7 Ways to Show Hospitality This Winter
Backyard bonfire days and barefoot swimming parties are a distant memory as we prepare for the long winter months ahead in these parts. Nevertheless, I am reminded that the call to open my heart and home to others has not changed. There are plenty of ways to show hospitality, even in the coldest winter months.
While it’s refreshing to invite the neighbors to the backyard for a picnic, it sometimes feels overwhelming to open the doors of our inside worlds and welcome the noise and the mess.
If you’re longing for socialization but not sure you want to open wide your front door, remember that hospitality can happen anywhere.
Hospitality is more than opening your home; it is opening your heart and creating space where others know they belong. #hospitality #Christianhospitality Share on X7 Ways to Show Hospitality
Hospitality is more than opening your home; it is opening your heart and creating space where others know they belong.
This can take place anywhere (for 8 surprising ways to show hospitality, click here).
The seven ideas below can happen in your home, but half of them can take place beneath open skies as well. As the long winter months press close, use these ideas to breathe life into your sunlight-deprived soul:
1. Enjoy a bonfire with friends.
Bundling up for a bonfire can be surprisingly fun after a long winter couped up inside.
You might cook hotdogs or s’mores and enjoy an evening under open skies. If you get too cold, heading inside is always an option! The bonfire is simply a fun way of gathering together.
Don’t forget the hot cocoa!
1. Plan a sledding party.
This activity was a highlight of the year when we were kids.
Led by my dad, we trekked across the pasture field and spent a full afternoon sliding down the neighbor’s hill on our saucers and toboggans. We invited cousins and friends, and the hours of outdoor fun were a blast. Add a campfire, s’mores, hot cocoa, and snacks, and you can entertain your crew for hours.
3. Plan a night out with friends.
You might be asking, “Can you really offer hospitality by meeting for a meal at a restaurant?”
Yes!
Just check the calendar and coordinate a date that works for your closest friends (this, in itself, might take hours and absolutely counts as an act of service).
Make reservations at your favorite restaurant, and enjoy an evening in which you don’t need to wash a single dish or run to the fridge even one time in the course of your meal. Eat, connect, laugh, and catch up.
4. Go on a winter hike.
Particularly if you’re enjoying a snow-less winter day, this is a great outdoor activity. You will find far fewer hikers crowding the trails of your local State Park or National Forest.
There will be no bugs, and the threat of poisonous plants is almost eliminated.
Winter hikes are a wonderful way to explore the places you enjoy in the warmer months because they offer a new perspective. The lush forests of summer can be unrecognizable with their bare winter austerity.
Step out of the rushed pace of your everyday life, step into the woods, and embrace the change of scenery with friends.
5. Get together to cook or bake.
Christmas cookie exchanges don’t have to end when Christmas is over.
Get together to bake pies, cookies, or bread. Try out a recipe and enjoy dinner together. Cooking together is a unique way to build bonds and have fun!
6. Celebrate a silly winter holiday.
Silliness can be a great way to break up the monotony of winter.
Why not celebrate Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, National Feed the Birds Day, or National Chopsticks Day?
Invite the neighbors or friends over for a party, and enjoy the hilarity of simple fun. For a list of obscure holidays, click here.
7. Host a card-making or coloring party.
Consider writing cards to elderly or lonely people in your community or making cards to send to a local nursing home.
Color-a-smile is a wonderful organization that accepts illustrations, colored pictures, and greeting cards for soldiers, the elderly, and other people who could use a smile.
Invite your friends to join you with their kids, and visit colorasmile.org to print your own coloring pages. What better way to overcome the winter blues than to make someone smile?
Be the Gift
As we head into the winter months, remember that one of the best ways to refresh yourself is to make it a practice to regularly refresh others. Be the gift in someone else’s life, and you will likely find that you receive far more than you ever imagined.
A Free Resource Filled With Ways to Show Hospitality
If you feel inspired to open your heart and your home and offer hospitality on a more regular basis, click here to receive your free toolkit for Hospitality without Perfection. This kit contains dozens of ideas for ways to show hospitality, easy recipes for groups, games, links to activities for the whole family, conversation starters, and more.
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