How To Be A Good Host: Habits and Tips For Success

Hospitality builds community and shows love and kindness to others. It is a way to bless those around us by offering them a place where they are comfortable, and welcomed, and then leave feeling encouraged and filled. With this in mind, it is important to consider how to improve our ability to host others. Hosting can be intimidating if you haven’t done it before, or if you haven’t thought about how to do it intentionally. Here are our family’s tips and habits for how to be a good host!

 

 

Why is it important to be a good host?

The answer to that is the answer to a different question. Why do we host? We host people because we believe that it is a way that God has enabled our family to serve and encourage others. It also is a way that we can build relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We use hosting as an opportunity to share our faith with others and to bless those around us. To summarize all of that into a few words, hosting is one of the ways that we represent Christ to others.

If we want to represent Christ to others in our hosting, then we should do it well.

 

What events do you host for?

Events that you host for include meals with friends or family, birthday parties, and holiday parties. Depending on your situation, you may even be hosting for people who randomly stop at your house to say hi or  to drop things off. You may be hosting when someone asks you if you can get together briefly to chat or if you can watch their children last minute.

Outside of events, don’t forget that you are also hosting your immediate family in your house all the time. Hosting my husband and children doesn’t always look like fancy meals or a perfectly vacuumed living room, but it does look like making them feel as comfortable as I would want a guest to feel in my house.

 

How to be a good host: Care for the people entering your home

This is first and foremost the most important aspect of being a good host. The state of your house is far less important than the state of your heart. If you are hosting, always remember the reasons that you’re hosting, and view your guests as Christ would.

 

This means that if your guests are last minute, you do your best to tidy what you can, but remember that you are caring for them and not about what they think of your house. If you’re struggling with this, pray for them and yourself before they show up.

If your guests are new acquaintances, think ahead of time of questions that you can ask to begin conversations. This isn’t an interview but having questions prepared an help to prevent awkwardness or long gaps of silence.

 

Questions that help get to know people include:

• What do you do for a living?
• What hobbies do you enjoy?
• Where is your family from?
• How did you end up in this area?

These questions should lead to good conversation so you can ask follow-up questions or offer your thoughts. When trying to start conversations, stay away from yes or no questions so you can volley the conversation back and forth!

If you’re hosting a party or a group where there will be more than just two or three new people, you should plan ahead of time how you are going to interact with them. Think about what questions or conversations you can have with them. Remember that the goal of hosting is to represent Christ to your guests by encouraging and serving them. This is largely done through the interactions that you have with them. However,  guests will be more receptive to relationship building when the environment that they are in is inviting. Read on for tips on how to make your home inviting!

 

How to be a good host: Make your home inviting

 

The answer to how to be a good host can be summed up in one short sentence. Be prepared. This is easier said than done, but with some planning and routines that you set up, you can be ready to host on only a few minute’s notice. I broke hosting down into four categories. None of these are more important than the other because the most important thing is caring for your guests. However, being mindful of these four categories can help your guests to feel cared for. If you routinely keep your home tidy, cook often, and keep in mind things that make other people comfortable or uncomfortable, you are already on your way to becoming an excellent host!

 

General Tidiness:

This is just making sure that the areas that your company will be in are cleaned enough that they don’t feel that they are intruding on your daily life. We clean our entrance, living room, kitchen, and dining room anytime we know someone is coming. If we are going to be outside, we tidy those areas too. Let us know if there is something that you would add to this list!

• Vacuuming (carpets in common areas and the seats if you have pets)
• Clear Counters
• Empty trash
• Wipe down bathroom

 

Fully Stocked or Prepared Public Areas

This requires more attention to detail than general tidiness. It’s the type of thing that makes guests not feel like an inconvenience if they need something. Making sure there is toilet paper or refills available is an excellent way to help company to feel comfortable. Additionally, having things nearby that they may have forgotten or not realized they needed can help to put them at ease.

• Toilet paper/Feminine Hygiene
• Tissues
• Water Pitcher/Cups
• Bandaids
• Location for guest’s belongings
• Sunscreen and bug spray if outside
• Make sure there are enough seats

 

Friendly Reminders To Guests

When you’re making plans with people to visit, it is extremely polite and reassuring to give them notice of things that may seem out of the ordinary to people who aren’t familiar with your home or where you live.

• Pets- tell them if you have any or any rules that you have regarding the animals.
• Parking- where they should or shouldn’t park
• Your allergies or theirs- ask them if they have any and tell them of yours (if it’s something that they could do that would harm you such as bringing a snack with an allergen or wearing fragrance if that bothers you)
• Where you will be spending time- if you are planning on being indoors or outdoors so that they can dress accordingly
• Shoes- if you have a no-shoes policy, mention this as it can help them to be prepared if they are self-conscious

 

Food/Kitchen

When we host, it almost always involves food in some way. I love cooking and it is one way that I try to show care. There are a lot of ways that food can help bring people together, but if you’re not prepared, people can end up feeling uncomfortable, nervous, or self-concious!

• Ask your company about any allergies or food aversions
• Have at least one recipe for a dairy-free meal, a gluten-free meal, and a vegetarian meal that you are comfortable cooking- this allows you to comfort them immediately if they present diet restrictions as a hesitation to visiting
• Plan how you are going to respond if they ask to bring something- whether they should bring food, a drink, a game, or nothing at all
• Pull dishes out ahead of time- whether it is disposable or not, having the dishware out and ready if the table isn’t set ahead of time gives you the opportunity to allow them to help if they ask but also helps you to be less frazzled
• Empty the dishwasher and trash cans so that clean-up is easier

Check out our Frugal Living Kitchen and Recipes section for different types of recipes!

 

This list just scratches the surface of ways to be a good host. There are other things you can do like send cards afterward, have a vase of flowers on the table, or a candle lit in the bathroom! Think of the times you have felt the most comfortable at another person’s house. What was it that made you feel that way?

Let us know in the comments below your thoughts on how to be a good host. Did something get missed?

 

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