Hosting Holiday Guests In Your Apartment
The Holidays are here and you’re likely to have a few guests stay the night at your apartment. To make it easy-peasy lemon squeezy, today we’ve provided a checklist for hosting guests, beyond guest room must haves. Whether you have your best friend from college popping into town for one night, or your in-laws staying with you from Thanksgiving until Christmas, you’ll be set to provide your family and friends the very best home-away-from-home experience in your Glenwood home.
Make Sure Your Apartment Is Squeaky Clean
First things first: make sure your apartment is clean and presentable to guests! The good thing about this is that it really only takes one committed afternoon to do a deep clean (or hire an agency to do it for you if you’re crunched for time.) After the house is cleaned, it’s as simple as keeping up with daily maintenance. A few simple tips for this, so that you don’t find yourself in a cleaning frenzy an hour before guests arrive, are:
- Return everything to its place after you’re done using it. This goes from coats and purses to kitchen appliances to your kid’s toys. If everything has a place and is returned there, this will greatly cut down on any household clutter.
- Keep a few large baskets around the house for quick clean-ups. While this isn’t as thorough as putting things in their exact places, if you do find yourself in a hurry you can quickly go around the apartment picking up things that need to be returned to spots and stick them in pretty baskets in the meantime. Clutter is cleared and everything looks presentable!
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Stock The Fridge
A stocked fridge is essential for hosting guests during the holidays. Make sure to check-in first regarding any food allergies or restrictions, and then create your list from there. There are certain items that are non-perishables and good to always have on hand this time of year for guests. These include:
- A selection of beverages
- Things to put in coffee (sugar, milk, cream)
- Easy to eat snacks (nuts, Chex-mix, crackers, cookies)
- Frozen appetizers that can be ready in a jiffy
And, of course, perishables, too. These require a bit more thought as far as timing goes, but as long as you have your list, you’re good to go!
- All the ingredients you need to throw together a delicious homemade meal
- Easy breakfast items for your guests to help themselves to (yogurt, oatmeal, granola)
- Items to make sandwiches (fresh bread, cheese, deli meat, condiments)
- Fresh fruit, veggies, and dips such as hummus
- Items for a cheese plate: a hard, soft, and medium cheese
Create A Loose Itinerary For Their Stay
Whether it’s your guests very first time in NYC or if they’ve been a million times before, you’ll still want to create a loose itinerary for them. This can be as simple as researching a few options of things going on in the city during their stay and making a printout of activities for them that are available (art exhibits that may interest them, holiday themed events around Midtown East, or cool Downtown cultural events or shows). This is great because it gives them the option to attend events that interest them on their own, so that you don’t feel as though you need to play tour guide the entire time (unless you want to, of course). Other smart things to include with their loose itinerary are a subway map, a Metrocard, and a list of your favorite neighborhood spots for coffee, takeout, or a quick meal.
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And finally, you want to be sure that your guests are set up for their stay with everything they need. This includes:
- A spare key to get in and out of your apartment
- The Wi-Fi network and password in your home
- A place to sleep (whether this is the guest room or a blowup mattress on the floor) complete with fresh sheets, warm blankets, and pillows
- Bath products, including fresh towels, and access to shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and extra toilet paper
- The TV remote control is in visible sight (or instructions on how to use a device like Alexa if you’re TV is controlled via voice)
- Instructions on anything else inside your house that may need a little explaining. This could be setting a guest alarm clock, accessing your Netflix account, using the espresso machine if it’s not intuitive, etc. Just imagine yourself as a first-time visitor to your home, and think what may be a bit confusing… take it from there.
What are your tried-and-true tips for hosting guests during the holidays? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter!
Posted in Apartment Living NYC, Downtown, manhattan living, Midtown East, Upper East Side | Tagged holiday host • hosting • overnight guests
