Hosting for the holidays, or any time of the year can add stress when you already have enough stress to stress out about. And nobody wants that. You want to be able to enjoy your time with your out-of-town guests, rather than running around whipping food together, gathering items they may have forgotten to bring, or running to the store.   

Shawn and I LOVE to host, and we’ve learned a few tricks over the years to make hosting easier. Today, I want to help make your holiday hosting easier as well. One of the biggest tips I have, is to have everything at your house before guests arrive- and for me, that means shipping as much of it as I possibly can. Sometimes that means order my produce online and pick it up at the local grocery store, and other times it means order my Brandless stuff online, and have it arrive neatly packaged while I’m in my PJs. Anything to make hosting easier so we can enjoy spending time with people who travelled to be with us.

Speaking of Brandless, it’s no secret that I may be slightly obsessed with their products. Seriously, our pantry is completely full of almost entirely Brandless items. Brandless cuts out the middle-man, allowing them to keep their costs down – meaning everything is $3. EVERYTHING! Many of their items are organic with no artificial colors or flavors. Plus, their food tastes freaking amazing. Okay, I’m getting off my soap box, and getting back to holiday hosting, but seriously- I love Brandless [more on that here and here].

What to Keep in the Guest Bedroom

Notepad // Notecard // Pen // Cotton Balls // Tampons // Toothpaste // Shampoo // Conditioner // Body Wash // Lotion // Facial Tissue // Glazed Almonds // Teriyaki Beef Jerky

Most of us probably make sure there are clean sheets on a made bed, an extra blanket or two, and some towels for showering in the morning. But what else can we include in their room to make their stay easier [and easier on you, since you won’t need to be available for questions at an inopportune time]? I like to put a few of the essentials in a cute basket, so they can grab whatever they need! Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, organic cotton balls, tampons, toothpaste, to name a few! Throw in a pen and notepad to include your WiFi password, a few bottles of water, a few snacks, and they should be good to go!

Self Serve Meals

 Soup Bundle // Hummus Crisps // Chips // Salsa // Coffee

Finding the time and energy to make a full meal for breakfast and lunch, or rally the troops to head out to a meal isn’t the easiest [especially if you were up too late drinkin’ the eggnog]. Having a few self-serve items on hand for your guests to throw some oatmeal together for breakfast, or grab a cup of organic soup and crackers for lunch takes the pressure off of you for a meal. Keeping a few snack bars, beef jerky [one of my favs!] or organic chips and salsa can also keep them happy in between meals while they yell at the football game on TV.  And nothing says self-serve more than make-your-own-cup-of-coffee 😉

Quick Mixes

Cranberry & Orange Quick Bread Muffin Mix // Pancake & Waffle Mix // Oatmeal

I’m usually not a “make it from scratch” kind of girl. I’m more of a “make it from a box” type of girl for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And the Brandless organic pancake and gluten-free muffin mixes get plenty of use around these parts. This way, I only need to have a few ingredients on hand, rather than a whole slew and can quickly whip up “Erin’s famous muffins”… Don’t tell my aunts that these are actually Brandless famous muffins– it gives me some kitchen cred that I’m not looking to lose. Having a few of these boxes on hand makes whipping up something tasty both quick and easy.

I hope you are able to keep the holidays stress-free this year, and enjoy that time with your guests!

Disclosure: Thank you to Brandless for partnering on today’s post. We love working with brands that we are truly obsessed with and use frequently!

For your Pinning pleasure…