I love entertaining folks at our house. I really do. I love the preparation time as Julie and I clean the house together. I love cooking food on the BBQ or in the kitchen. I love when people show up and I greet them at the door (I actually watch through the front window just to see when they show up). I love seeing them sit down to enjoy a meal I prepared. I love the easy conversation when people are relaxed and the words are flowing. I even love the cleanup afterwards when I put everything away and munch on the occasional leftover. Entertaining is fun, so why aren’t you doing it?
Why Not Invite Someone To Your House?
Are you ashamed of your house? Then clean it up. A house doesn’t need to be perfect or richly furnished (ours isn’t). It just needs to be clean and have some love and attention put into it.
Do you not know how to cook? Then learn. Cooking is easy and simple, fast recipes are a dime a dozen on various internet sites.
Do you not have the money? Then ask friends to bring over dishes. No one minds doing this since the cost is minimal. (personally, I LOVE potlucks. If you’re in the bay area, feel free to invite me to one, even if I don’t know you)
Are you shy? Well, this is a great way to get over it. You’ll be talking to people in the comfort of your own home and if you can’t even do that…
Don’t have friends you want to invite? Invite some strangers then, or co workers. I’m writing this a couple of hours after 7 of my co workers left my house and it was a blast. Who knows, maybe you’ll end up making friends.
Don’t have anything to talk about? Check out some news sites, read a random wikipedia article and stream a documentary about a random topic of your choice. There you go, you just got four or five excellent conversation topics.
It’s All About Trust
Seriously, there is no better way to create true bonds between people than to invite them to your house. You’re telling them “I trust you, come on over into my home and trust me to be your host”, and that kind of trust builds very strong bonds. Those guests are going to remember the experience of being in your house and you’ll remember hosting them. In fact, the mere act of inviting someone to your house, even if they turn you down, builds a bond. You’ve just said “I trust you, value you and find you interesting. Come to my home and be my guest”, and that’s something people tend to remember.
So go invite a few people to your house. Set a date for two or three weeks from now. That’s enough for most people to make plans and enough time for you to make preparations. Don’t worry, there are plenty of sites out there that will help you throw the dinner party, BBQ or board game party of your choice but it also starts with that invitation.
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If you’re reading this, and you know who you are, thanks for coming over, I had a great time and I hope you did too. And if you’re reading this and you’re not one of the people who was here today, why aren’t you sending out those invites yet? Just send them out and workout the details later. (My email address is in the contact me page, I love BBQ’s and I’ll be happy to bring my trademark blueberry cobbler for dessert!)
