20 Essentials To Have On Hand Next Time You Host
Hosting a dinner party or weekend guests? This list will help you make sure you’ve got all their needs taken care of so you and your visitors can focus on making the memories.
Hopefully you’ve had the experience of arriving at a loved one’s home and feeling yourself easily settle into her space. With these hostesses, you’re able to focus on enjoying the company and conversation rather than worrying about where the hand towel is in the bathroom or if you’ll be warm enough tucked into her spare bed at night. What can we do to make our own homes this warm and welcoming so that all of our guests feel comfortable and at home?
Before you finish all the cleaning and cooking, before you pick up your sister from the airport or greet your new friends at the door, here are a few things to have ready to ensure they’ll enjoy their visit, whether it’s just for a couple hours or a few days.
For When Your Guests First Arrive
Beverage Options
One of the first things you’ll do after greeting your friends at the door is offer them a beverage. Would they like a La Croix or a glass of water? Maybe a seasonal cocktail or mocktail? Then, as you’re serving dinner, you can offer them beer or wine with their meal. With dessert, they might like to have a regular or decaf coffee or some tea. Make sure they know how to help themselves to more water throughout their stay, too. Having all of these options ready in advance will make sure your guests feel totally relaxed and taken care of.
Flowers
With their thirst quenched, your guests will start to take in their surroundings. Fresh flowers add an amazing pop of color and life to any space. Whether they’re in the kitchen, bathroom, or guest bedroom, your guests will get a lift in their mood simply from being around something gorgeous and blossoming. Another option is to hang a beautiful bouquet to dry and then display it year-round in a chic vase.
For When They Need To Use the Restroom
Toiletry Basics
Is your bathroom stocked with toilet paper and tissues? And are they easy for someone new to your home to find? It’s a good idea to keep the extra toilet paper either somewhere immediately visible or in the cupboard that most people will turn to first when they hit the end of a roll. This rust-toned bathroom has a handy and stylish basket full of TP conveniently tucked under the sink next to the toilet.
Fresh Hand Soap Options
Although you may prefer either liquid or bar soap, keeping both available for guests is a thoughtful touch, since people often seem to have strong opinions about one or the other. Make sure the liquid soap dispenser is topped off and that there’s a fresh bar of soap in the dish.
Hand Lotion
Help ease the itch of your visitors’ dry hands. Keep a bottle or jar of hand lotion or balm somewhere near or on the sink so your guests can refresh their skin before popping back out to the party. Bonus points if the lotion is a seasonal scent.
Clean Hand Towels
No one likes to search around a bathroom with freshly washed, still wet hands to find a hand towel – even worse if they can’t find one at all! Save your guests from resorting to drying their hands on your bath towel or with toilet paper by leaving some clean, cute hand towels in the most obvious and natural spot you can find.
Toilet or Room Spray
This is a great way to help your guests feel less self-conscious about using the restroom. You can find Poo-Pourri online or at a lot of gift shops, or you can try another essential oil toilet spray. It’s also easy to make a room spray by just filling a small spray bottle with water and a few drops of essential oil. Just mark it “shake well before use,” and you’re good to go!
Tampons and/or Pads
If you’re having the girls over, it’s not a bad idea to make a few tampons or pads accessible in the bathroom – that way no one has to interrupt the conversation to awkwardly ask if you happen to have any. You could organize a few of yours in a little basket, or you could leave a cute box somewhere your friends will notice it when they need it most.
For When They’re Staying Overnight
Overnight guests will need all of the above things, in addition to a few more amenities.
An Extra Blanket
It can be hard to predict what to pack for sleeping in someone else’s home. Do you bring your nightie or your pajama pants? Thick socks or thin? To help your guests find their ideal sleeping temperature, fold an extra blanket on a chair or on top of the bed so they can add warmth if they need to. Plus, it makes the room look even cozier.
A Candle and Matches or a Lighter
Nothing makes a space more welcoming than a candle. It invites you to slow down and enjoy the flicker of light and shadow that bathes the room in pleasing aromas. Leave a decorative box of matches or a lighter next to a scented candle to invite your guests to fully unwind in their room.
Books
Since your guests probably aren’t staying long enough to finish War and Peace, try placing collections of short stories, poetry, or inspirational quotes on their nightstand, rather than long novels. This gives them something to do other than scroll on their phone if they can’t sleep or are an earlier riser than you. Books also make a space feel homey and personal.
A Card with the Wifi Password
This could be a simple card with the log-in info, or a more lengthy note welcoming your friend in addition to sharing the wifi password. Leave it somewhere obvious, like on the dresser or on the bed, so your guest doesn’t have to text you about it later.
Clean Bath Towels
Clean bath towels are an essential for overnighters. Leave them ready to go in the bathroom, so whether your guest is a bedtime bather or a morning shower-er, they’ll find what they need. Bath towels can also add texture and color to your bathroom, stacked or rolled on a counter or chair or in a basket.
Shampoo and Conditioner
While many girls prefer to travel with their own trusted brands, keeping a fresh set of mini shampoo and conditioner lets your guests know they’re taken care of in case they forgot an essential. Leave them on the sink counter or in the shower for ready use.
A Cozy Robe and Slippers
This one really lets your guests know you’re thinking of them and their comfort. Whether they want to lounge after a bath or just want to get super warm and cozy while they read a book, hanging a robe on the door or a bathroom hook will be a thoughtful touch to your guest room.
A Jewelry Tray by the Bed
It can be easy to lose earrings or other special jewelry when your routine changes and you’re in a new space. Keep it streamlined for your guests by leaving an empty jewelry dish or tray on the nightstand for her to keep track of her new engagement ring or heirloom necklace.
A Blow Dryer
This one is less about aesthetics and more about making sure your guests can have their usual routines away from home. If you keep a spare blow dryer in the main drawer of your guest bathroom cabinet, your visitors will be able to get ready in the morning without needing to ask any questions.
Their Preferred Coffee Creamer
Since you’re already stocked on your beverages, ask your guest before they arrive if they prefer any specific type of coffee creamer. Half and half? Oat or almond milk? Make them feel loved by having it on hand, even if it’s not what you normally use yourself.
Access to Snacks and Breakfast
If your guest is an early riser, show them the night before where they can find the coffee and some simple breakfast options. If they’re a big snacker, give them a tour of the pantry or leave a couple tasty snacks in their room on a decorative tray. This might matter most for pregnant or nursing guests who tend to graze all day, or anyone else who gets hungry in between meals.
Peace and Quiet
This last one isn’t something you’ll need to order on Amazon, but it’s still important. Try to get a sense of when your guests like to settle in for the night as well as when they usually wake up so that you can give them some privacy and move around a little more quietly in the house during those hours. Your guests will appreciate the chance to catch some Z’s so they can rejoin you the next morning feeling refreshed and ready for whatever the day holds.
Shopping Recommendations
While you absolutely don’t need everything on this list to be an amazing hostess, I hope it did give you some ideas of ways to organize and present your home to make your visitors, both daytime and overnight, feel incredibly welcome. Tailor your purchases to your budget and keep in mind that a lot of these things can be DIY, thrifted, or you can use things you already have. If you do make any new purchases, the investment will hopefully encourage you to host and open your home more often to your loved ones.
Hosting seems to be a waning art form, so enjoy giving it a proper revival by letting your guests know you’re truly thinking of them. A good hostess provides not just a beautiful space but a listening ear and a caring heart so all of her visitors leave their stay feeling refreshed and loved.