Creating a Guest Bag for When Precious Ones Come to Stay

It’s Thursday so it’s all about Entertaining & Celebrating.

Creating a Guest Bag for when Precious Ones Come to Stay

I’ve found it so encouraging since we moved in to the new house that so many family members have dropped by to offer help and check in on us. My dad has helped me get some rather sorry looking Sweet Peas in to a new flower bed. My mum has arrived with armfuls of food & Robert the Husband’s brother has volunteered to give up a weekend to help out with garden.

I’m happy with having guests milling about. I grew up with a dream of an open house and having the kind of attitude that welcomes family and friends dropping in. This attitude has had to grow in me as communities and neighbourhoods are not as they once were but I enjoy nurturing it.

Something that I have wanted to create for the LONGEST TIME is a guest bag & now that we have a housefull it seemed as good a time as any to get going. As you can see from the top picture I made a simple drawstring bag (pattern and instructions to be uploaded to a brand new section coming soon to my website, I promise) and added all the things that I thought were not only helpful but ridiculously PRETTY! Yes, there is lots of room for pretty.

If your guest is unable to sleep after a long journey then tie together a novella or a couple of plays for them to read. A story like ‘The Great Gatsby’ doesn’t take long to finish and you’ll have given your guest the opportunity to read a classic tale while staying with you.

Add some soap and a wash cloth. Travelling can leave you feeling stale and grubby and these items, along with one’s toothbrush, can often be the only thing that your guest will forget to pack. I know I’m always buying new toothbrushes!

Tea.
Herbal teas are super powerful and there are certain ones that I can’t touch with a very long pole. But when you’re travelling there are things like a change in food, sleeping pattern and water that can play havoc with your guest’s tummy. Add some calming teas to enable sleep and a traditional English Breakfast for when they need an extra kick in the morning.

Chocolate. Pop this into your guest’s bag for no other reason than the fact that everybody likes to be given chocolate.

Now this is something that I thought about for a while. If you have guests that are very precious and you want to bless them with a gift then search out the thrift stores or online auction houses for a pillbox. I found this Mother of Pearl pillbox on ebay for an absolute steal and it is beautiful. If your guests do have to take medication this will help to remind them……….

……..but for the time being I filled it with strawberry lozenges. Another way of making your guest feel a little fresher after a long trip.

When making the bag itself I used the age old pattern that my mum would make my P.E. kit bags from. Using a floral and polka dot fabric for the front and back. These are super easy to run up on the machine or by hand and I PROMISE to upload instructions to the new section very soon.

Finally, I added a small note of affection in the shape of these tin hearts. I prefer them to a card.

This whole bag and it’s contents have been put together for less than the price of a bunch of flowers. Because of this I urge you to have great fun in picking out some odds and ends that will suit your guest perfectly.

If you DON’T want them to take the bag or the pillbox home with them then simply attach a note to the bag, using an old parcel tag, which states that this kit is for their use while enjoying their stay with you. They’ll understand.

I can’t tell you how good it feels to have finished off this project. It has set me up and I feel ready to keep the door open wide. The weather also looks GREAT for the weekend and I have a new BBQ shelf arriving so, lets be honest here, I can already taste the chicken and the chicken tastes GREAT!!!!!

I’ll see you tomorrow when I’ll have another treat in the ‘Bake Fest Friday’ series that your kids will LOVE and are perfect to make over the upcoming half-term holiday.

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