Every hostess knows that receiving guests is a very troublesome business. First, you clean up all day and hang around the stove: you cook, steam, fry; then you need to direct the marafet, and finally, already falling down from fatigue, greet the guests with a smile.
In the West, it has long been customary to celebrate birthdays and other celebrations in restaurants and clubs. After all, it is much more convenient to hold such events outside the home: they ordered a hall with service, sat, had fun, and parted ways. And the dishes are brought by helpful waiters, and the dishes do not need to be washed, and the mood will not deteriorate.
In addition, strangers violate the energy of the home with their aura, and after they leave, the owners may feel discomfort or deterioration in well-being, especially if one of the guests is not completely healthy or came to the house with bad intentions – this happens too!
However, most of us still have to host guests at home. And it’s good if this meeting is planned in advance. Then you can take your time to clean the apartment and buy groceries. And what if a phone call suddenly rang out and in half an hour a company of six people would turn up? Okay, if not six, but only one friend, whom you haven’t seen for six months? It remains to act very quickly.
What to do if the guests suddenly appeared
Let’s start cleaning the living room. First collect all the little things – cosmetics, CDs, pencils … Put it all in a large box or shopping bag and shove it away for further consideration and sorting. The main thing is not to forget where they hid. Fold papers and books in neat piles, you should not put them far away.
Then gather your clothes. Do not try to hang everything “as it should” – carefully fold things on the closet shelf, you will figure it out later. All this will take no more than three to five minutes.
You may need to vacuum the carpet in the living room. Resist the temptation to vacuum the whole apartment, because you will not be given a tour. At the same time, you can only vacuum the corridor. It’s a few more minutes. If the floor in the corridor, even after it has been vacuumed, is not pleasing to the eye, use a damp broom. Another minute or two.
It’s time to look in the mirror. If you are wearing a darned robe and your hair is upright, you urgently need to change clothes and comb your hair. But do not try to put on a casually turned up and such a favorite evening dress and do the styling with a hairdryer. If you don’t have the appropriate attire, a turtleneck and jeans will work. Careful makeup – lip gloss and a little mascara for the eyes.
For preening 4-5 minutes. Have the guests arrived yet? Then let’s continue.
Check the toilet and bathroom for toilet paper and a clean towel. If the plumbing is far from the ideal of cleanliness, you may have to put on rubber gloves and walk on it with a rag with Comet. But do not get carried away, it is enough to erase the main plaque. It’s a couple more minutes.
Now to the kitchen. Of course, you can hope that the guests will not come empty-handed, but it is better to impress them with something delicious, specially made for them. Surely you have a signature dish on your note that can be prepared in a few minutes? For example, charlotte: beat two eggs, add a glass of sugar, a glass of flour, chopped apples – and the oven. It will be ready in half an hour, when the guests have already arrived, and you will serve it “piping hot”. An appetizer can be prepared in the form of a wide variety of sandwiches, which are beautifully laid out on plates.
If there is time left, you can set the dining table or modern coffee table very quickly and at the same time beautifully.
It is covered by placing slides of plates and glasses. Bottles with mineral water, juices and other drinks are placed in the center of the table. Bread is cut into thin slices and placed on plates, alternating white and black in a circle so that one slice covers the edge of the other. In the middle of the plate, a circle of slices is placed vertically. Plates of bread are placed along the table, and butter dishes are placed between them, small plates with thin slices of meat, ham, chicken, tongue, sausage, all kinds of cheese, chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, in short, everything that the hostess found in the refrigerator. Knives should be placed near the butter dish, forks near the plates, and the guests themselves will be able to prepare their own sandwiches to their liking. Do not forget to only put spices, herbs, and put napkins.
The evening should be prepared
Now consider how best to meet guests in a less extreme situation. When we prepare for a reception, a number of questions immediately arise: how best to compose a menu, prepare dishes, what to serve for dessert…
The main thing is that there are a variety of dishes on the table, but each in a small amount, beautifully laid out and decorated. If you see that guests liked some dish more than others, it is better to bring an additive later. And a good mood will be created by a bright, clean room, whether it be a dining room or a kitchen, a properly served table, deliciously cooked food served in beautiful plates, and the friendliness of the hostess.