Why invite guests if you are not ready to receive them, the house is dirty and there is no food

Going to visit hospitable hosts is always pleasant. And they will meet well, and feed, and have pleasant conversations. Hospitality is a tradition of which we are proud from ancient times. There are also women who have never heard of hospitality. So they don't really know. How to receive guests should.

Today's edition. "Site" will share the story of a reader who, at the invitation of a relative, came to visit her. And I was a little surprised by the reception. It didn’t turn out exactly as she expected.



I rarely see relatives, only in the most extreme cases. So when a distant relative called me to come to visit, I didn’t even know what to say. “Come, there will be only the closest ones,” a female voice rattled into the phone. I even worried that maybe something happened that even on the phone do not talk, writes Oksana.



“I was anxiously anticipating the weekend, cancelling all plans. On Saturday I bought fruit with candy, specified the address and rushed to the appointed hour, vaguely understanding what and who was waiting for me there.

A relative met me in an elaborate gown. Instead of greeting, she blurted out, “Come along and help.” I can't keep up. But what can I do, bad mistress? There was something really going on in the apartment.



Those "guests" who came before me, already helped in full. The men rode around the living room, moved chairs and tinkered with the swaying legs of an old Soviet table. And the women dressed in a kind of robe and turned around in the kitchen. As soon as I washed my hands, I was immediately handed cheese with a grater. Unbeknownst to me, I joined the work myself.

Probably for an hour and a half we were assembling salads with sandwiches to the table. The relative repeatedly recalled that she had forgotten to buy something and, lamenting what a bad mistress she was, vividly sent one of the idle men to the store.

From the outside, it was like preparing for some social student party, where everything is done on the go together. By the arrival of the guests, no one was preparing, nothing special was stocked up, even napkins and bread were bought in the process.



Other “guests” were as stunned as mine. After such a culinary marathon, women spoiled their manicures and soiled their clothes. The men also looked tense and somehow lost.

As it turned out, there was no reason. A relative decided to gather all relatives for nothing. To see everyone. So she said at the table “a little bit more, and we would even on the street to recognize each other would stop, passed nearby and would not say hello.” Well, yes, and after such a trip to visit, we will directly get closer not for a joke.



“Maybe we should see each other more often, but not under the same conditions!” My mother and I always taught that there should be perfect order before the guests arrive. The dishes are made of a single service, all the glasses are shiny, the food is ready an hour before the first guest. Don't get it. I was even embarrassed for this “mistress” – says Oksana.



More often to see close people is definitely worth it. But how to receive guests and how to prepare for their arrival is a personal matter for every hostess. In the case described above, it seems that in the end everyone was fed. Yes, and to communicate for such a long gathering probably had time.

Although, perhaps, such a meeting should be held in some cafe, if at home you can not prepare? Or is it always better to meet relatives at home?