Skip to main content

Tips for staying with family or friends for the holiday

Every one has lots of plans for the Holidays and some of those plans may include spending time at your parents or a relative.
Whether your a cousin wanting to sleep rent-free during the break or a visiting student on holiday, here's 5 easy ways to be a great guest and honorable visitor that will make everyone's stay enjoyable (and be invited back!).

  1. Show up with a small gift, leave a note of thanks
    Even if you're a student, presenting yourself with a huge bag of laundry will not make the best first impression. Get you a small inexpensive gift such as a Tea Cup Sampler Gift Basket
    or cheerful flowers for the hostess (even if it is just Mom) or a box of chocolates? Something from a tourist curious shop along your journey of states or cities make for nice gifts.
    Before you head out the door with your clean folded clothes; leave a Thank You Card. No need to make it wordy or poetic; just a nice note card. It is another nice way to ensure that you'll be welcome back next time.
  2. Make yourself at home, with some reasonable behavior
    Sure nothing has changed at Aunt Myerna's, not even the little seashell soaps in the guest bathroom. Help yourself to a drink, but ask if anyone else wants some too. Get your own glass of water, or snacks, but check your not inadvertenly eating your Uncle Frank's Sea Salt chips.
    Don't take your host's for granted, though. Inviting a bunch of friends over without asking, then raiding the liquor cabinet, and making lots of noise during late night poker is unreasonable behavior. Be respectful of their rules. You may be all grown up, but the rules still apply.
    This may also mean, adjusting your routines of sleeping and eating to match your families. Modify your schedule a bit.
  3. Make yourself worthwhile; do something without being told
    Here is a guaranteed way impress your host -- do a chore without being asked. If your Mom and Dad have been working or shopping and you're in the house, why not do the dishes, fold a stack of laundry, or take out the garbage?
    Just few minutes of your time is worth it. Your hosts will be mildly surprised and will remember the task months later when you ask to drop in for a few days in the spring.
  4. If your headed out, let the Host know
    The indepedant adult life has some nice perks. The ability to come and go as you please and not have to report the going on's in your life. But when your staying with family or friends, it's courteous to let them know that you're going out and give them an idea of when you'll be back. Do this especially if you being loaned Mom's mini-van. Never stay out to long in bad weather conditions. This can just worry Mom.
  5. Spend sometime quality time with the hosts - Join in the activities
    Don't treat your host's place as a free motel to crash at when you stagger home in the wee hours dawn. Spend some of your time with your hosts, outside of maybe the planned holiday activities. Check out a fun movie, go bowling or some other group activity.
    If you are the big brother or sister, reconnect with your younger siblings. Yes, you've grown up and even grow apart in the few months or years you've been away -- but so have your siblings. Find out what new things you have in common.

Hope this will help you out during the holidays and make your stay with any friends or family enjoyable and fond. Just a doing a few nice things for your host can make it easy to ask to come back again.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Watch, Act, Heal

This walk I have been taking down the little path of spirituality often has dropped me off into a emotional void. Trust and love seem to be the first emotions to close up and withdrawal. With a lifetime of being incorrectly educated to be concerned with others opinions and desires, I have created situations of distrust and conditional love. I have done this to spouses, children and other people, creating victims and martyrs alike. I am changing this with the Four Agreements. So this emotional void or abyss that one must traverse to gain a better understanding of the different parts of the heart and mind is very scary and I am so convinced it is full of demons and dragons of hurt and suffering. I understand that I must trust myself, in soul purpose and higher mind purpose, to guide and hold a space of openness, trust and love. To reach for the highest ideal I can access and pay attention thoughts, feelings and intentions I must remain focused, maintaining peak states of Now. Paying atte...
3 comments
Read more

Giving more to my spouse

Currently I am working through several books, self-help, higher consciousness, type books. One is by Steve Pavlina "Personal Development for Smart People" and another Don Miguel Ruiz "The Four Agreements". My goal was to read three books a month that will challenge me to make changes. Of course I still have my other spiritual studies that I am to complete. I am doing okay on this challenge. Recently my lovely spouse has decided to be really challenging too my development and has produced a list of "expectations" she has for a spouse. To say the least, she has been frustrated with me lately. Understandably so. So in return I will be making a list of intentions for her. I am working through the list and making sure that each thing is inspiring, practical, purposeful and yet just challenging enough to not provoking to her free agency, goals and desires. Before I get into finalizing that list I am going to make some of my intentions known to the world, my sp...
1 comment
Read more

Love, Forgiveness, & Gratitude

So many people have thoughts of futility about their lives, it becomes frustrating to actually listen to others peoples conversations. Many are so wrapped up in the rigid patterns of perceived priorities they do not even remember why they are existing; everyday functions are performed on autopilot. Of course having a basic understanding of why we exist and what we are suppose to be accomplishing tend to take many on journeys of the soul. The struggle can be easily overcome for yourself and for everyone else around you if you can utilize these three applications -- love, forgiveness and gratitude. Not to say life will no longer have its challenges; solutions to the insurmountable issues will be much more available if you apply these three aspects. John Lennon's lyrics to the song "Love" says much about the true measure of love that we need to apply in our worldly lives. "Love is knowing we can be" is pure humanity. The love of God is beyond our understanding and ...
Post a Comment
Read more