Hospitality: Three Easy Steps

Does the thought of having people over give you hives? Do you start a panic attack when you envision an event at your home?   Hold the cortisone cream and take a deep breath. Help is on the way. With these three easy steps, I’ll have you channeling Martha Stewart and looking better than she ever did in an apron.  

1. Keep the goal of the evening/event in mind. You want to provide a welcoming respite and a bit of encouragement to your guests. When you remember why you’re going to all this trouble to go out of your comfort zone, you’ll maintain a better attitude as you navigate the unsightly piles of debris, Windex outages, and mismatched goblet collection.
2. KISS – Keep it simple sweetie. This is not the time to try one of those beautiful magazine cover extravaganzas. Stay with your signature entrée, tried and true, even if it’s a deboned Costco chicken with bagged salad and French bread. Simple means fewer things can go wrong. Add some flair by pulling out your cloth napkins, grandma’s dessert plates or that bottle of champagne you’ve had hanging out in the laundry room since 2008.
3. Keep the conversation tuned to your guests and make them the stars of the evening.  People are energized when they talk about themselves and it gets you off the hook for being clever and witty. Finish up by treating them to the most expensive ice cream and store bought cookies you can afford to buy.

  These are the things that will stick in their minds as they walk out your front door thinking they have just been treated to a taste of five-star hospitality.   Is it any wonder that at the end of Paul’s Top Ten Ways to Show Love in Romans 12:  9-13, he reminds us:

“Always be eager to practice hospitality.”

Here’s to simple pleasures and contented company, Love Darcy