How To : Hosting for the Weekend
So you've got family or friends coming to visit soon. How exciting! But now you're trying to plan for the weekend, and if you are anything like me, then you want everything to be perfect. I absolutely adore hosting in my home. There is something about everyone gathering in my space that brings me so much joy. I want people to be excited when they are coming over because they know they can always expect a great time.
I was given the distinct honor of hosting my grandparents this past weekend, and I couldn't have been more excited to have them stay with me! When I found out they were going to be visiting, I immediately got to work planning our weekend. I just wanted our time to be full of fun and relaxation. I thrive when it comes to planning, so it didn't take me long to figure out some ideas for our visit. Everything had to be perfect for their arrival, so I stocked up on my hosting neccessities, planned dinners, and thought of what they might need when they arrive.
When hosting, the utlimate goal is to make your guests feel as comfortable as possible. Your home needs to be a space where everyone can relax. There is no where like home, so as a host you want to make sure your guests feel like your home is theirs, and they are weclome to enjoy it to the fullest extent. I'm going to share with you all of my tips and tricks for hosting the perfect weekend!
1. Organization, Linens, Scent
When your guests arrive, you want them to come into a welcoming environment. Cleaniless is a huge part of that in my opinion. I can't relax when my home isn't organized or clean so how could I expect anybody else to relax in my mess? This is an obvious tip, but it is an important one.
For my grandparents arrival, I made sure their room was ready for them. Clean and Tidy. But I also layed out linens for them, and I sat a fresh decanter of water by the bed. This was just an extra step I took to make them comfortable. I think they really enjoyed having the water available.
I had a candle lit prior to their arrival as well so their room felt extra cozy. I am huge on scent and actually try to keep a different scent for each room in my house! We attach smell to memories, so although it may seem small, I think it's really important to have atleast 1 signature scent in your home. I love these candles by Tyler. They smell wonderful and they are long lasting. Diva is my favorite scent - I keep it in the bedrooms.
Speaking of Diva, I am obsessed with the Tyler Glamwash detergent. I wash all of my throws and sheets with this stuff and it always leaves my room smelling fresh!
Pro Tip: I can't take credit for this, but I recently saw a video where someone mixed their Glamwash detergent with water in a fine mist bottle, and they use it as a linen spray. Genius!! So now I'm obsessed with spraying all of my furniture with it. I think it's definitely made a big difference!
Also, I am loving this Smell of Spring diffuser oil right now. I am a big floral gal, so this is what I've been using in my living room. It is a strong floral so it may not be for everyone, but I adore it!
2. Prepping your kitchen.
So you don't have to go crazy on this, but again we are focused on making our guests feel at home so it's nice to think of what they might need available to them. Think of their preferences or allergies. Example: I know my grandparents take their coffee with half and half so I picked up a container at the store. I also know they are Sauvignon Blanc fans so I had a couple of chilled bottles ready to go when they arrived.
For the mornings, I was stocked on all the coffee goods. I also picked up some pound cake for breakfast, and my grandparents brought 3 or 4 pounds of fresh strawberries which went perfectly with the pound cake.
The weather was perfect all weekend so we enjoyed our breakfast and coffee on the porch each morning. It was lovely!
I couldn't get enough of these strawberries. I still have so many left over - I'm trying to figure out what to do with them so they don't go to waste!
3. Itinerary
Not everyone likes an itinerary, but I love organized plans so I personally think it's a must. When visiting with loved ones, I don't think you have to have each day planned down to the hour, but it is nice knowing what you are going to do each day, and knowing you don't have to spend time trying to come up with plans. It is okay to be flexible, but I say at least have a baseline ready to go. Plans can always change. Ours did.
Here are some options for the family:
1. Picking out a few restaurants
Dinner favs: Chivo Taqueria, Kefi, A Dopo, Stock n Barrel, Five Thirty Lounge (for appetizers),
Brunch /Lunch Favs: Redbud Deli, Nama Sushi Bar, Olibea, 60 beans, Oliver Royale
2. Family Fun:
- Bowling at Maple Hall.
- Going for a walk or a hike.
- Spend the day in Pigeon Forge / Gatlinburg
- Go out on the lake.
- Cookout.
Here is what we did this weekend!
My grandparents arrived late Thursday afternoon. I knew they would be tired from traveling, and I had a busy day before they got here so I figured we should go relax on a patio somewhere. We went to Aubrey's in town, and ended up playing Trivia! It was a great way to spend our evening. We were home by 9:30 and called it an early night!
Friday we enjoyed a slow morning with coffee on the porch and listened to the birds sing. My parents arrived around lunch time and I set out a couple of grazing boards.
I kept these simple. We had an early dinner reservation so I didn't want anything too heavy. On one board we had a honey goat cheese, mandarin oranges, more strawberries, summer sausage, and pistachios, along with some french loaf and pita chips.
The other board had some pepperjack, colby jack, and cheddar cheese, more summer sausage and french loaf, green grapes, and this spread that is to die for. It does not look like much, but it so dang good.
Pro Tip: Scoop a large spoonful of orange marmalade into a bowl. I top it with Rosemary infused olive oil and Cinnamon Pear Balsamic from The Pinehurst Olive Oil Co.
This spread is so good, you won't be able to put it down! My favorite way to eat it with this board was to put some of the honey goat cheese on a baguette piece, lay some spread over the cheese, and top with a strawberry - Oh. My. Stars.
Friday was our night on the town so I made dinner reservations for one of my favorite places to eat in Knoxville. We went to A Dopo Sourdough Pizza - a wood-fired sourdough pizza restaurant where you can bring your own wine or they have a great selection of wine and beer on tap.
I love this place. I've been on a kick recently - having gone way more than I should probably admit. But I can't get enough. It's delicious, the environment is lively, and who doesn't love gourmet pizza and wine or craft beer?
We started out with their best selling appetizer, the Ovoline - Housemade Mozzarella over a basil, pistachio pesto and olive oil. I learned they make their Mozzarella each day so it is always fresh!
For our meal, my sister and I split my favorite pizza - The Pizzicletta which has 16 month aged prosciutto, argula, lemon, and olive oil. Traditionally this comes with their Bianca (white) sauce, but I ask for blush sauce instead, and I ask for warm honey to be drizzled over top.
A friend recommended this pizza and variation to me last year, and I've been hooked on it every since.
I usually have to be in the mood for pizza, but I will never turn down a trip to A Dopo!
I think the family really enjoyed it! My grandparents got a pizza with 'Nduja sausage and fresh torn mozzarella. My parents got the special which was a glorified pepperoni pizza. Both were delicious!
We finished off with gelato for dessert. Emily and I split pistachio aka the crème de la crème of gelato! And everyone else had black cherry, which they said was very good!
I originally made plans after dinner that we unfortunately had to skip out on, but overall I think everyone had a great time at dinner! And we still finished off our evening enjoying a warm sunset on the porch!
Saturday was my grandparents' last full day with us so I wanted to keep things simple. We lounged all day at the house and had a cookout that afternoon! It is officially cornhole season so we broke out the boards and went to town!
It was a beautiful, sunny day. We relaxed on the porch, talked, and played our hearts out.
I would say by the end of the day, we were all on our way to becoming cornhole proffessionals!
I actually forgot to snap pictures of our meal on Saturday. We had ribeyes, slow baked potatoes, and a very yummy salad (made by me). I will probably post the salad in other post later on. It was the perfect cookout salad! You can probably guess that I added in more strawberries.
Here is a super refreshing spritz we were sipping on all afternoon.
Grapefruit juice, club soda, and lime. Perfect for a hot afternoon in the sun!
Pro Tip: If you want to make it boozy, add your favorite tequila to make it a Paloma!
Also, I thought I would toss in this picture of Roman basking in the sun. He had the best weekend too!
Sunday was a quick morning for me. My grandparents normally have coffee with us then hit the road by mid morning to head home. I went to the early service at church so I said my goodbyes to my grandparents before I left, but my mom made a big breakfast for the rest of the family.
I was so thankful to spend my weekend with my family. I don't get to see my grandparents often enough, and there's just never enough time spent with them, but we really made the most of it and had a wonderful time together!
I had so much fun hosting my entire family for the weekend! It really does make me super happy to fill my house up with the people I love. I hope my grandparents felt at home with me. You may have some other tips on how you go above and beyond when hosting, and I would love to hear from you about them! This is what I did for my crowd this weekend. I hope you can take away some tips for entertaining loved ones yourself, and just know that even if things don't go exactly as you planned them, you are likely going to be the only one that really notices. Everyone is still going to have a great time.
Happy Hosting!
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