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