Ever Had Awesome House Guests?

oooh, I like the grocery store gift card and the idea to bring a bag of groceries, probably non perishables since you do not know how much milk they already have. Either that or on the 2nd or 3rd day tell them you would like to go grocery shopping with them and pay. My MIL will had me a $50 or $100 bill when they stay and I am just heading out to get more milk - I like that a lot too. My neighbor who has a vacation house said he really appreciated it when people showed up with a case of toilet paper and paper towels, stuff everyone needs. Bottles of wine are nice, but much less practical unless you know their specific tastes.

well, I do know what NOT to do: don't have sex on top of the washing machine! That's what happened to my Aunt/Uncle....their long-time friend & his girlfriend broke the washing machine by doing this. AND cracked the bathroom counter!! OMG, my Aunt was furious, grossed-out, & the man was never invited back!

Anyway, the last time we stayed with friends, I bought a gift card for the family. It was to their fav restaurant...which also sells their own brand of coffee & other household items. The hostess was soooo happy with that gift! I have also been known to arrive with a goody basket of treats for both of our families to use during our stay. & funnier than funny....usually the other family does the same! We always laugh about the duplications & enjoy it all....

& one of the best ways to repay this ....is to reciprocate the generosity!

Give them a gift certicate to a local supermarket. Its a practical gift. Find something that they enjoy doing locally to them but have not tried. Example rock climbing lessons. Make sure its something they like first. If they have kids make up a game basket for the kids. Have card games, crayons and misc kids stuff.

We have a friend that comes to visit us, from Europe, practically every year.
He is like family.
He stays at our home.
He is an Ideal guest.
Self-sufficient and NOT high maintenance at all.

HE always brings gifts, for our kids when he stays with us.
And little token gifts for us.
He also takes us ALL out to dinner. His treat.
It is HIS way, to thank us for our hospitality and him staying at our home, saves him money from having to stay at a hotel.

Maybe for your friends, get them a flower bouquet and/or nice bottle of wine or something, with a hand written note of thanks. Per your appreciation.

And, keep your rooms nice and neat and clean.

We always try to leave everything as we found it. Along with your night out idea we always ask them where their fav place is and then pay for it. I have also taken their kids grocery shopping since we helped eat their food.

Yes!!! Help clean up, make dinner one night, or order take out, offer to babysit one night and let them go see a movie. We LOVE it when our good friends are able to come visit and stay at our home. It's such good quality time with them. Our kids all can play together. We cook meals together. We clean up together. The dads watch the kids to give the moms a little time off doing girl stuff together. It's so awesome when they can visit us or when we can visit them! You sound like you are great guests. I'm sure they love having you!

Clean up, don't leave a mess when you leave. Offer to make dinner or help make dinner.

Show up with groceries depending on how long you are staying..! I have good and bad experiences with house guests and let me tell you that I soooooo appreciate my guests pitching in and help clean up after themselves....Groceries are a nice touch if you are staying more than a few days :)
Nothing upset me more then when one of my DH's family members (who was staying 9 days with us) stood in front of me in my home and shook an empty milk carton in my face and said I needed to go get more....

my mom's favorite house guest does the dishes. it makes a big difference for her.

Great ideas so far! Do you have something in your area that's hard to get where they live, that you could take as a gift? In New Mexico, we could always get really great homemade salsas, etc. Things like that.

Of course, cleaning up is a plus, but I'm assuming you already do that, since you're being invited back. We had some guests who asked if they could do some laundry. Sure, no problem. Anyway, she wasn't doing hers, she was doing ours! We had more people coming in the night they left, and as they were packing up to go, she washed all the sheets and towels, etc. Wow! Because packing up with a toddler isn't hard enough. :)

We had someone else who brought a Wii game for the kids -- similar to the board game idea.

Groceries are always fun, but we can usually find a way to buy those ourselves. :) How about taking her to Home Depot or the Container Store, or a similar place, and buy her something she just hasn't been able to get for herself. Or clothing or shoes, etc. I had someone buy a picture for me. I think of them every time I go into the room. And don't forget to sign the guest book -- and leave a thank you card. Have fun!

I appreciated it so much when my friend brought ingredients for a meal and cooked it for everyone. She let me know she was doing this beforehand since she brought 3 kids and her mom to stay with the four of us, and if I had planned for that meal, I would have gotten a lot of food that we wouldn't have used. It was a great idea and took pressure off of me to plan every meal during her visit! Also, whenever we're guests somewhere, I make sure to gather the sheets and towels, do a quick wipe of the bathroom surfaces, and try to make each room look the way it was before we got there.

Bring groceries. Don't lave ANY of your stuff lying around--at all (this drives me nuts!). And give a nice gift (dinner out, gift card for gas, groceries) and a handwritten thank you note expressing your appreciation.