Cliches are cliches for a reason...they're true! There truly is no place like home, and for me, Long Valley, NJ will forever have my heart. Over Easter/Passover weekend I took a couple of my college friends home with me to see the beautiful town I grew up in. Here are some of my tips and things I learned from hosting them for the weekend, as well as some adorable farm photos...'cause you know, when in Jersey. Enjoy :)
I have always been a planner, thanks to my father...thanks to his mother. I like to have my ideas written out so I have a general idea of what my day will look like. The key word here is general. In high school I used to plan out my after school activities by the minute on endless pieces of scrap paper (shout out to my bff Amy who is probably the only other person in the world who did the same). At the time, it was a nice way for me to know what I had to do and keep myself on track. When other people are involved, however, and you are now the host/guide, it is imperative that you are flexible.
Make a plan so that you and your guests know all the activities for the day, have them look at it beforehand, so that they are know what you're getting them into and can put their two cents in. For our New Jersey trip, I made a very basic itinerary and shared it in a group chat. Notice anything missing? There are NO NUMBERS whatsoever. Time tables make people feel constrained and that's the last thing you want your guests to feel when they stay with you. It's important to be able to work on the fly and respond to how the day goes, so keep your plan simple; work out things you want to accomplish, but there's no pressure to do everything in one day. There's always tomorrow!
Being a host means that you are essentially assuming the role of care-taker for the weekend or duration of the stay. Your guests are looking to you for nearly everything and you are there for them. Let's remember a fundamental life lesson here: you have to take care of yourself before you can take care of others, therefore, when hosting, you must be up first and out last. Get up early, get yo'self ready, and then start preparing everything you need for the day you have (loosely) planned. The first morning, I have come to learn, has got to be a stay-in breakfast. While you can go out for breakfast the first morning, keep in mind your guests just arrived the day before and are probably going to want to sleep in (don't freak about people waking up whenever they feel like...see method #1) and while you all are eating breakfast together in the morning, you can take a poll and see what everyone is still down to do according to the itinerary. I personally love breakfast and love to bake, so a perfect first morning to me is making breakfast for all your guests (of course you don't have to make breakfast yourself, it's just a personal preference). A breakfast in just gives off such home-y vibes and sets the tone for the rest of the stay.
For our trip to NJ I initially planned on us going out to get bagels and go to a local coffee shop, so that my friends could get that small-town feel first-hand. However, Maya's Mistake #1 was forgetting how late we arrived the night before and how much people love to sleep in. BUT, I was flexible and went out and got us bagels, brought them back, and we had a nice home-y breakfast that was probably even better than going out. It's easier to talk and enjoy each other's company! *As a host, always ask how your guests slept, especially the first morning!*
Even though you planned, and planned to be flexible, you can never anticipate how your guests will feel. When people start to get tired don’t turn to the plan, turn around and go home! Downtime and rest is just as important as the main activities. I never put these in my itineraries because you just never know, but it is important to recognize when guests, or even you, need a break. After a good relax session, ask guests what they are still up for and make changes accordingly.
After hitting my guests with hours of farms and walking around, we circled back home to rest for a while. We played some board games, listened to music, and bonded! It's these little moments that make a stay memorable, so don't be afraid to not be actively doing something.
Music is the background to our life. It sets the tone and can change moods. Music just has this power, so a good playlist is essential when hosting! Whatever you and your guests are doing, chances are you can be playing some music in the background.
For our weekend, I made the mistake of not creating a playlist ahead of time. The solution? Two words: Taylor Swift. Since she has a plethora of albums, all pretty much different genres, I could throw her on without any worries. We did a lot of traveling in the car on narrow roads clad with greenery, so her earlier albums were perfect to match the scenery. And everyone knows these songs, whether they wish to or not, so it was added fun to have sing-a-longs in the car belting out her lyrics. Those moments will come to mind whenever your guests hear those songs and that is ultimately what you want to accomplish: an unforgettable experience. With music, you have something tangible that brings them back to the wonderful time they had with you!
As much as you are there for your guests, if you are taking part in the activities too...take part in the activities! Enjoy the moment with your guests, make memories and ALWAYS take pictures!
Parting gifts are in my DNA, thanks to my mom. On her side of the family , no guest leaves empty handed (it's just one of those Dominican things). You either leave with food or food and a little gift (leaving without taking food is unheard of). She translated this into my birthday parties, even when they weren't even formal parties. If I had friends over for anything, she always had a little parting gift for them and I now find myself doing the same.
I obviously love Long Valley, so I really really wanted my friends to have of piece of LV with them forever. I asked my mom to swing by the Long Valley Pharmacy and pick them up some LV memorabilia that they could take with them. In the meanwhile, I took my friends out to our last breakfast...Playa Bowls! She ended up picking them up some cute T-shirts to have (our first week back at school we were reppin' 'em). By the time we got back from breakfast, we still had an hour to kill before we had to leave for the train station and I was itching to bake something the whole time we were home. So, I decided to make some quick and easy banana bread muffins (the only thing we had sufficient ingredients for) for us to take on the road! I personally love personal touches, so if you can make your parting gifts ahead of time or bake something I just think that really shows your heart. Baked goods were a perfect way to end our weekend; a warm, sweet little something that really said home :)
Hopefully this helps you next time you host! Be sure to check out all the wonderful places we visited, the links are all provided in the photo streams. Thanks for listening! Happy hosting :)
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