Houseguests question?

Question

My two stepsons are coming over in a couple weeks. Haven't seen them in over a year and a half when we visited them. One son has a wife and baby, the other son is bringing a friend. We've already got a hotel room for the son, wife and baby. The other son and friend are staying with us.

This is going to be for four days! I want to do as much with them as possible, but my husband and I need some alone time too if you know what I mean. How often should I cook? When we all go out to eat should we pay because we've already paid for the hotel and let them use our house?

I'm just trying to figure out the right way to handle this.

Answer 1

How sweet ur husband n u are!!
Well, paying for the hotel was already a great thing.
you will not have a time of ur own, and I do know what u mean. u will have a packed house for the four days, so expect to have ur privacy in the bathroom and bedroom only.
cooking: you can cook for the 1st day only.
let the men cook another day: BBQ
invite them once to a dinner (it is a must, they are ur guests).
leave the fouth day for them to choose. if you feel like they wanna all go out and they did not invited u back, ask to stay @ home and ask from another lady/man to cook his "secret" recipe.
wish u the best of luck....:)

Answer 2

Even though they are staying in a hotel, and you are paying (which is generous of you, but you probably don't have room for everyone) they are still family and you should treat it as though they were staying with you. Cook as often as you can -- home cooked meals are always more interesting, and more relaxing. And you can dawdle for as long as you want. It also gives you a chance to spend some time with your stepson's wife and the other stepson's friend (if it's a female?) doing girl stuff in the kitchen before and after dinner. That's always been a very relaxed time, in our house, and a nice way to get to know some of the in-laws a little better.
They may invite you out to dinner, just to say thank you for your hospitality, but if they don't, and you want to go out to dinner, then just pick up the tab and don't make a fuss about it. Their budgets may be pretty strained.

Answer 3

I'm sure you'll figure out something that works well for your family. From the question, it's difficult to tell if the other parties involved will have the income to pay for their own meals out or not.

Already you've taken several steps toward being considerate hosts. I always dread the holidays with my husband's family because we always stay in an over-crowded house and other family members seem to get "first priority" on the rooms, often leaving us to a living room, etc., where we get to bed with the latest and have to rise with the earliest.

Just use the same consideration to figure out dining arrangements and I'm sure you can't go wrong!

Answer 4

Only 4 days ? I am thinking you won't have much time or energy for 'alone time' but good luck !
As far as paying, it all boils down to income . . . some may have extra, some my have little. Discuss some options before going (including costs) and you should get a feel for how peoples budget is. If people are running low, I recommend the Chinese Buffets. Lots of options at an affordable price.

Answer 5

I wish I had a mother in law as sweet as you sound. You sound concerned while being human. I would suggest taking one day at a time. Ask your company if they would like to cook. And make sure they help out with kitchen duty. You might said something like "I cooked, who's cleaning up?" Good luck! I hope everything turns out well for you.

Answer 6

take each day at a time, and let all involved make a decision....keep it easy and let things happen naturally.....it will work out nicely for you and all...just enjoy the visit and do not worry...