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Blast From The Past… How To Have House Guests Easily

On Sundays I’m sharing some of my fave posts from the past. We love having friends and family come to stay, and over the last few years we have developed a few strategies to help things run smoothly. I wrote this post last year to share some of our tips.

We have guests come and stay quite often. Barely a month goes by without friends or family coming down for a weekend in the country. We love hosting our friends, and over the last two and a half years, we have worked out few things that makes visits easier to prepare for, and enjoyable for everyone.


After having guests earlier this week, Country Boy and I were talking about all the things we have done that makes it easy, so I thought I would share what we have learnt:

 

Beds, Bedding and Logistics
Make sure you have enough linen and blankets on hand, and in an easily accessible place. I have a zip up container (Skubb from Ikea) to hold all our spare blankets and quilts ready to make up beds. When we don’t need them, the container slides easily under Toby’s bed. We also have several spare mattresses stored under beds which we can pull out as we need them.

 

If you are fortunate to have a guest room, (all three of our kids share a room) wash the linen and then remake the bed(s) immediately after your guests leave. That way it is ready for whoever visits next, and it is one less thing to do the day before your next guests arrive.
If your guests ask what they can bring, suggest they bring their own towels. A few less loads of washing at the end of the stay is always appreciated. We have hooks on the wall of the guest room so that friends have somewhere to hang their towels when they stay.
We try to make sure we have a few extra beanies, gloves, and gumboots in winter for guests to use. Because our guests don’t normally live on a farm, they don’t always have the right ‘equipment’ to make life easier. We even have lightweight windproof jackets, which we used in Europe, for our guests to use should they need them. Perhaps if we lived further north and had a pool, spare goggles might be more appropriate.
Food
If your guests offer to bring a meal or some snacks with them, accept immediately. No further explanation necessary.
When planning meals, we try to think of meals that can easily be prepared in advance. Slow roasted meat and vegetables, pasta bakes, casseroles, home made baked beans, and cranberry lamb shanks, are all foods we serve regularly.
Keep the food coming. We try to have “proper” morning and afternoon teas when we have guests. I find that filling the kids up every two hours or so means that they stay happier longer. Happier kids = happier, more relaxed, adults. Often we will whip up a batch of lemonade sconesor pikelets, which I put out with a plate of chopped fruit. Popcorn, homemade biscuits, or even a plate of vegemite toast all fill them up. A late afternoon cheese platter while sitting in the sun is always popular too!
Activities
It is important to have a loose plan of what you might do each day. Often our plan is as simple as a list of different activities we can do. On the farm we have the usual list of activities such as bike riding, going for a tour round the farm on the truck, feeding the animals, canoeing on the dam, and bonfires (in winter). We also try to mix up the type of activities so that there are times when we are active out doors, and others where we are relaxing indoors. Usually a movie or audio book for the kids after lunch (and a snooze for the adults) is on the agenda.Where ever possible make sure that you have enough of each activity so that all the kids can join in. We have spare bikes in the shed (which we picked up for free during council clean ups) so that there are enough for extra kids. If we don’t have one of the right size, we suggest our friends bring one with them if they have room. If you don’t have enough scooters, bikes, pool noodles etc ask your guests to bring them, or borrow some from friends close by.

Have back up activities. I always have a few craft or baking activities up my sleeve in case it is freezing or raining (or both). I also check out any events in near by towns such as markets, cafes, or even something at the big town further away.


Even when the kids get along fabulously, there will still be differences of opinions (aka arguments) at times. Expecting the kids to get along all the time with no assistance is asking for problems. We often get our kids to put away any of their very precious items before guests arrive so that they don’t become an issue. We also try to make sure that there are times where the adults play with the kids. Sometimes half an our of hide and go seek in our garden (which is fabulous fun for adults too), is all the kids need to reset.
Don’t be afraid to call a break. Particularly when the visit is longer, going for a drive gives everyone a break from each other, and helps everyone to feel happier again later. Just because your guests have come to see you doesn’t mean you need to spend every moment together! 

Do you have house guests often? I’d love to know your tips!

Let everyone know:

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Hi, I’m Jo

I'm a city girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a few presents, an afternoon swim and dinner on the veranda as the sun set. Time to stop and be thankful for the many blessings of the year. I hope you had a lovely Christmas too!
We have been mulling over how to fix up the drivew We have been mulling over how to fix up the driveway and lead up to our house for a while. Currently it’s just a dumping ground for old bits of metal and a big pile of mulch, but C would like to create a turning area and put in a garden. First up though, there’s a huge old stump that needs to go. What better excuse is there to have a fire on Sunday afternoon? C and the kids jumped on the quad bike and trailer, and hauled back a big pile of sticks and logs to help the stump burn. Once the fire was going, marshmallows were found and roasted. No better way to spend time together.
Team work makes the dream work. We were asked rec Team work makes the dream work. 
We were asked recently whether we “make” our kids work on the farm. The answer is of course not. Having said that, all three love to help out whenever they can. They all work hard because they want to; because they take pride in working hard and contributing in a meaningful way to our family life; because they love living on our farm and don’t remember life before we moved here. Whether it be planting trees or doing sheep work or feeding animals, they all want to be involved. As a parent, nothing is better than watching them grow in skill and confidence as they work along side you. We’re so glad that we get to spend time with our three, working together.
We’ve had an unexpected addition to the family ☘️🐑. She is a lot easier to look after than the other family members but she does try to escape her yard and head butt people. Poddy lambs are super cute but they tend to think they are a human. Clover the lamb is sure that Meg is her mum. Can’t think why… 🤔🤣
The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: toge The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: together, cooking damper around the remains of the bonfire.
It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got through shearing without a hitch (thankfully 🙏) but we’ve had a run of the flu followed by Covid run through the family since then. The kids and I have tested positive (this is my second time getting it 🦠) though so far C has managed to avoid it. There has been a lot of lying on the couch feeling pretty ordinary. Han had to reschedule her driving test for a 4th time due to Covid, which is disappointing for her because she wants her freedom and for us because it would be so much more convenient if she could drive herself places. Just to add in to the mix, our hot water system has chosen now as a good time to die so we’re on cold showers until we’re all out of iso. This is not meant to be a whinging post but sometimes life just sucks a bit and it’s good to be real. Fortunately, the sight of the fire going with a stack of wood next to it cheers us up. Things will improve soon. Onwards we go…

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Hi, I’m Jo

City girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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