5 Essential Hospitality Skills to Teach Your Children

Summertime is filled with hosting guests around our home. From having friends over to swim to hosting family from out of town, opportunities for practicing hospitality abound. The other side of summer is that my kids tend to get lazy about cleaning the house and sharing their stuff. It's easy to get self focused in the summer, so that makes it the perfect time to teach hospitality skills to your children.

1. Stock the Bathroom

Seriously, this is the one room that every guest that comes in your home will visit. If it is well stocked with the right kinds of essentials, your guests will feel welcomed and at home.

I took the girls to WalMart to gather the necessary supplies. Most of the time we use WalMart's curbside pickup service where we order all of our groceries online and then schedule a time to go pick it up. It's a huge time saver, especially when you're planning for a party. However, in training my girls to be hospitable, it helped to go to the store and physically see what was available to purchase for our guests.

Tip #1: Start with the Basics: Cottonelle Toilet Paper

We started with the basics. No one ever likes to find out too late that there is no more toilet paper! That will definitely leave your guests with the wrong kind of memorable experience. Cottonelle's Mega Rolls are awesome because one roll is equal to four rolls. This means that your bathroom will stay stocked four times as long, which is a blessing when you have more people than usual diminishing the supply!

Tip #2: Make the Supplies Accessible for your Guests

If your guests need extra supplies while they're in the restroom, it's good to make the backup toilet paper rolls, towels, and extra supplies easy for your guests to find and access.

Here are some of the items we purchased at WalMart to make our guests feel welcome:

• Extra toothbrushes
• Travel size toothpaste
• Travel size mouthwash
• Dental floss
• Personal body
• Travel size deodorant

Each of these items were under $1, which means that we didn't have to break the bank to make our guests feel at home.

2. Clean the Bedrooms

We're pretty good at keeping the main living spaces clean, but bedrooms are another matter entirely. When we're having friends over, I encourage everyone to straighten their rooms.

If you're hosting overnight guests, there are more skills to cultivate!

Tip #3: A Freshly Made Bed is Best

No one likes to sleep on dirty sheets. Even if you're comfortable in your bed, it's best to clean the sheets before company arrives so that they can sleep in a freshly made bed.

I'm typically the one who washes the sheets in our home, but my kids need to learn eventually. Having them help with making up the bed for the guests will help them be willing to give up their beds for company.

4. Cultivate Comforts

Beyond the basics, there are ways you can help your guests feel welcomed and loved. My kids considered the wifi code one of the best ways to welcome a guest!

Tip #4 Every Guest is Unique

However each guest is different. Sit down with your kids and think about what would make your guests feel particularly loved. Maybe it's a certain drink or snack that you can have available for them.

Helping your kids find those ways that will make your guests feel loved is a great way to teach your kids how to show hospitality.

5. Serve Your Guests

The best thing about cultivating hospitality skills in your kids is that it is essentially a way to teach your kids to love others through service. Most of the time, your guests will not know the extent of work needed to prepare for their arrival. Working hard for them to come, and then not complaining about all the work they did is an act of service.

Tip #5 Be Present with Your Guests

When the guests arrive, it's easy for kids to go back to their regular routines. However, hiding in their room reading a book or texting friends can isolate them from their guests. If your guests have traveled far to come spend time with your family, it's good to manage the expectations of your kids that they should be present for their guests.

Giving your time can be the sweetest way to show hospitality. When you take care of the basic needs of your guests, you can truly enjoy them in their visit!

Visit you local Walmart and grab Cottonelle Mega Rolls so you never run out this summer!

Save $1 now on Cottonelle Mega Rolls at Walmart starting 6/28!

Order fresh groceries online with Walmart and enjoy the same in-store savings with free pickup. Click here to see if it's available in your area!