How to Make Holiday Guests Feel Welcome

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Georgia Pacific. The opinions and text are all mine.

Holidays guests, whether they’re close friends, family or neighbors, need to feel welcome when they enter your home this season. Need seem tips on how to make them comfy?

holiday guests feel welcome

Sure, you have your entire sumptuous menu planned for your holiday guests: succulent turkey with your secret recipe glaze, green-bean casserole with homemade caramelized onions, sweet potato souffle with a pecan streusel topping, homemade yeast rolls, two caramel apple pies, three traditional pumpkin pies and two Chocolate Silk Pies. The other visitors are bringing appetizers and drinks. You turn around in excitement, and as your eyes leave your tempting menu, you gaze upon your house. Eh, not so welcoming, aye?

Here are some tips to aid in your journey to creating the perfect atmosphere in your home for holiday guests!

tips to make holiday guests feel welcome

How To Make Holiday Guests Feel Welcome

  • Freshen up the guest room. Nothing says “welcome” like a freshly cleaned guest room. Strip all bed linens and give them a fresh washing. Pull out matching towels and wash cloths for the guest bath. Include a basket of new toiletry and useful items they may need while visiting. Add a special touch by adding a couple holiday scented candles — with matches included. Attach a small note of where needed items are located — iron, ironing board, washing machine, etc. Place a fresh bouquet of flowers in the room to give it an added fresh scent. Iron bed sheets for a crisp look and feel. If your guests are avid coffee drinkers, leave a few mugs, some joe, and an extra coffee maker in the room for added convenience.
  • Dust and wipe down walls and doors. It’s hard to feel welcome in a home that no one took time to clean. Day-to-day living can take a toil on walls and doors. As families rush to and fro, a smudge here or a smudge there may go unnoticed. Do a thorough cleaning to add extra shine and beauty to your home.
  • Febreeze upholstered couches and chairs. Add extra freshness to the main gathering areas by spraying them down with your favorite fabric refresher. If you are stretching your dollars, make your own fabric freshener. Here’s a simple recipe:
  • 1 part baking soda
    1 part fabric softener
    2 parts warm water
    Mix together and store in a clean, plastic spray bottle.

  • Organize pantry and dish cupboard. With all the commotion and extra helping hands in the kitchen during the holidays, cut down on chaos through organization. Make sure every dish has a place; all Tupperware items are matched with lids, baking pans are sorted, casserole dishes have matching covers, etc. Make serving utensils easy to find. Place tongs with tongs, whisks with whisks, etc. Make sure your food is situated in a common-sense order. Baking goods like baking powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, etc. should be in the same area. Canned goods in another section. Stack all pastas together. Unopened condiments should be stored together in the pantry as well. Friends and family will thank you for making your pantry easily navigable. Need some super-specific, time-saving tips to get this chore done? Check out these pantry organization ideas that are BRILLIANT!
  • Give the bathrooms a good scrub. It is more than difficult to feel at home in a place where the bathroom is dingy and smelly. Break out the best cleaning supplies and start scrubbing. Begin with the tub and shower. Leave no spot unscrubbed! Don’t forget the shower curtain. Any shower caddies should be washed clean as well. Wipe downs don’t get all the germies off like a good scrub. Next attack the sink. No rings allowed! Scrub until it sparkles. Wipe down the faucet with vinegar or glass cleaner. Clean the mirrors with glass cleaner and a squeegee. After that, make your toilet bowl shine. Lastly, sweep, scrub and mop the floors. If any stains remain in the bathroom, grab a magic eraser. Even stains from years past may disappear!
  • Provide labeled drinking cups for guests. No one likes playing the “Guess Your Cup” game. Make it simple by buying disposable cups. Using a permanent marker, write the name of each guest on a cup, or you could be a bit more festive, and make homemade guest cup tags for their drinking pleasure. One idea is to use glasses with handles and tie a ribbon around the handle and attach a name tag. You could also try making button drink labels. You only need two items — contrasting buttons and glue dots. Glue dots are sticky circles of glue mainly used in scrap-booking. Check out any of your local craft stores for this helpful adhesive. When the glasses are dry, attach a glue dot and embellish with a cute button. At the end of the night, you can just peel the buttons off.
  • Give all floors the good “once-over.” The day before or the morning of your get together, vacuum all carpets or rugs and sweep and mop all hard floors. This will put the extra clean twinkle in your holiday readying efforts. To avoid fall or winter debris from entering your home, place mats at the entry doors for visitors to shake off excess dirt. A shoe rack near the door could be a courteous way to encourage people to remove their shoes before entering. Never ask a guest to remove their shoes, just provide the option and a way for them to clean off their shoes before entering.
  • Prepare for kiddos. If families with little ones are invited to your get together, provide a kid-friendly room with crayons, coloring books, kid books, toys, balls, parent-approved DVDs and other fun activities. Keep some extra sippy cups handy to prevent spills. Don’t forget to have a high chair and pack n play available for super conveneince! Most people are more than willing to let you borrow theirs for a few days. Happy kids make happy parents!
  • For the ease of everyone, consider disposable table ware. Holidays are the best time for catching up with each other’s life happenings. Washing dirty dishes for 30 or 40 people can be time consuming. Why not make it simple and purchase disposable plates and silverware? No one has to wait for the hostess to begin fun games or activities that are planned. Just make sure you purchase large enough trash bags to collect all the trash.
  • Accent your house with seasonal decorations. It’s a little difficult to get in the spirit of the holidays in an un-decorated home. Spend a little time and money and add appropriate and eye-pleasing decor. Go with a fun, classy or modern theme, but keep the theme the same. Uniform decor has a “put together” sort of feel instead of a hodge podge effect. Decorations do not have to be expensive or extravagant. A little goes a long way.
  • Have a coffee and snack station. It’s kind of annoying to have to keep asking for someone to make some coffee when there are so many people bustling around! Create a cute coffee station by having your coffee maker, coffee, mugs, creamer and sugar all handy so anyone can brew a cup or two! Also, keeping a simply snack station open with bagged treats and snacks will keep everyone happy if they have to wait an hour or two for the next meal. Keep it simple and convenient!
  • Provide a forgettable bathroom experience. When you use only the softest, strongest toilet paper, you provide your guests with a forgettable bathroom experience that makes them feel super welcome. Our family only uses Quilted Northern® — and we only offer that for our guests too! Do your guests a favor and don’t — I repeat don’t — place the cheap, almost transparent toilet paper in your guest bathroom! That definitely doesn’t say, “welcome! And to help you provide that guest-friendly bathroom, Target® is offering a sweet deal on Quilted Northern®. Buy 3 Quilted Northern® 12 Double Rolls and receive a $5 Target® Gift Card plus save even more with Cartwheel. Five dollar gift cards go a long way for stocking stuffers! So head on over to Target® and get ready for your holiday guests!

    holiday tips for guest bathroom

  • Think happy thoughts. The house can be breath-taking, and the food mouth watering, but if the hostess is a sour-faced Grinch, no one is going to have an enjoyable time. Preparing all the details beforehand instead of last minute can help avoid catastrophes that lead to a complete meltdown. No matter the circumstances that come your way, keep a smile on your face and kindness in your tongue. Show all your guests love, hospitality and cheer. This, by far, will out shine the decor, yummy edibles, immaculate house and exciting activities.

How do you get make your holiday guests feel welcome? I would love to hear YOUR great tips on social media!

The makers of Quilted Northern® use our 100 years of experience to craft a toilet paper that works so well you can forget your bathroom experience. Because the best bathroom trips are the ones you don’t remember.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Georgia Pacific. The opinions and text are all mine.