The Hostess

Can I offer a little free advice?

 

If you're invited to a party by someone who loves giving them....you know the kind! She gives them often and seems to go to a tremendous amount of trouble yet appears to thoroughly enjoy it! The best present you can give her is to stay and enjoy her presence.

 

She's planned and worked long and hard to create an atmosphere and meal or event that will delight you and she did it because she wants to sit and create memories with you over that meal and in that atmosphere. The worst thing you can do is rush off. It will disappoint her and leave her disheartened.  Truly.

 

The highest compliment you can pay your hostess is to stay and enjoy her company. That little plague, "Sit Long. Talk Much. Laugh Often." was, no doubt, written by someone just like your hostess. She means it with all her heart.  It's not just lip service for her.  It's her gift to you to prepare a lovely time and place for you to do those 3 things. She had a ball preparing everything for her guests and now she just wants to sit and enjoy the fruit of her labor.  Fellowship.  Relationship.  Conversation.  Memories.

 

Receive her gift and relish it. Enjoy every minute and stay as long as you can. She will love that. She'll treasure those memories and think about them often with such fondness.  It's why she hosts.  It starts out as a creative outlet but it ends in a lifetime of reminiscence.

 

If she's planned dancing or games that means she's gone to a lot of trouble with music selection or game preparations.  She's thorough, remember?  She's put painstaking detail into every aspect of the gathering so she plans to enjoy it all.....with YOU!  Don't eat and run!  Talk, dance, play, celebrate!  Do it all!  She's framed the whole event with your pleasure and enjoyment in mind.  Don't spoil her dream.

 

Sure, you can take pictures of her table and compliment her all you want. Ask for her recipes and gush over her beautiful home and decorations but, most of all, relax and enjoy it for a long time. You will bless her most of all with that. Sit long. Talk much. Laugh often.