Alright – the big day (or days) are nearly upon us, and as the last weekend before the holidays approaches you’ll likely find yourself with some overnight (or longer) guests. If you haven’t quite had the chance to prepare yet – we understand, everyone gets busy! – we’ve put together a quick checklist of things you might want to tackle before your guests arrive, no matter who’s coming to visit or how long they’ll be around:
- Clean Up the Guest Room – An obvious one, but the best place to start. However your guest room is decorated, make sure you clear out the dressers and make the bed so your guests have a place to sleep and keep their clothes.
- Make Enough Space for Everything – Your guests are likely going to bring a lot with them – clothes, baby supplies for the little ones, phones, tablets, or game systems for the kids – and they’re going to need room to stash everything. Clear out some cabinets and dressers, set up some wire shelving in an extra room to stash luggage, and maybe hang some extra coat hooks to accommodate for everyone’s outerwear.
- Set Up an Outlet and Your Wi-Fi – Everyone’s got a ton of gadgets these days, from MP3 players to video game systems and tablets to everyday smart phones, and so on. Make sure to provide some surge protectors for your guests to have a place to charge their devices, and make sure to provide the password to your wi-fi so they have a way to use all of them!
- Provide the Necessities – Particularly in the bathroom, you might want to provide for anything your guests may have forgotten or been unable to pack. Leave out some extra toothbrushes, soaps, and shampoos, and clear out a towel rack to leave the guest towels on so everyone has the appropriate shower supplies.
- Bring Snacks! – You’ve got a few extra mouths to feed, so make sure your kitchen is well equipped. Get some bottled water to leave in the bedroom, make sure the pantry is full of snacks and finger foods if anyone gets hungry between meals, and if any of your guests have dietary restrictions (allergies, vegetarianism, and so on) this is a good time to stock anything that can meet their needs.
It’s a short list, but it’ll get you off to a good start! Good luck with your visitors, and stay warm out there!