Hostess Gift Roundup

I've never met a hostess that didn't like a hostess gift. It's always appropriate to give a hostess gift when you are invited to a home. It doesn't have to be expensive or big, just something that says 'I appreciate the invitation and am happy to be here.' This post is dedicated to hostesses near and far who have taken that next step toward hospitality and opened their homes to guests young and old.

These are some ideas for you. Maybe they'll spark some creative ideas in you to make your own hostess gifts for those hospitable friends and family of yours.

Hostess Gifts to Buy or Make:
{because I realize sometimes we don't have the time to make a special gift}
~These adorable Acorn Ornaments are way too cute and would be perfect for giving to your hostess on Thanksgiving or at another Fall get together!

{Moths and Rust Etsy Shop}

~Tea for the Season along with a tea ball or cute tea cup would be very cute!

 

{Stash Tea}

~Bread with Homemade Jam would be a great hostess gift, wrapped in a new kitchen towel. So cute! Get FREE PRINTABLES for your jam here.

{Life is {Sew} Daily}

~This Peppermint Sugar Hand Scrub is divine....and SO easy and cheap to make!

{Less-Than-Perfect Life of Bliss}

~This Homemade Vanilla Extract looks like a great idea!

{The Happier Homemaker}

~ You can also check out my Pinterest board - Hostess Gifts - for more great ideas! While you're at it, Follow me on Pinterest!

This is part of my 31 Days of Home Economics series. You can find the whole series at the tab above {Home Economics}.

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5 Ways to Roll Out the Red Carpet

We all know that first impressions are important. We can't help but have an initial impression of people when we meet them for the first time, or when we start a new job or visit a church, etc. As human beings, it is natural for us to observe the immediate surroundings and attitude and feel of the people around us and to come to a conclusion (hopefully a good one) about the place/people involved. The same goes for a home. The first time we enter a home of a friend or aquaintance, we form an opinion. Do we feel welcome here? Do I feel at home here? Am I afraid to sit anywhere or touch anything? Lots of factors are involved that help us come to those conclusions. Let's explore some of those things and hopefully determine what (if any) we need to work harder on. I know there are some things I need to work on here!

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1. The Entry. Is your doorway clean and inviting? Go outside and take a look around. {Go on, I'll wait.} What did you notice about your sidewalk, porch, doorway? Is it clean, full of spiderwebs, properly lit? I'm not saying it has be to perfect, but I think we could all agree that we would much prefer walking up to a house with a clean, well-lit entrance. I'm not a fan of spiders or their webs. I turn into a ninja warrior when I walk into a spiderweb. It's not pleasant. I realize that most of us probably enter our homes through our garages and hardly ever use our front door, but our guests will most likely use the front door. So, let's clean it up a little. I KNOW your guest will appreciate it. You might even put a wreath on the door or a welcome sign nearby.

2. The Welcome. When I visit friends and family, I love that they greet me at the door or just inside the door when I come. It's a great gesture and says, "You are welcome here! I'm so glad to have you here." A genuine smile and hug (when appropriate) are also very welcoming. It immediately reinforces that I'm in a place where I belong and can be comfortable here. Have you ever been invited to someone's home and NOT been greeted at the door or with a friendly smile? It is a very awkward situation to be in and makes me want to just turn right around and go home. I grew up in a family of huggers. So, everytime we went to visit family and even friends - we were greeted with hugs and smiles and laughter. It's a great thing to know you are welcome.

3. The Stuff. I was talking with a friend recently about having people over and the pros and cons of that. We both agreed that it sometimes is hard to deal with the fact that our 'stuff' might get broken or stained when we have people over. But we also agreed that really in the end, it's just stuff. It can be replaced or repaired. The lesson here is don't value stuff over people. If you have precious valuable things that are at risk of getting broken, just put them away while company is over. It's obvious that we all value our things differently. We are trying to instill a sense of stewardship in our children so that they understand the value of things in the sense that we paid money for these things and we need to take care of our stuff and the things God has given us. In addition to that, we need to treat other people's 'stuff' the same way. But as a hostess, we shouldn't let our love of 'stuff' keep us from welcoming people into our home.

4. The Plan. When you invite people over, put a little bit of effort into having a plan for the time they are there. I'm not saying you have to constantly entertain them or keep them busy. Too much of that can have the opposite effect and make them feel like an inconvenience. By plan, I mean, plan ahead and have enough food, plates, utensils, cups, etc. for all of them. Have an order in your mind of how you want to see the evening go. (i.e. Welcome them, serve appetizers, have the meal, move to living room, chat awhile, serve dessert and coffee, etc.) It doesn't have to be rigid, but think it all through before they come so that you can enjoy your time together and no one feels like nobody knows what's going on or who's in charge.

5. The Details. Little details make things very special and show your guest that you went the extra mile for them. You don't have to do a lot to make things nice. Just do something! And whatever you do, put your heart into it. People remember. I remember visiting a good friend that had moved away and she left little chocolates on my pillow when I went to bed and a water bottle by the bathroom sink in case I was thirsty. That was 13 years ago. See the impression that made on me? My sister always comes up with neat stuff when we have family meals together like Thanksgiving or Christmas. Whether it's cute place cards or unique table centerpieces or whathaveyou, there's always something special added. Last year, I added Christmas Crackers to the kids' place settings and that was a fun, inexpensive little thing for them to make it special. (And as a side note, you can do fun things just for your family, too, to make them feel special for no other reason than to say I love you.) Use one or more of the countless free printables on Pinterest to take your get togethers to the next level. It doesn't cost much, but it makes a world of difference to those your welcoming into your home.

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What kind of things do you do to say "Welcome" in your home? Do you have a favorite little something special you do for your guests? Leave a comment with your favorite things to do for your guests so that we can all get new ideas. I know I could use some!

 

This is part of my 31 Days of Home Economics series. You can find the whole series at the tab above {Home Economics}.

 

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Hostessing: How to Write an Invitation {+ free printables}

Hostessing is almost a lost art, but if there's one thing even more uncommon now than hosting people at your home on a regular basis it's gotta be this. Writing invitations - either informal or formal. Writing of any kind is unusual in this age of technology. We rarely correspond these days unless it is by email, text or telephone. I'm not saying it's absolutely necessary to issue written invitations to people on every occasion. If you're just wanting to have friends over after church or last minute, it's obviously not appropriate to write an invitation. However, how neat is it to receive an invite in the mailbox for an official get together? The last time I got one was for a baby shower which is entirely appropriate and necessary to control who is invited and to plan for food. I thought it would be fun to revisit how to write an invitation - informal and formal - so that we have it for not-too-distant future use.

The Informal Invitation -

• List the name(s) of the host(s). Omit honorifics such as Dr., Mr., Mrs. and Ms. unless the person holds an official rank. The host's title goes on a line beneath the host's name. When there are multiple hosts, the most senior person's name is listed first.
• Extend the invitation.
  semiformal: "cordially invite(s) you to"
  informal: "invite(s) you to join us"
• List the event, such as "dinner," a reception" or "lunch."
• Give the purpose of the event (i.e., "in honor of...").
• Give the date (i.e., "Friday, February 12").
• State the time (i.e., "at 7 p.m.").
• Give the location, including street address.
• List any special instructions, such as "map enclosed."
• List R.S.V.P. information. If you are issuing an invitation without a separate response card, print the address and telephone number of the person handling replies. If you are supplying response cards, state "Response card enclosed." Do not list a cutoff date for a reply.

The Formal Invitation -

• Follow the same rules for the Informal Invitation above, but include honorifics such as Dr., Mr., Mrs., and Ms. and official ranks of people such as President, Pastor, Reverend, Captain, Officer, etc.
• Extend the invitiation. formal: "requests the honor of your presence"
• Dates: Write out the extended date, including the year
• Time: Spell out the time. (i.e. "o'clock")
• Include RSVP card with the invitation

These are some cute free printable templates you can use. I found them on Pinterest, but you can click the link below each one to find the source and print.

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Have you written any invitations lately? How do you prefer to do it?

This is part of my 31 Days of Home Economics series. You can find the whole series at the tab above {Home Economics}.

Thanks for stopping by! I'm sharing this with a few of these friends.

How to Entertain on a Budget: Food Edition

You might feel a little intimidated by the title Hostess, but as we chatted yesterday, you can see there's no reason to be intimidated. You can take hostessing to any level you wish and still make it very inviting and fun for those you're entertaining. We'll talk about a few aspects of hostessing over the next few days starting today with the issue of food. How can you keep it budget friendly, yet still extra special? Let's see!

• Determine your budget. - If you're like me, you have a weekly grocery budget. Are you going to keep this meal as part of that weekly budget or use your entertainment budget? {If you don't have a budget, check this out. It's a great place to get started.}
• Decide how many guests you want to invite. This will impact your budget, so decide this before you decide the food.
• Now that you know how much you can spend and how many guests to invite, let's figure out what kinds of foods fit into that budget. We're going to explore a few low-cost meals we could have.

Buffet-style meals are fun and easy. They don't require having a large dining room to seat everyone and it's very informal. Here's a list of meal ideas that work well with buffet-style:

• Chili - Make a big pot of chili {feeds several people with one batch}. Put the chili at the beginning of the table with the bowls and then stagger all the toppings after that including cheese, corn chips, sour cream, hot sauce, onions, avacado, etc. and then put the spoons/napkins at the end of the table. Have a separate table or countertop for drinks and dessert. Remember, most friends will offer to bring something to help with the meal. Have them bring their favorite topping or a dessert. A batch of chili can easily be made for $7-8. Double that and it's still pretty feasible for feeding 15-20 people for $1 or less per serving. {My recipe is 1lb ground beef, large can of Bush's chili beans, 1 can red kidney beans, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 packet McCormick chili seasoning.}
• Taco Bar - You provide the meat and hard/soft shells, toppings can be brought by guests or you provide - cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, onions, salsa, taco sauce, beans (black or refried), avacado, etc.
• Nacho Bar - Chips, Meat, Nacho Cheese (try melting Velveeta and adding a can of Rotel), lettuce, black olives, onions, salsa, beans, guacamole, sour cream, etc.
• Hamburger Sliders - Provide the meat and buns. Toppings - tomatoes, onions, blue cheese, sliced cheese, bbq sauce, ketchup, mustard, mayo, crispy onions, guacamole, etc. You can be very creative with this! Sides: chips, dip, fries, salad, or whatever you like best.

Once you've figured out the food. Decide how to make it extra special with those little inexpensive touches. You could do a variety of fun things. I've found a few free printables you can use below. Or be creative and come up with your own!

Use these cute chevron printables for a casual get together. This is a huge list I found by searching on Pinterest.

These banners and buffet cards are perfect for a Halloween get together! Print these here. 

These would be so cute for a Thanksgiving kind of meal - lots of printables here to make it an extra special meal.

These would be great for a holiday get together! Have some people over for coffee and dessert and have a grand time with these adorable FREE printables!

These are all very inexpensive ideas for free printables - just the cost of ink and paper. But they will go a long way in making your meal {informal or formal} memorable for years to come! Go the extra step and add those little details. It makes a big difference!

How do you make your get togethers extra special? Do you have a favorite printable? What is your favorite food to serve guests? I'd love some new ideas!

This is part of my 31 Days of Home Economics series. You can find my whole series at the tab above {Home Economics}.

Thank you for stopping by! I'm sharing this with a few of these friends. Hope you'll come back soon!

How to Be a Hostess with the Mostest

I have a sister and a few friends that I believe really know what it means to be a hostess. I think this may well be a lost art. When I was young, it seemed like our family regularly got invited to homes or invited other families to our home for dinner or dessert or after church on a Sunday night just to fellowship together. As a child and up into my teen years, I thought it was normal. I always enjoyed it and it seemed like everyone else did, as well. The older I have gotten, the more I realize that is no longer the norm. People have an isolation mentality - never invite anyone over and never get invited over. I can't quite put my finger on why, but I have a couple of speculations. 1)We're too busy and just value the little bit of time we do get with our family. 2)We aren't that interested in building relationships with people either for reasons I just mentioned or we just don't care. 3)We aren't comfortable with the size/look of our house enough to want to open our home to would-be friends. Or maybe it's another reason entirely. I know I want to be a better hostess and it's something I want my girls to learn early in life so that they, too, will be good hostesses when they grow up.

Here are a few tips to becoming the hostess you want to be!

1. I heard my mother recently say, "Never let the size of your house be the reason you don't have people over." - Truer words have never been spoken. I think that may be one reason I've not had people over as much as I should have. My house doesn't have a whole lot of space, but I realized earlier this summer that it's able to hold more people than I thought when we had about 25-30 college kids/leaders over. The size doesn't really matter to anyone else. It's just a big deal to us because we want everyone to be comfortable and have plenty of space, etc. But, think about it - you're not asking them to move in. You're just having people over to enjoy some food and fellowship together for a few hours. The important thing is that you're opening your home to friends and making memories with them. I have so many fond memories of going to lots of people's homes for dinner as a child. I want my kids to have those same memories. And if you're not being invited, start inviting people to your house! Be THAT friend.
2. It doesn't have to cost a fortune. You can keep it cheap while feeding a crowd. There are lots of things you can do and still stay in your budget. I don't think it's tacky to invite a group of people over and ask them to contribute a small part of the meal. If you're having hamburgers/hot dogs, provide the main parts of the meal and ask your friends to bring sides and dessert. Most friends will offer to bring something anyway. Or plan ahead and come up with a low-cost meal {read about that here} and you'll be able to afford the whole meal. {Think chili, nacho bar, taco bar, etc.}
3. People appreciate and notice the small details. My sister is amazing at this. Her special meals/events are full of small details that don't break the bank. Whether it's just little accents here and there for a little girls party or Easter dinner, she's always making it extra special with little details. Little details say, "I care about you. I'm so happy to have you here." They are very welcoming and help people feel at home. I have another friend who's very good at this, too, but she doesn't have a blog. I know that I always notice and appreciate that little bit of time and effort they put into it. I want to be more like them. I want friends to feel very welcome and feel like the special guest that they are when they come into my house.
4. Just invite people over. Plan it. Get it on the calendar. Make it your goal to invite at least one family or couple over for dinner or dessert within the next month. Then, make it happen. You'll have fun doing it. Get into the habit of hospitality and who knows? Maybe you'll start a new trend.

Do you have people over often? Have you been invited over lately? Who are you going to invite to your house soon? If you've been reading my 31 Days series, you know I have a lot of things I'm trying to work on because I want to be a better manager of my home. Being hospitable may be at the top of my list. It's another gift I want to pass down to my girls.

This is part of my 31 Days of Home Economics series. You can find the whole series at the tab above {Home Economics}.

Thank you for coming by to visit with me. I'm sharing this with a few of these friends. Y'all come back now, ya hear?