Tis the Season for Company

It's that time of year again!

I'm not talking about the cold and snow, but only because I've talked about that before. If you want to read about my vendetta against rock salt, you can find it in this blog post. If you want to talk about preparing for the cold weather and snow, that's this post.

No, today we're talking about what seems to happen whenever men remember that company is coming over. In fact, It's a whole category of videos on TikTok. I've taken a couple of screengrabs (below) of some of the ones that came up in a Google search for this topic. I highly recommend you check it out on TikTok, Instagram, or whatever your video app of choice is.

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So yes, it's so ubiquitous that there is a whole genre of videos online about it! And we are not immune to it in our household, either! Last year, as we were getting ready to host my in-laws for Christmas, Tony decided that would be the perfect time to paint our stairs. Were they beautiful? Yes, of course (proof below... but please ignore the dog hair). But did it need to be done 3 days before his extended family came over and we needed to clean and set up tables? Probably not.

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But let's get real here - there are probably some things that legitimately need to get done in your house, office, or whatever space you have. It doesn't need to be done 3 days before your guests come over, but I'm sure you have a list of improvements that you want. So let's get to the meat of today's post and talk about that list:

• How often do you host? Are you in the middle of everyone, so it makes sense to host? Is your house the biggest, so again, it makes sense? Or do you just like to host, regardless of your space? If you only host once a year, you may not need to make changes based on fitting people in your house, so your list is to make your space enjoyable for you. If you do host a lot, think about what drives you crazy when people come over. (Example: we have people enter through our back laundry room/mud room in the winter so I can avoid the rock salt!)

  
  

• How quickly do you need the fix? If Grandma is coming over and you need a ramp or railing for her, well... It's the week of Thanksgiving as I'm writing this, so you may be out of luck for this week. Give us a call so we can help you before Christmas, though 😉 But seriously, painting the stairs can probably wait, but the railing may be a bigger priority.

  
  

• How expensive is it? We've talked before about budget, but it really is something you need to think about. Maybe you need more counter space for all the potluck dishes. Or maybe you have family stay with you every year and a second full bathroom could be useful. Kitchen and bathroom renovations are generally pretty pricy (and time consuming), but having a functional kitchen for me is essential.

Even after all of this, your husband will probably still find things to putter with and fix around the house before company comes over. Tony and Marc might not be able to help you clean the garage or organize your workshop... but they get it. Those are essential before someone comes over!