Vintage Homemaking Week: Day Four
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Welcome to Vintage Homemaking Week! This series is designed to bring back some of the old-fashioned skills of homemaking for the woman of today.
Each day I’ll feature a post or guest post here on my blog as well as links to some others who are participating. Each individual post will not only have a how-to on a skill of homemaking, but also a great giveaway! {And remember that Samantha from Fields of Gold has a new how-to gardening post every day this week!}
And, there is a grand prize giveaway for one gal who either Tweets, Pins on Pinterest or writes a Facebook status about our series. She’ll win a $50 gift certificate to our Proverbs 31 ministries Online store to buy books and products just for her! {details at the end of this post}
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Here on my site today we’re learning how to make guests in our home feel welcomed with special touches. Angela Perritt from Good Morning Girls will be sharing this with us. We’ve done ministry together online but recently met in person. You are gonna love her as much as I do! But first, our other gals on the vintage tour:
My friend Glynnis is reminiscing about vintage tea towel … well, not really the tea towels, but what was often embroidered on them: A vintage homemaker’s weekly schedule. Is there any place in a modern homemaker’s life for this old-fashioned practice? Visit Glynnis’ blog today to see what she thinks. She’s giving away a copy of her book I Used to Be So Organized.
Next we have my online friend Latoya Edwards. LaToya is a single, homeschooling mom of two bouncing boys. She lives for the quiet moments of the day which are few and far between with two rambunctious young men running around the house. She strives each day to life fully for God and although she often falls short she is determined to stay the course. She wants to encourage women to follow God’s direction for their lives no matter the circumstances. She is giving away a $15 Amazon gift card to one reader. Click here to read her thoughts about reading to your children and to enter the giveaway.
Next we have Rachel Wojo. Rachel has been described as both inspiring and practical, as well as engaging and interesting. Her passion is to inspire you to live out extraordinary faith in Christ by providing everyday real-life solutions and to encourage Bible reading and prayer in personal relationship with God to grow your faith, as well as the faith of your children. She is a reader, writer, speaker and dreamer but most importantly, wife to her man and mom to 7.
Combining her passions of inspiration and God’s Word, today Rachel is sharing how to make your own Scripture tea. She’ll show you how to mix and match loose leaf tea and make your own tea bags. She’s offering a free printable to make your own Scripture tea tags and giving away a fabulous handmade Scripture tea set! Click here to check out her tea-rrific post and enter to win the beautiful giveaway.
Now…for Angela’s post…
{Photo credit: http://www.elizabethannedesigns.com}
With our holidays fast approaching, I know for many of us that means we will be having friends and family members staying in our homes. Today I’d like to share with you 10 simple ways I try and make my guests feel loved and welcome in my home.
The most important item to remember when you have guests coming to stay in your house is this: they are coming to see you. Your house doesn’t have to be Martha Stewart or Pinterest perfect….just loving and inviting.
Here are a few ways I try to achieve that for my guests who come to visit.
1. Welcome basket-I always have a welcome basket in my bathroom waiting for my guests when they arrive. I normally purchase items for it when I see them on sale. Items I include in my welcome basket are:
·Toothbrushes
·Toothpaste
·Shave cream
·Razor
·Mouthwash
·Hairspray
·Scissors
·Shampoo
·Conditioner
·Body lotion
·Q-Tips
·Cotton balls
·Deodorant
·Hairdryer
{photo credit: http://www.decotheca.com}
2. Picture frame with their picture inside.- If they are close friends or family members, I try to include a picture of them in a picture frame in the guest bedroom where they will be staying.If I don’t have a picture to place in the frame, then I just include a quote that I have found about the importance of family and friends.
3. Fresh flowers- Either the night before or the day of, I always try to have some fresh cut flowers in a vase by the bed they will be sleeping in.
4. Chocolates, water, candle and snacks- taking a cue from hotels, I always like to leave a candle with a small basket of snacks, water and chocolates on the bed or dresser in my guest room.
5. Clean sheets & towels- I think that should just be a given….
6. Goodies for the little ones- Nothing is harder than traveling with little children. When I have guests staying at my house with small children, I try to have a few small, inexpensive items for the children to use and play with while in my home. The items don’t have to cost a lot, I normally make a run to my local dollar store and pick up small toy and a coloring book with crayons. If you happen to have some baby gear in your house like a pack-n-play or baby swing….make sure and get those items out! Remembering to bring all the gear that accompanies little ones can be overwhelming so if you have a few items that the parents don’t need to bring, that will help lessen their “load” and make traveling on them a little easier.
7. Don’t forget the coffee & creamer– Yes, I learned that one the hard way. I’m not a coffee drinker and well….I forgot to have those two items in my house when I had a certain family member come and visit. It wasn’t until that visit that I realized how important those two items are to some people in the morning. Lesson learned.
8. Welcome note– Include a small hand written note in your welcome basket with your chocolates, water and snacks. Items you may want to include in your note are your guest Wi-Fi username and password, your home phone number incase they don’t’ already have it and a special kind word telling them how excited you are to have them in your home.
9. Nice hangers and area to put their clothes- Just like in a hotel, it’s always nice to have a few good quality hangers waiting in the closet for your guests to use. I also have a dresser in my guest room which I purposefully leave empty so my guests have a few drawers to place their folded clothes.
10. Most importantly…SMILE- nothing says “Welcome to my home” like a warm smile and hug. Greet your guests as they come to your house and make them feel welcome the moment they enter.
Love God Greatly! Angela
TODAY’S GIVEAWAY: A personalized and signed copy of my book A Life That Says Welcome: Simple Ways to Open Your Heart and Home to Others and a $10 Target card to buy supplies for a welcome basket for your guests.
To be entered to win this giveaway, leave a comment here about having guests over. Do you enjoy this? Dread this? Why or why not? All winners announced the Tuesday after Labor Day.
To be entered in the grand prize drawing for the $50 gift certificate to Proverbs 31, Just grab a Tweet, Facebook status or Pin below and then tell me by clicking here and commenting that you did so. If you share one way, you’ll be entered once. Share two ways? Twice. All three? {You get the picture}
Here are two tweets to copy & paste into Twitter:
Old-fashioned how-to homemaking skills from over a dozen bloggers! @karen_ehman Its Vintage Homemaking Week at karenehman.com
Homemaking need some new ideas? How about some old? @karen_ehman Vintage Homemaking Week karenehman.com A dozen bloggers & prizes!
Facebook:
Homemaking need some fresh new ideas? Well…….how about some old-fashioned ones instead? It is Vintage Homemaking Week at karenehman.com Over a dozen bloggers & awesome prizes! Baking, canning, freezing, gardening, cleaning and organizing strategies, re-furnishing furniture, throwing a vintage party, retro-hair & make-up and other old-fashioned how-tos! It will spark your creativity and re-energize your home, marriage and mothering. Join us!!!
Pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/149744756333513747/
See you tomorrow for the final day in our vintage series!
I love the idea about a welcome note that includes your WiFi password etc. I love to prepare my “guest room” like this too. I also include writing paper, envelopes, pen and stamps, and also spare batteries, tissues and hotel slippers.
I do love having guests once they are here…it is however, a stressful time getting every detail ready for the visit. I’m working really hard on this and allowing God to change that to Joy and remember I want to be a Mary.
I so love having company! We’re a military family and don’t get to see our family often so when they come visit its such a treat!
I am learning to love having people over. I used to stress out about the house and the food before having guests, but I’ve learned to let go of a lot of that. The more I open my home the easier I find it to be. My favorite people to have over are my husband’s students. They are wonderful guests! They are happy to be out of the dorm and eating home-cooked food, so they’re very easy to please! Another thing I’ve learned over the years is that simply setting a nice table makes people feel special. Even some of the students comment on my table, and believe me, I don’t do any fancy or creative table settings or centerpieces or anything. Just real linens and pretty dishes–all mix-n-match!
I love having guests over. We have one bedroom upstairs that I am working on fixing up into a nice guest room. Ive got a welcome basket started in the bathroom and am working on making our home more inviting and welcoming. Thanks for your great ideas!
I use to love having guests over and have used some of the ideas you posted. Since I have been sick it has been a while since we have had others over. I would love to have missionaries over when they come in!
Thank you so much for the tips. I currently live in a small apartment so I’m not able to have guests over. I plan on using these ideas/tips once I move to my own house! :)
I enjoy the company but dread the preparation. I just want things to be perfect and I get overwhelmed easily.
I love to have people over! We very rarely have overnight guests, but I love to host cookouts and holiday parties. It is just my husband and I, and our cats, so I love the atmosphere when we have company.
Really enjoy preparing a home cooked meal for guests as well as snacks!
We’re newly married, so I’m somewhat new to being the hostess. So far I’ve really enjoying hosting overnight guests! Thanks for all the ideas… I have three friends coming from my home area to visit me this weekend, so I shall have to try them out. :)
What jiffy ideas! I want to print them all out and incorporate them into my life.
I love the planning…get anxious about the execution…love, love, love the time with sweet friends and savor the memories..thanks for the giveaway…would love to adapt more of your ideas into practice here!
I absolutely dread having guests over. As an introvert, just being with people wears me out and because of my lack of experience with people, I just don’t know what to do for them or how to act around them. Despite this, people do come over! And I feel completely unprepared, awkward, and just generally lacking. My family is what makes my house a home, without them it would just be a house. I would absolutely love to learn how to make people feel welcome when they come to visit and how to create an inviting space just for them!
I LOVE having guests but don’t always feel successful about being a great host. I always try to do the things listed today, but like the way they are made special and some new ideas, too! Thanks so much!
I love these ideas! Enjoy having quests in our home but rarely do it. Excuses like time and schedules. I would love this book because I feel God has given me gifts of hospitality.
I enjoy having company over. I am getting more involved in my church’s ministry to those who are hurting so I will be having more company over–I could use more tips on making my home as warm and inviting as possible.
I love having people to my house! Right now it’s so small that they usually have to sleep on the couch or an air mattress which is frustrating for me. I wish I could do more, but I know as I get older the time will come when I’ll be able to do many of these things on this list and feel like a truly good host!
Pinned too
Angela, We live so far away from extended family, that it’s been years since they’ve come to stay. I AM used to lots of college kids crashing at our house, but that’s quite a bit different. Since we moved to Fox Island and have a guest room we’ve hosted our good friends from out of town and a student from Switzerland. I enjoy short visits…after a couple days I’m not as enthusiastic. I love preparing the room and menu for them and I will totally incorporate some of your ideas (their picture!) in the future. Your book sounds wonderful.
Having guests totally stresses me out BUT my having guests definitely gives me an incentive to get my home mega clean:) I am improving a tiny bit-I have had 2 baby showers in my home and for me that’s HUGE and hosted missionary friends for dinner…I have done other things but I think I have to realize perfection in regard to food or my house isn’t the important thing its actually having people over and relaxing and enjoying their company-and me being relaxed is probably more enjoyable for the guests as well!
Angela, what a great list of ideas to welcome guests into your home. I know I will be using many of these ideas. Thanks for your post.
I love having company come and stay, especially since we live so far away from both sets of family. I also enjoy this post because it has inspired me to be welcoming in a great and thoughtful way.
And I should say that I enjoy having guests because it’s the only time I can get my family to help me clean without turning into an ogre. Oh wait, I think I do that anyway. But when we bought our house, we were intentional about having a place where we could have guests. I don’t think I’m very good at hosting, because I’m an introvert, so when I have people who expect me to entertain them, I get stressed because I don’t get my alone time.
Wow, these are all such great tips! It’s almost overwhelming. I think I will go back through and try a few at a time. Now to choose which to implement first. :)