Um Professional blogs

You are ready to leave the work, and you didn’t cook yet. You are about to pick up your kids from their afternoon school program, and suddenly you get a phone call. Your husband gives you a heads up that his sister’s family from a neighboring state is in town and is dropping by your home… tonight! And yes, they’re staying over! Don’t worry…at some point or another we’ve all been there….the unexpected house guest.

First of all, take a few deep breaths and remember the blessing. The worst thing to do is panic and begin complaining. Remember that the Prophet (SAW) said, “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let them treat their guest generously.” (Al-Bukhari) All you need is the right intention… and everything will go smoothly.

Here are 10 tips that will help you keep your calm and bring out the inner domestic diva in you! Oh, and don’t forget to get your kids involved in being good hosts and hostesses!

• When your guest arrives, greet him/her with a warm welcome! Guests bring their own blessing from Allah SWT.  The righteous of the olden days would say that the guests bring their own rizq and leave with the sins of the host forgiven. So be gracious and look at it as an opportunity to get lots of blessings and to reconnect with that person.

• So to begin, formulate a quick menu. You will have to serve meals and snacks, so make a grocery list accordingly and go shopping. Or better yet, if you can delegate the shopping to someone else, you can save more time.

• Next, give your home a quick cleaning. No, you don’t need to vacuum every single corner or clean out your cabinets. Overall general appearance is the key. Don’t waste time trying to make everything perfect. Your home should look neat and presentable and that’s it.

• Do all your cooking prep earlier in the day so that there is less to do when you actually finish making the meal. This will give you less stress when you’re serving dinner, and will also allow you to spend more time talking to your guest than just cooking.

• Always try to keep some yummy and filling snacks handy in the pantry or the freezer. Things like frozen samosas or mozzarella sticks are great, because they’re not only filling and delicious, they’re a snap to prepare whenever anyone drops by.

• It’s a good idea to keep some extra linens and toiletries in the home. Extra blankets, pillows, and towels are great to keep on hand for overnight guests.

• You can have your children create a small basket of basic essentials for your guest by using mini or travel sized products. Be sure to include: toothpaste, unopened toothbrushes, soap, shampoo/conditioner, lotion, and a small hairbrush or comb.

• An extra added touch is to make a small basket of snacks for your guests and put it at their bedside. You can fill the basket with items such as fruits, nuts, chocolates, cookies, and bottled water.

• In terms of preparing the room in which your guest will be staying, a few simple touches can make a big difference. Leave some books or other reading material at their bedside. Brighten up the room with a simple small vase with some handpicked flowers from your garden. Put a scented candle or even a solid air freshener in the room. If you have an extra alarm clock put that there too. And if you really want to add the cherry on top, leave them a little note on the bedside telling them how happy you are to have them in your home and that you look forward to spending time with them, better still, have your children write the note or draw them a cute picture!