6 Creative Ideas for Showing Hospitality This Spring
As the daylight gradually begins to linger later into the evenings and the late-winter blizzards become less frequent, spring is a wonderful time of year to open your heart and home to others and embrace opportunities for showing hospitality.
Ideas for Showing Hospitality:
Here are six ideas for opening your heart and home to others this spring. Above all else, remember that you do not need to pursue perfection to create spaces where others know they belong. Simply show up and love those around you, and you will be a blessing.
1. Embrace Maple Syrup Season
Yes, maple syrup actually has its own season, and it might not be what you expect. Somewhere along the fine border between winter and spring, maple sap flows best when nights are cold and days are temperate. You probably won’t need to search far to find a maple syrup farm or festival near your hometown. Gather a group and head toward the sweet smell of boiling sap. For a list of the best maple syrup farms and festivals click here.
2. Celebrate the Vernal Equinox
What better reason to celebrate than to throw a party on the first day of spring. Invite your friends for a bonfire, or if the ground is still too soggy, make it a potluck. Near the end of March, the Vernal Equinox marks the end of the long winter months and the beginning of warm, sunny days. Embrace it with a party or a hike with friends.
3. Host an Easter Egg Hunt
My senior high math teacher taught me that Easter Sunday falls annually the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox. If you’ve ever wondered why the date changes so much from one year to the next, this is the reason. To celebrate Easter, consider inviting the neighborhood (or even just a few friends) to your house for an Easter Egg Hunt. Hide eggs throughout your yard and enjoy watching the little ones find their treasures.
4. Lead a Wildflower Walk
As the springtime months wear on, the earth seems to come alive. Head to a local park or span of forest with a wildflower identification book and learn the names of the colorful blossoms springing from grey earth. A wildflower walk is also a wonderful form of stress-relief. Psychologists attribute the stress relief to everything from aerosols released from certain species of trees, to the “soft fascination” we experience when we step into the world of the tiny wildflower for even a moment.
5. Plan a Fishing Expedition
A day at the lake or along the creek can be a wonderful place to make memories. For as long as I can remember, my father has led our family to the trout stream every year sometime around the middle of April. We catch fish and have been known to build fires or even camp out over night. Most importantly, we make memories as a family, and our time in the woods is blessed. For more information on how to make a fishing trip a success with your kids, check out this article: Four Keys to a Successful Fishing Expedition with Kids.
6. Camp out in Your Yard with Friends
Few activities bond friends more quickly than waking up sore and stiff after a night in a tent. Head to the wilderness, or pitch tents in your backyard to mark the first warm evenings of the year. A family campout is a wonderful way to connect on a deeper level and enjoy the change of seasons. For more information on how to make your child’s first camping trip a success, check out this article: Tips for Making Your Child’s First Camping Trip a Success.
~~~
For a toolkit of practical ways to extend hospitality in your life, click here to receive your free Complete Toolkit for Hospitality without Perfection. The kit includes twenty easy ways to extend hospitality, games, activities, recipes, conversation starters, and more. 
