do you expect to provide them with every meal or do you expect them to either help themselves or to help you!In our house, whether we have visitors or not, I will probably be providing the main meal of the day and suggestions for breakfast and lunch but that will be the extent of my "catering" for anything other than dinner.
nfh1,
Dec 12, 8:15am
I would provide everything, hate other people in my kitchen and would hate to have to rummage about in someone else's kitchen.
wendalls,
Dec 12, 8:25am
I would do as you are suggesting sarah. there is a limit to how long i would want to be in the kitchen. The guests will have to get over any dislike of rummaging in anothers kitchen.
nfh1,
Dec 12, 8:30am
LOL - they may love rummaging in someone else's kitchen - we are all different.
elliehen,
Dec 12, 8:50am
I cook dinner.I show them the breakfast options with an invitation to help themselves at whatever time they decide to get up in the morning. Lunch, if they are going to be in, is a summer self-help smorgasbord of salad vegetables, bread, fruit and cheese.
My Christmas house guests usually offer to cook dinner on one or two nights and I'm happy to let them (they've been known to go shopping for ingredients to make a signature dish!)
nfh1,
Dec 12, 9:03am
How many people do you have coming and how long are they staying!I may change my mind if there are 8 of them for 14 days!No-one stays for longer than 3 days here------- guests like fish, go off after three days.
sarahb5,
Dec 12, 9:10am
None - but some people on here seem to be running themselves ragged catering for all and sundry for days on end .Only guests in my house over Christmas are likely to be the kids' friends - if they are here when I've prepared a meal then I will obviously include them but at other times they can help themselves like they do for the rest of the year, and like my kids do when they go to their houses.We have something of a revolving door during school holidays - I love it especially as I've known most of their friends since they were at primary school or even daycare together!
nfh1,
Dec 12, 9:19am
Hahaha!I was thinking after I posted that you may be having lots and lots of people staying!I agree some people tend to go totally OTT.I would find it far more stressful to have help but love an easy life, so not a chance that I would go OTT!
sarahb5,
Dec 12, 9:30am
Oh no - that's one of the biggest advantages of not having any family in this country - we don't have to do anything we don't want to do at Christmas and we love it.Sounds totally selfish but it's so much less stressful than it used to be when we had to visit here, there and everywhere with young kids in tow and share our time out evenly between everyone so no-one got upset, etc., etc.
nfh1,
Dec 12, 9:37am
Yes us too - no more having Christmas lunch with one set of family and doing it all again with the other side later on!We are usually walking along the beach in the morning and lazing in the garden around the BBQ in the afternoon with not a turkey in sight!
Have a good one.
daisyhill,
Dec 12, 10:13am
It depends on who the visitors are and for how long, but for a day or two I might provide everything. For longer, and especially for family, they are expected to pitch in!
We had 8 family members come to stay last month. I cooked dinner while they were here [we only had 8 people for two nights], and provided enough for breakfast the first day, but they were on their own for other meals. If they expected hotel service they would have stayed in a hotel, but they wanted to be with us and so they were treated like anybody else living in this house.
toadfish,
Dec 12, 5:19pm
+1
Usually anyone we have stay is a good friend or family - and being so they wouldn't be expecting me to be the maid.In saying that I love to play host and make people welcome,I usually sort out all the main meals and make sure the cupboards are stocked
accroul,
Dec 12, 7:21pm
The only guest we ever seem to have are my family. Brother appears to expect everything to be laid on, sister looks after herself during the day & helps with the main meal + cleans up afterwards.Father sits down & rattles his teacup. Actually, he'll get his own breakfast but he 'likes' to be looked after. Mother on the other hand will take over the house if she's allowed - She shops & even cooks, does dishes & the laundry - I love it when she comes to stay - it's like a mini holiday!
mbos,
Dec 13, 4:23am
With breakfast I tend to put things out, cereals, bread, spreads etc.Lunch, we do, and dinner, we do.
kuaka,
Dec 13, 5:23am
It would depend on who the visitors are (ie. friends, or family, and if family, how close or distant the family is - and basically on whether they have actually been invited or have invited themselves).Lots of variables there.
Probably I would expect to do most/all of the cooking but would expect them to contribute some of the ingredients, basics like bread, eggs, cheese, potatoes, greens and I would expect to be in control in my kitchen.Can't stand other people interfering (my son being the exception - he can come and cook in my kitchen any time)
sarahb5,
Dec 13, 5:26am
When I'm actually cooking I like to be in control of the kitchen and don't want any help but I'm quite happy for anyone else to take it over if they wish so long as they clean up after themselves and don't keep asking for my assistance!
toadfish,
Dec 13, 5:31am
People ask me what they can do to help. I usually say "Pour me a glass of wine and sit on a bar stool and talk to me". And I never ever fight off any offers to do the dishes lol
uli,
Dec 13, 6:05am
I would do the cooking and the guests can help with cleaning up.
Since I do not do breakfasts there are options like fruit, muesli, bread etc for those that need to eat at 7am.
Lunch is always a big salad, ham, eggs, fruit and fresh bread and whatever was left over from last nights dinner.
Dinner is either fish or meat and vegetables or salads.
Letting others cook in a "foreign kitchen" always leads to questions like "where is" or "have you got" and lots more - so I am not really having a holiday from the kitchen anyway - but get called upon regularly. So I prefer to cook at my leisure while the guests sit around the big table and entertain me with lovely tales :)
uli,
Dec 13, 6:07am
I hope she will come and stay for a few weeks :)
beaker59,
Dec 13, 6:53am
I love having a houseful we have a big house and only 3 of us live here when the family move in everyone helps and does something the cupboards get emptied and refilled particularly if the country cousins come then there will be a couple of carcases hanging in the garage and the BBQ's won't get a chance to cool down. It just seems to all work food is in over abundance and in the end we are thankful when they go so the diet can start.
uli,
Dec 13, 8:11am
Ahhh beaker - one of those years I am going to visit :) Sounds like my take on cooking and entertaining :) How's your knee!
beaker59,
Dec 13, 8:23am
knee has been behaving itself lately :) actually its got steadily better all year I guess that is just a short reprieve but with my outdoor lifestyle I am happy to put off the replacement for another year. Looking forward to allot of sailing over the christmass break how are you getting on.
daisyhill,
Dec 13, 8:35am
That is true and is probably what I do too, but offers of washing the dishes afterwards are never declined (along with offers of providing dessert, as that is not my area of expertise when it comes to cooking). If I cook then my husband is volunteered for drying the dishes because he knows where everything goes, but guests are always welcome to wash them ;-)
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