’s only a weekend, you can survive with this!

Question 14: Not very close friends tell you they are coming to visit you.

If you can’t say no, invite other friends, this will help you with the communication and makes the situation less heavy. If you are lucky they will like each other.

Question 15: What  do I have to do with my cat or my dog when friends at home are afraid of?

Bad education from your pets won’t be a great help in this case. If you don’t tell them, that you don’t have to hug everybody that enters in your house, they will stay for a while in the sleeping room. You and your pet have to pass through to this. Both will survive. If your pet is well educated maybe it’s just enough to tell him to go into his basket and place that far away from you guests. You both will survive this as well.

I know exactly what I’m talking about.

Question 16: Your choice of soft drinks, wine, drinks etc. is not the best, should you buy some more?

Yes I think so. A little more choice will not cost the world. If they are good friends you know what the like drinking, it’s nice to have that at home. Also in this case don’t buy too much, find the middle way!