Hosting guests in your home can be tough. It’s your personal sanctuary and you have your standards for cleanliness. At the same time, you want it be cozy, inviting and hospitable for your guests. It’s a balancing act, but ultimately you need to be comfortable in your own space. Just like any other venue, the space needs to be cleaned and prepared for optimal party flow and aesthetics.
They say, “mi casa es su casa“, but we feel “mi casa es mi casa“. At the end of the day, you will be responsible for restoring it back to normal. Rule of thumb, if you don’t want something seen or touched or broken, put it away.
We can learn a lot from movies and those accidental house parties. We think its a joke when they show a teen hosting a small gathering while their parents are away then it multiplies to a house party. The host or hostess struggles with items being tossed around, stains, broken glass, etc. Every area of the house occupied especially the bedrooms. This is similar to real life. If there is space to spread out into people will. Or if toys are laying around, I guarantee a child will definitely spot it and play with it. Like w said, if you don’t want it broken, put it away.
Child proof: What to put away and what to leave out
If you have a toddler or child, most likely you will a variety of toys. The worst to contain are the lego blocks, the ones that come with 100 or more pieces. Ask yourself, do you really want to be picking them from every corner of your house? I think not, this is a prime example of a toy to put away. On the other hand, you may have a toy that you only have one of such as a motorized car. This should be put away for two reasons. The first being that children will fight over it for not getting a turn. The second is because there wont be enough space to operate the motorized card. These are things to think through.
Wearing Shoes Indoors: A Matter of Personal Preference and Consideration
Another majorly sensitive subject is wearing shoes in the house. Do you allow it or do you tell your guests to take them off? Is it considered rude? Although it can ben influenced by culture, but it comes down to personal preference. Beyond that it goes to personal experience. If you have carpet or rugs, you do not want dirt to stain and ruin them, so in this case, shoes off. If you have a pool party and the floor outside is wet, you do not want water to enter the house and ruin your laminate wood flooring, shoes off. If your floors are already dirty and you are going to mop, shoes on. At the end of the day, you have to make your decision and your guests should respect it.
As The Host and Hostess, its not about being rude. It’s about being realistic and trying to minimize the risk. At the end of the day, even though you are the host or hostess, you need to be able to enjoy.