EASTER DINNER
Easter weekend is here, and many of us will be spending time sharing a meal or two with our family and friends. Here are a few reminders on how to be a welcomed guest.
If you are a guest in a friend or family member’s home, offer to help out with the meal preparations, setting the table and cleaning up. Show consideration for the person making a delicious meal for everyone’s enjoyment by availing yourself as a helping hand when needed. As the saying goes “many hands make light work”. If you are staying as an overnight guest, offer to help clean the house generally. Offer to make simple meals such as breakfast and afternoon tea, to give your host a reprieve from planning all the meals for the day. In both cases, if the host accepts the offer, help within the scope of the suggested parameters given to you.
Other people’s homes tend to be a mystery we as guests are curious to explore, and holiday decorations tend to increase this curiosity. If you find yourself tempted to do so, compliment the host on a feature that is of particular interest to you and ask if they would take you on a tour. Ensure you assess the situation before you ask for this favour to determine if this is something the host would like to do. If the host turns you down, do not take this as a personal affront. They may simply be overwhelmed with the logistics of hosting and prefer to concentrate all their efforts on the tasks at hand. Do not be sneaky either and explore your host’s home without their permission.
Most hosts tend to make away too much food for their guests. If this is the case and you are offered some food to take home, show some appreciation for the offer by taking a reasonable amount as directed by your host. In the event you decline the offer, do so in a considerate manner. Politely communicate your reasons for declining, for example if you are going away for a few days and would not want the food to spoil.
If you are not offered any food to take home, refrain from requesting a takeaway container. This could make for an awkward conversation between you and the host if they had alternative plans for the leftover food.
Leave the gathering at a respectable hour. You do not want to be the last person to leave, nor do you want to overstay your welcome. Pay attention to non-verbal cues from your host. Once you notice that they are ready to wind down after the event, thank them for hosting and take your leave from the gathering.
Let us make this Easter memorable for our loved ones by being agreeable guests and pleasant company.
Happy Easter!
