Do You Consider Yourself To Be A Good Host?

[eeyore65]

I love to host. I love everything about it - the planning, the food prep, decorating, etc. I think the more you do it the easier it gets. I now have chafing dishes and tons of serving dishes. Having the right equipment also makes it less stressful. I have some go to party plans that I could do in a moments notice. One is a mexican themed, fajita/margarita party. I have done this from 4 people to about 100.

What is funny is that my DH does not enjoy it. He gets really stressed despite the fact that I mostly do everything.

I also found that your own expectations are usually higher then your guests. If you just relax - you will find your guests will have a great time. And an abundance of adult beverages never hurts either.

I also enjoy guests that stay - but much less then a party. I feel like my regular early morning schedule may disturb them and this stresses me out.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I would probably say no.

I don't know why that is. Small cluttered home....lots of kids. Our house isn't the go to house, so I can't practice. My sister quit coming due to a falling out that started with her insane need to go into other people's homes as a guest and then start cleaning them. What I felt was clean was never good enough. It is one thing to help out...but what she did was different.

She will visit our new home in September and I hope things are better for her. I plan on going overboard as a hostess.

Just seems noone ever comes back or stays long when they do and I don't know why. We are nice people. I promise!

 

[Robinrs]

I think it's a gift... one I do NOT possess!

My aunt was the best hostess EVER. She always had all the holidays set up and every Sunday was open house at her place. She LOVED having people over.

Me... uhh, NO!

The bad part is my Aunt just passed away and all of her kids agreed that they'd come to MY HOUSE for Christmas and holidays now....

How the heck am I supposed to all of a sudden become THAT PERSON you visit instead of that person WHO visits???

 

[Pakey]

I'm a terrible host. In addition to my underwhelming personality and the fact that the only food I can prepare is a bowl of cheerios, we have an ankle biting psycho dog. Even our adult children would prefer to gather at another location.

 

[rszdtrvl]

I try to be. My mother and MIL are the only ones who visit.

My mom is an easy houseguest. She knows how to entertain herself, and is happy with a book or watching a movie, and the occasional window shopping.

MIL is a whole different story. She needs to be constantly talking and entertained. She literally follows me room to room talking (she lives by herself - her choice - as she has burned so many bridges and has mental issues). She drives me crazy when she visits. Luckily, she does not visit often, and when she does, DH takes the days she will be here off work.

Last time she was here, she stole something from a yard sale, talked behind my back to DH, and said negative things about our son (her grandson - not to mention ONLY grandson). She wants things her way and says one thing to DH and the opposite to me. Last time she was here, 2 years ago, DH finally told her that she had to leave a day earlier than planned.

 

[srferson]

Sadly, no. I'm not a good host and I don't really enjoy it (related issues I'm sure).

I'm an introvert. I like my own space and time.

I don't want to be responsible for making sure someone is amused and comfortable 24 days a day.

I hate forced conversation.

We have a big enough house, but with a relatively small galley kitchen.

We don't keep the kitchen well stocked. We don't cook much.

We like to stay up late and sleep in late.

We do have people stay (a couple times a year average) and I do my best to be a good host while people are there, but I'm sure I'm not great and overall, I don't enjoy it.

 

[mlenz]

My Dh is a much better host than I am.
He goes out of his way to make people feel welcome.
We often have overnight guests and we always get the same comment that it is so relaxing at our house I don't know how that is possible with an almost 8 yr old and a 3 yr old , but they always come back and we don't mind.
My Dh and I both love to cook too so we always try and feed our guests well,so we like to host are we good hosts I like to think we're alright

 

[ChrizJen]

UUUGH....
This is a sensitive subject for me. I've never hosted anything but a dinner party here or there.
We're expecting out of town house guests in a couple of weeks, and I'm really nervous about it! We've had my sister and her kids stay with us before, but that's different. They're close family and they don't judge me...LOL
I feel like I need to take a day or two off work and dust and scrub and organize closets and...
*sigh*...I'm letting myself get all worked up again...

 

[m3retired]

We're not good hosts. We like each other's company too much...and don't want to make the effort to interact with others!

 

[disneydreamersx4]

I get soooo anxious about company coming DH is a people person so I make sure he's here. I'm a clutter bug so it's actually good when I get company the house gets in perfect condition
We don't get much company, about twice a year the inlaws drop in (they live an hour away so it's always planned) and we started Thanksgiving Dinner last year. Tomorrow my mom and step dad are visiting from Florida for the weekend. They decided to stay at a hotel in town (my father has health issues). I just went shopping for all the food I know my mom will love like eggplant parmesan! My father is a plain eater so burgers are good for him. I should be cleaning the floors and bathroom instead of being here

sorry about the pp who had things stolen

 

[bumbershoot]

Yet the skills that we learn by entertaining in our homes are so valuable that taking people out to a restaurant or a show just does not compare.

What skills???? I mean, apart from the skills of being a host, what skills do you learn by being a host?


I'm a bad one. DH thinks he's a good one, and he certainly is more comfortable, but his version of being a host is taking people on a "tour". Which I despise with a large burning passion. Show people the bathrooms and closet if you have one, kitchen and living room...close off all other rooms and that's it, IMO!

DH and I have been LATE for TWO parties that we have thrown! We'll still never know if the people who were invited by didn't show to the first were actually there while we were out getting ice.

DS's 3rd b'day party I bought a chocolate cake from a walkable bakery, and made a pineapple cake (Paula Deen's "is it really better than s-x" cake) from scratch (which isn't how Paula does it), and I procrastinated so much that it was still warm when I was putting on the whipped cream and serving it. NOT the taste sensation it's supposed to be!

I really dislike hosting.

 

[Muushka]

I think I am a pretty good hostess. I always have friends come and stay with us, so something must be doing right.

My dear friend Cindy from FL has visited us and stayed with us countless times. She bought her first home and invited us to stay with her after our cruise.

This is what she did for us:

Gave up her room because the bed was more comfy (I have never don that for anyone other than my MIL with the bad hip!)
Bought my husband his favorite cereal
Had my favorite juice and coffee and cream for me for breakfast ( we left in the AM, just stayed for less than 24 hours)
Asked me more than once if there was anything she could do for us to make us more comfortable
Fluffy special towels

I said to her when I left, I never felt more welcome anywhere. She answered that she wanted to make me feel like I made her feel for all these years.

I guess what I always try to do is make the person/people know that I want them there with us. That they come first.

 

[aunties]

My sister and I alternate the holiday hosting responsibilities. My niece's best friend's family has joined us for years. Then, when the girls went off to college, they invited all the kids who couldn't get home for the holidays. We have figured out that we have had visitors from 7 countries and 12 states. It is very informal. We quickly learned to relax and treat everyone like family. Don't be hesitant to ask for or accept offered help. We point out where everything is and it is help yourself. We had two girls from Australia celebrate their first Thanksgiving with us and the following year brought another friend and flew in that morning to surprise us. We had a Buddist celebrate her first Easter with us one year. She loved the idea of Easter Baskets. I am sure my neighbors has a good laugh when 24 people were racing around my yard looking for eggs. Only two of them were under the age of 20! So, I guess we are OK hosts as people keep coming back (even after we exploded a dish of stuffing one Thanksgiving).

 

[wdwfan16]

I suspect that I am not alone in that I am rather fearful of inviting people into my home. Yet I am saddened by my fear. I have had bad experiences in the past, including theft and so on. Yet the skills that we learn by entertaining in our homes are so valuable that taking people out to a restaurant or a show just does not compare.

Do you consider yourself to be a good host? Why, or why not?

I love to be a hostess and I believe I am a good hostess.

I have never had any house guest ever steal from me. That is so sad and would have an effect on my future hosting.

 

[kirstenb1]

I love to host. I love everything about it - the planning, the food prep, decorating, etc. I think the more you do it the easier it gets. I now have chafing dishes and tons of serving dishes. Having the right equipment also makes it less stressful. I have some go to party plans that I could do in a moments notice. One is a mexican themed, fajita/margarita party. I have done this from 4 people to about 100.

What is funny is that my DH does not enjoy it. He gets really stressed despite the fact that I mostly do everything.

I also found that your own expectations are usually higher then your guests. If you just relax - you will find your guests will have a great time. And an abundance of adult beverages never hurts either.

I also enjoy guests that stay - but much less then a party. I feel like my regular early morning schedule may disturb them and this stresses me out.

This is the way I feel. I've had lots of practice (and made many errors along the way!!). Now I love it for the exact reason you say----preparation and planning, and having everything I need.

Also, our guest room and bathroom are above our detached garage. So our guests can come and go on their own schedule, and no one worries about waking anyone up, etc.