Preparing for Thanksgiving Guests

If you follow me on Facebook, you've known for a while I've been preparing for the crowd. Each year we celebrate Thanksgiving with John's family on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and make a weekend of family being in town. This is our third year hosting and just love having the house filled with family!

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Let's face it, there's a lot to do to prepare for guests coming. Over time I've learned what works and what doesn't for extra company. Here, I have my own set of "must-do's" to be prepared for extra company. I figured we can all use a little extra help this time of year, so I wanted to share with you my "To-Do List" to prepare for company.

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• Wash the sheets on the guest bed. No one wants to sleep in dusty sheets. I try and wash mine about a week before (if I know ahead of time they're coming).
• Dust and vacuum the bedroom and get it clean. Same goes for the guest bathroom.  
• Set out extra pillows. Everyone has their own taste for their pillows. I'm a soft 2 pillow person, John prefers a firm set. Allow your guests to be choosy, they may be away from home, but everyone wants a good night's sleep.
• Place a water bottle by the bed. I try and keep extra water in the guest bedroom just in case of a sudden cough, or dry spell. There's nothing worse than having to tromp downstairs in the middle of the night for something so simple.
• Make sure you have plenty of extra towels and blankets (in plain view, or let them know where they are) for guests. Make sure they know they're welcome to help themselves.

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• Check the lightbulbs in the lamps to be sure none are burnt out or flickering.
• Stock up on toilet paper in the guest bath. There's nothing worse than not having extra when you need it! I keep mine in a small basket on the back of the toilet. That way there's no fumbling through cabinets and drawers trying to find it.
•  Leave a book or stack of magazines on the dresser or nightstand for entertainment to wind down at night.

Those are my Must-Do's for guests. If you have time, here are some other ideas:  set out a bowl of chocolates for a little treat, change pictures in the frames of family/ friends visiting to make them feel more at home. Have travel bottles of shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste and floss in the bathroom in case they forgot anything.

So there you have it. My little list of things to make my guests feel a little more at-home and welcome when they come to visit.