Entertaining: Guest Baskets

My oldest sister is a very gracious hostess.  Every time someone stays at her home (even her little sister), she prepares not only a guest room for them, but a basket of goodies.  She always provides items to facilitate the comfort of your stay and lets you know that she's thinking of you.
So when we had guests planned this past weekend, I set up a guest room and prepped my guest basket.

In my basket I usually include:

• hand towel and washcloths
• reading material (magazines)
• water bottles
• granola bars (for those nights they get in late, or leave early before breakfast)
• small bathroom cups
• kleenex (tissue) packs
• chocolate
• hand sanitizer

Our guests were going to include some good friends of my daughter that were going to stay in her room.  Much to my amusement, my 10 year old daughter disappeared into her room for about 20 minutes or so, then called me in to see her handiwork.  She had prepped blankets, cushions and pillows for their beds on the floor, and on top was placed a small guest basket that she'd modeled after mine.  

In my daughter's basket she included:

• reading material (American girl catalog and Highlights magazine)
• bathroom cups
• kleenex (tissue) packs
• gum
• hand sanitizer
• bath gels
• yo-yo (don't ask me why a yo-yo - but it fit well in the basket

Does offering a guest basket automatically make you a great hostess?  Heavens no, but it does start you thinking about how to accommodate your guests and how best to meet their comfort needs.  So never underestimate your example -- I learned it from my sister, now my daughter seems to be learning it as well.