Gracious Overnight Guests
Now that Memorial Day is so
close, which announces that Summer is here, I think it is a good time to
discuss some tips of guest etiquette. When you are invited for the weekend to
your friend’s or relative’s lake home or beach condo, you need to be so gracious that
you will surely receive a repeat invite. Follow these tips and you will certainly be a shining star in the guests department.
Let’s start with the packing;
Never over pack! Why? Simply because guest bedrooms are not usually the largest
or the ones with huge closets and your arrival with four suitcases for a two
night stay sends a really bad signal! Either you are planning on a longer stay
that your host intends or you are not a savvy traveler.
When you arrive- Never empty
handed but certainly there are some additional facets to this etiquette rule.
The hostess gift guidelines indicate that you should never provide your hostess
with something that will give more work, trouble or concern than your visit is
worth. That being said bring for your weekend, food and drink, that knowing
your host/hostess will enjoy and be appropriated to the place and time. If it is a
vacation home, that will be vacant after your visit don’t take plants for
instance. Some decorating touch with the theme of the lake or beach, such as
kitchen towels or disposable bathroom tissues are always welcomed.
Once you are there – Never keep
your own schedules, but adapt to your host’s house rules. If you are the kind
that wakes up at 5 a.m. and starts fidgeting around the kitchen to make coffee,
but nothing moves in that house until 8 a.m., control your impulses. Stay in
your bed or sneak out of the house for a morning walk if you must, but make
sure you don’t make unnecessary noise or
wake anyone up.
Another really important rule that well mannered guests always follow, is to be helpful! Offer to help
with the cooking or the dish washing, or with pulling the boat out of the water.
Whatever the situation calls for, but don’t simply stand by waiting to be
served and entertained. That does not a polite guest make.
Finally, when it is time to
leave – Never leave your room and bathroom in a mess! It is not a hotel room,
where you have been staying; it is the home of someone close enough to you and
kind enough to have opened their home to share with you for a fun stay. Pick up after yourself, ask the hosts if they
want you to remove the bedsheets and towels and place them in the washer (many
families have this habit as it prepares the guest room for their next
adventure).
If your hosts are having
someone come over to clean up after you all leave, they might say not to
bother, but you certainly must offer. In any case leave the area where you have
been staying in as pristine a condition as you found it.
If you follow these guest
etiquette rules, you are sure to be considered a courteous and polite friend or
relative who the hosts will surely be very happy to invite again.
May you have many overnight
invitations during the holiday weekends and all year long!
