Lady PP' Heart of the Home
Celebrations

Think Quick! Fast Ideas for Last Minute Guests

Summer is here!

Relaxing days...fun-in-the-sun...ahhh, this is the life.

Yikes! Are you kidding? Out-of-town guests are coming! This will be MORE work, not less!

Calm down! Here are some fast ideas to carry you through those last-minute summer visits in style and ease.

Put all the information you're about to collect in one easy-to-find place. No more running around like a crazed woman at the last minute. Everything you need will be in one place, waiting for you when you need it.

Yah. Your company will want to eat. The trick here is to maintain a balance of eating out (fun but somewhat expensive) with eating in (cheaper but more work). Think 'preparation'. Make a list of all local restaurants you are willing to take visitors to. Locate a variety of cuisines and prices and don't forget to include both family-friendly and adult-oriented choices. Then assemble coupons for those particular restaurants. Whenever you see a 'deal' in the paper or your local coupon booklet, clip it and attach it to this file. Then you can give your guests a simple choice rather than just saying 'where would you like to eat?' Keeps you in control and them delighted with your thoughtfulness.

As far as eating IN goes, planning will again win you big points. Start by assembling some recipes you trust; look for fast and tasty. Spend a little time going through a cookbook or use a service like the one at Painted Gold to get a fresh recipe each day for no cost to you. Print out the recipes you choose, make a shopping list of what you need to prepare them and keep that list with the recipes. When guests call you can pop into the store with a ready-made list and be out fast. Also consider cooking a double meal once a week (no more work than cooking one meal) and freeze the second one for those unexpected guests.

Guests on vacation need to have fun. And you will, too, if you're ready. Most every area has its local attractions; collect coupons and information on these places now. Be sure and include hours of operation and any admission fees. Often local papers have great write-ups on events and festivals throughout the summer. Clip those columns and toss in your file, too.

Having guests can be wonderful...or draining on your household. Minimize the work you'll need to do to be a gracious host. Keep a stack of inexpensive but newer towels set apart to give only to your guests. Much easier than trying to keep up with extra laundry the day before they arrive. Put together a simple guest basket in the guest bedroom: inexpensive soaps, teas, reading material and the like. Anticipate a few needs and your guests will feel very pampered and you won't have to continually be asked for the same items. If your guests need to take over a family member's room for their stay, have the family member 'pack' their own bag to keep with them during this time. That will save everyone some sanity at 7:00 am when junior needs to get to soccer practice but your guests are sleeping in.

Enjoy your guests without feeling like you're running a hotel. Plan a little and relax a lot during these wonderful lazy days of summer!