6 Suppress the temptation to become the tourguide-from-hell.
There’s nothing I find more tiresome than going to visit a friend
and watching that friend stress out while he/she tries to plan out every
single second of my visit. Chances are good that your guests are there
primarily to see you, not to be dragged out to every museum,
monument, park, and tourist trap within driving distance. Granted, there
are those personalities that just can’t seem to cope with
something as non-active as chilling at a café – and for those folks,
I recommend you toss ‘em a tourguide, and urge them to go nuts. If
they’re playing indecisive, suggest some possible itineraries that
include both drop-them-off-and-let-them-wander-alone days (city-centered
sightseeing seems most conducive to this) and
drive-around-with-them-excursions.
7 You don’t have to cook every meal by yourself.
Really – there’s no need to kill yourself trying to impress
guests by concocting elaborate feasts for and each and every meal. Treat
your guests to your favorite local restaurants for dinner, and make lunch a
simple affair by either grabbing a light meal at a cozy little café, or
doing sandwiches at home. Take guests to the supermarket with you so
they can pick up their favorite breakfast foods and miscellaneous
munchies. If you do decide to make a meal at home, why not make it a
communal effort? Have a barbecue, make sushi or dumplings … inviting
your guests to pitch in will give them something to do, and you’ll all
have fun catching up on gossip and what’s going on in each other’s
lives as you sit around in the kitchen working.
o o o o o
Above all, try not to get too irked by the little things –
your friend being indecisive, your Mom’s well-intentioned nagging,
your sibling inadvertently wrecking your teflon-coated skillet by
scrubbing it with a scouring pad. Yes, I realize this can be
difficult, particularly when it's day 7 of their extended visit and
you're just dying to have your space all to yourself again. But
remember: these are the people you
love, and who knows when you’ll next get a chance to spend quality
time with them again? So relax. And have fun.