Tab's Tips for prepping for holiday guests

House guests will be arriving here tomorrow night for Thanksgiving and at the moment my to-do list looks like Santa’s gift list. I hope you find my list helpful:

Tab’s Tips for prepping for holiday guests

My main goals when hosting overnight company?

Pamper my guests with good ol’ Southern hospitality while remaining relaxed enough to enjoy the festivities myself.

That means prepping as much as possible ahead of time and setting things up to allow my guests to truly “make themselves at home.”

In that spirit, I wanted to pass along some tips now that the holiday season is very much upon us.

1. Stock up on crowd-pleasing snacks, food and treats.

You don’t have to make homemade meals and serve up elaborate snacks the entire time. “Heat and serve” soup, veggie chips, energy bars and fun goodies are nice to have on hand so your guests can help themselves. Yes, Trader Joe’s has affordable and fun options.

I always clean out my fridge and reorganize my pantry, too, to make them more company-friendly since I know people will be digging around in both.

2. Set up a self-serve coffee/tea/cocoa station.

I wrote a whole post about it! click here

Include several tea and cocoa options and the fixins’ along with spoons, cups and honey so, again, people can serve themselves.

It’s fun to choose your tea!

Another version of a tea station.

My current set-up!

3. Have your best towels and wash cloths available.

Also have a non-scented lotion and some pampering items for guests’ enjoyment. It’s nice to have extra travel-sized toiletries available, too, in case anyone forgot something. I’ve since added deodorant and toothbrushes. Stock up on bath soap, hand soap, and toilet paper, too.

Bonus tip: I put hooks on the back of the guest bedroom door so they can keep their towels separate from the rest of the family’s towels.

4. Keep reading materials accessible…

especially seasonal books and magazines. People like to flip through them and may even find a recipe or craft project to try while they’re visiting.

5. Prep your common outdoor areas.

Spruce up your yards and back porch, put out your best welcome mat and/or add new flowers or plants. You may consider cleaning up your garage and laundry room if people enter your home that way. Thankfully, our winter grass came in beautifully!