When people are coming over to your house it’s pretty normal to want to make sure that everything is just so for them. They say you never clean more than the ten minutes before someone is coming over. If you have kids, you especially know how true this is. As the host, you usually want to make sure that people have enough food, drinks, are comfortable and generally having a good time. Here are a few other things you can do in order to make sure that guests have a pleasant visit whenever they come to see you. Let’s start with the air conditioner.
Temperature
You have to find the balance between hot and cold. You should start adjusting the air conditioner or the furnace, depending on the time of year, several hours before your guests arrive. This ensures that the temperature will be just perfect when they get there. However, keep in mind that the more people that will be there, the hotter it’s going to get so you may need to adjust the air conditioner after people get there as well. Temperature plays a huge part in people’s moods so having the level or coolness or heating is important to the experience that people have in your house.
Plumbing
There’s nothing more embarrassing then going to someone’s house and using the bathroom and having it back up on you. If you know your toilet can be iffy and need plumbing services, make sure that you get that seen to before people come over. In fact, it’s a good idea to get in done about a week in advance, in case the job takes a little longer than you anticipated. If you can’t afford the plumber right now but have a master bathroom, consider placing a partition that will block most of the bedroom as you direct guests to the back bathroom. Playing an ‘out of order’ sign on the main bathroom is not ideal but will do in a pinch. Sometimes, people prefer using the back bathroom so they’re not so near the party when they have to do their business.
Food
Rule of thumb is that it’s better to have to much than to little. If you are inviting a lot of people over and having a buffet style meal, where everyone feeds themselves, there’s a few tricks you can use. Soup is inexpensive and serving it before the meal will help the main meal to stretch more. Bread is another good filler. Bread and soup together as an appetizer is great because people can have only a little bit or a lot. Wait about 15 minutes to put the main meal out so that the soup and bread can fill up your guests a little and they won’t scarf down the main meal, leaving enough for everyone. If it’s too warm out for soup, simply lower the air conditioner a few notches to get people in the mood. Also, don’t put all the food out at once. If people think that this is all the food there is, they’ll be more likely to conserve. Then when you are getting low, you can refill the bowls, pots, plates, etc.
Music
Music is especially important when the first few guests arrive. If they all know each other, it’s not too bad but if they are meeting for the first time then you might find that the room is filled with a lot of awkward silence. Music is a great way to cut that silence. It also gives the guests something to talk about. Everyone has an opinion about music or they can just talk about the song that is playing since that’s what they have in common at the moment.
Seating
Make sure that you have enough chairs and seating arrangements for everyone. This may be in the form of tables and chairs or it might just be couches and armchairs. Whether you are having three people over or 15, you should always make sure there is somewhere for everyone to sit. You don’t want a musical chairs situation on your hands where someone has been left standing. If you don’t have enough chairs, you could pull out pillows or bean bag chairs.
