Marina | February 26, 2014 | DIY |

Having guests in your house can be a lot of fun, especially if you live alone. For a short period of time, you have other people in the house to talk to, eat with and do fun stuff with. Most of the time, homes are filled with guests during holidays but this doesn’t mean that you can’t entertain after the festivities are over. Open your home to guests all year round and make them enjoy their stay with these things you can do yourself that will make your guests feel most welcome.

• Decorate with fresh flowers in a vase – this is one of those ‘little things that make a big difference’ when it comes to welcoming guests. Flowers are always a nice sight to come home to, even when they just sit there in a vase by the window or on top of the dresser or a table. They’re inexpensive, too! You can probably get a full bunch anywhere from $5 to $7 and that’s often enough to fill a vase or two.

• Create a reading nook and fill it with light reading materials – your guests may not have planned their whole stay with you to the T which means that they’re going to be spending some time alone not doing anything in the guest room. Make sure they don’t get bored and create a reading nook for them with some light reading materials that they can entertain themselves with.

• Leave a snack tray in the guest bed room – no matter how long you’ve known your guests or how many times they’ve stayed with you before, they’ll still be too shy to ask you for food, even when they’re hungry. Make sure to leave light snacks in the guest bedroom for your guests to nibble on while waiting for lunch or dinner. You can lay out crackers and mini spreads or an assortment of chips on a tray and leave it on the desk so your guests can easily see them.

• Make a basket filled with extra toiletries – we all try to remember to bring our own shampoo, mouthwash, toothpaste and other toiletries when we travel but there are just times when we forget to pack these stuff. Keep a basket full travel size (or full size, depending on how long your guest is staying with you) toiletries in the guest bathroom so that your guests don’t have to go for a run to the drugstore in case they forget theirs at home.

• Provide storage for their personal stuff – even if you have the smallest guest bedroom, try to find a way to provide your guests with some space for storing their personal belongings into. Personally, I find it quite uncomfortable to have to reach in to my luggage everyday for things like clothes, makeup, accessories, etc. You don’t need to have a full closet installed in the guest bedroom, a chest of drawers should be enough. You can also put a small nightstand by the bed for their little trinkets like jewelry and gadgets.

• Provide comfy linens – soft towels in the bath, clean pillowcases and sheets, extra blankets – all these will make your guests feel like they never left home, even when you don’t have a dedicated guest bedroom and they’re in a makeshift one.