Classically Abby - How To Be The BEST Hostess EVER! ｜｜ Make your guests feel right at home 💙

00:00:00.120 Hello beautiful ladies and welcome to today's video where we're going to be talking about 1.00

00:00:04.500 how to be the best hostess.

00:00:09.760 My husband and I love hosting people and we actually host people to stay quite a bit and

00:00:14.480 I love doing it.

00:00:15.980 I have fallen in love with hosting.

00:00:18.300 It is one of my favorite things.

00:00:20.180 It's my favorite way to show how I'm a good homemaker, my feminine touch, and how much

00:00:26.600 of a difference that makes when our guests come to stay.

00:00:30.240 It is the most fun.

00:00:32.340 So I really wanted to share a few of my favorite ways to be a really good hostess and make people

00:00:38.320 feel totally welcome when they come to stay with you.

00:00:41.300 So let's get into it.

00:00:42.680 The first thing to do when you want to be a great hostess is keep your house clean.

00:00:48.160 Make sure that whenever anyone comes to visit, everything is in its proper place.

00:00:52.140 Maybe you've mopped or you've vacuumed and you've kept your house looking spick and span

00:00:58.140 because I know that when I walk into someone's house and it's a little bit messy, I always

00:01:02.740 worry that maybe I'm a bit early or they're just a little busy.

00:01:05.860 Of course, I'm not offended by that, but I just want to make sure that they are totally

00:01:10.140 at ease if I'm coming to stay with them.

00:01:12.220 So I want my guests to know that I am ready.

00:01:15.360 I'm prepared.

00:01:16.740 The whole thing is set up and ready to go and I am at ease that they are coming to stay

00:01:21.580 because I know that a lot of people feel like they can be a burden when they're staying

00:01:25.180 with someone.

00:01:25.940 I don't ever want my guests to feel that way.

00:01:28.600 So if I just clean my house, make sure everything is in its proper place, that I've dusted and

00:01:33.880 made sure that it looks like it's ready for a guest, then my guests will know that I am

00:01:39.000 ready and expecting them and everything is ready to go.

00:01:42.220 Because when you're in somebody else's house, it can feel a little bit uncomfortable.

00:01:45.920 You're a little bit in their space.

00:01:47.460 But if they make it clear that they want you there because their house is ready for

00:01:52.400 you, then you will feel totally welcome.

00:01:55.300 So that's what I try and do for my guests.

00:01:57.980 Now, my husband and I have a guest room and I love having a well-appointed guest room so

00:02:03.820 that my guests know that they have their own space when they come to visit.

00:02:07.700 So I love to have freshly washed sheets and a beautiful warm comforter ready for them.

00:02:14.120 I have a set of drawers in there as well so that if they want to unpack, they can.

00:02:19.220 I also have a couple of hangers ready for them so that if they want to hang up some things,

00:02:23.840 they can do that as well.

00:02:25.460 And I like to keep a clock in there as well as a lamp so that if they want to read before

00:02:30.620 bed, they can.

00:02:31.760 I've also started putting a little sleep mask right next to the bed so that if they want

00:02:36.160 to use it, they can.

00:02:37.220 Again, I wash that after the guests come.

00:02:39.520 And one of my favorite things is having a fresh robe and clean towels for them when

00:02:45.480 they get here so that they don't have to ask for one.

00:02:48.440 I think that having a clean robe is super nice because if they shower and maybe if you

00:02:54.180 don't have a specific bathroom just for that guest room, if they need to share, then they

00:02:59.060 don't feel uncomfortable coming out of the bathroom in just a towel.

00:03:01.860 They'll have a robe to wrap themselves in.

00:03:03.740 You can get really inexpensive robes at TJ Maxx.

00:03:07.000 So it's not a huge splurge to have one for a guest and just having those clean towels

00:03:12.420 for them.

00:03:12.840 And I'm not just talking about a full body towel because that's really nice too and of

00:03:17.220 course very important, but I'm actually talking about a specific towel for their face and

00:03:21.940 their hands because I know that when I go to someone's house, if they have a hand towel

00:03:26.420 hanging, I'm not sure if I should use that after I wash my face or something, but if I

00:03:30.400 give my guests just a specific hand towel that's just for them so that when they wash their

00:03:35.260 face, when they go to bed or in the morning, they have their own so they don't have to

00:03:38.520 worry about it.

00:03:39.440 I also use a white one so that if they get some makeup on it, they don't have to worry.

00:03:44.000 I can just go ahead and bleach it so it's not a stress point.

00:03:46.980 I know that I've also been to people's houses where they've had a beautiful set of towels,

00:03:51.460 but I accidentally got mascara on something and I felt so bad about it.

00:03:56.600 Of course, they didn't worry about it, but I did.

00:03:59.180 And I don't want my guests to ever worry, so if I'm using a white hand towel, it'll

00:04:03.720 just be easy to bleach.

00:04:04.920 I also usually tell them that.

00:04:06.720 I usually say, don't worry if you get makeup on here.

00:04:09.280 It's not a problem.

00:04:10.280 I can easily bleach that, so it's not something you should stress about.

00:04:13.880 That for me is one of the biggest things.

00:04:15.640 I just don't want my guests to feel stressed.

00:04:18.480 I want them to feel like they're on a little mini vacation whenever they come to visit me.

00:04:22.560 And that's true for our families, our parents, and just friends.

00:04:26.720 Now, of course, before they ever even arrive, one of my absolute favorite things to do is

00:04:32.200 to make an itinerary.

00:04:34.100 So I actually will plan out a weekend or whatever days they're coming and kind of give them the

00:04:40.060 lay of the land of what the plan will be so they know what to pack and they know what

00:04:44.260 we're going to be doing before they even get here.

00:04:46.900 So I'll usually ask them what they're interested in seeing while they're in town, if they're

00:04:50.400 going to need any time to do work or whatever it is, and I'll ask them about food allergies.

00:04:55.660 That's a huge one because when they come to visit, they're probably going to be eating

00:04:59.400 a lot of my food.

00:05:00.240 So if they're a vegetarian or a vegan or gluten-free, I would know that in advance and I can prepare

00:05:06.500 foods for them that would actually be okay for them to eat.

00:05:10.080 So I will ask all those questions and then I will send them an itinerary a few days in

00:05:14.720 advance with each day kind of lined up with saying, okay, we'll be doing this in the evening.

00:05:19.740 These are our plans during the day.

00:05:21.300 This is the time we're going to wake up.

00:05:22.540 I book in and make sure they have alone time.

00:05:26.400 Now that's a big one and that was actually a lesson I learned.

00:05:29.740 When I had guests over for the first time, I thought I had to book every single minute

00:05:34.780 of their day and that we had to be together the entire time.

00:05:38.100 And after that, I realized it's kind of tiring and people just sometimes need a little bit

00:05:42.680 of time to rest.

00:05:43.960 So I started booking in an hour or two for each day or even more depending for them to

00:05:51.060 just spend on their own, especially if it's a couple, they might just want to spend some

00:05:54.440 time by themselves.

00:05:55.820 And then the rest of the day, we're going to go out to eat or I'll prepare food or we'll

00:06:00.360 see a movie or we'll see the zoo or something fun that they'll be excited to do and they'll

00:06:05.900 know what to pack.

00:06:07.080 And then of course, like I said, I'll ask them those allergies, make sure I have all

00:06:11.740 the stuff that I need so that they won't be ill when they're here and they can eat

00:06:16.160 whatever I cook.

00:06:17.180 Because that's a great thing to know just whenever you're hosting at all.

00:06:21.260 Even if you're hosting people for a dinner, if you don't ask in advance, they may not remember

00:06:26.400 to tell you what food restrictions they have.

00:06:29.440 And so they may show up and they won't have anything to eat.

00:06:32.640 And that is such a bad feeling.

00:06:34.480 That happened to me once when I forgot to ask somebody what their allergies were and it

00:06:40.080 turned out that they were vegetarian and I had made an entirely meat meal and that was

00:06:45.780 so upsetting.

00:06:47.440 I felt so bad.

00:06:48.480 So now I am super on top of that.

00:06:51.480 I make sure that anyone who comes tells me that they have allergies or if they have allergies

00:06:55.620 so I'm prepared and so everyone can eat whatever I make.

00:06:59.440 And of course, another great thing to do when you have guests over is to provide them with

00:07:04.460 snacks.

00:07:05.060 So I love to have a glass of water on the nightstand so that if they want to drink something or

00:07:11.480 a water bottle, they will have something there because it can be kind of awkward.

00:07:16.040 You don't want to search through somebody's cabinets to find a cup or a glass.

00:07:19.720 And if you are trying to be polite, then you might end up being thirsty, especially if you

00:07:24.080 wake up before they do or something like that, you won't have access to a cup or any water.

00:07:29.440 So it's always good to either tell them in advance that, hey, you're welcome to look

00:07:34.300 in my cabinets and grab a cup whenever you need to, or you can just provide them with

00:07:38.460 it right off the bat and make sure that they have everything they need.

00:07:42.460 And then a couple of other things you can do is provide them with some snacks.

00:07:45.860 So if they get hungry during the day, again, they don't have to search through your cabinets

00:07:49.900 to find something to eat.

00:07:51.280 You can always put a few snacks right in their room or again, just direct them to the cabinet

00:07:56.140 and say, you are welcome to grab whatever you need.

00:07:59.760 I love the idea that they don't have to worry about it, especially if your cabinets are more

00:08:04.260 organized.

00:08:04.980 Of course, my cabinets are not always that well organized depending on the time of month

00:08:10.080 because sometimes I go through a whole organizing spree and everything is in its place.

00:08:15.040 And other times it's been two weeks and my cabinets look like a mess.

00:08:18.540 But when I have guests coming, I'll usually organize so that I can say, go ahead and grab

00:08:24.600 whatever you need.

00:08:25.420 It's in the cabinet.

00:08:26.640 And just in case your guests wake up before you do, make sure you show them how to use

00:08:31.340 the coffee maker because a lot of people need coffee as soon as they wake up.

00:08:36.000 And so they'll really appreciate knowing where everything is and how to use your coffee machine

00:08:40.840 so that they can have coffee right as soon as they are awake.

00:08:43.860 And I know that I've had many guests wake up and want coffee and they've gotten it by

00:08:50.240 themselves because they haven't had to worry about waking me up.

00:08:53.680 I've already showed them how to do it.

00:08:55.040 So that's a really nice thing too to provide for them so that they don't have to worry about

00:08:59.460 getting their caffeine fix.

00:09:01.480 Now, I absolutely love having guests over and I love to make them feel at home.

00:09:06.880 I have a list of my favorite places when people come to visit so we can hit those spots and

00:09:11.800 make sure that they get to see them when they're here and it just makes the whole trip seem

00:09:16.140 so much smoother and feel so much more welcoming to them because they know that I had the time

00:09:22.160 to prepare and I absolutely love it.

00:09:25.120 I love making people feel like they're in a bed and breakfast so they don't even have

00:09:28.880 to worry about it.

00:09:30.720 Let me know in the comments what you do to make your guests feel at home.

00:09:34.640 I'd love to hear.

00:09:36.060 I'd love to hear if you have any tips or tricks.

00:09:38.360 Please leave them down below.

00:09:39.680 Thank you guys so much for watching today's video.

00:09:42.400 Please subscribe to my channel and blog if you haven't already.

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00:09:57.760 of this content, and be part of our community.

00:09:59.940 And I'll see you guys in my next video.

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Classically Abby - June 15, 2020

How To Be The BEST Hostess EVER! ｜｜ Make your guests feel right at home 💙

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