Ideas to be a good host

Clean and ventilate your home thoroughly

The first step will be to deep clean your house. We recommend that you put on a playlist that motivates you the most and clean the house from top to bottom so it's spotless. Ideally, pay special attention to the busiest areas, such as the bathroom and living room.

To ventilate the house, the best thing is to take advantage of the morning to open the windows. To stop the cold from invading your home and drastically lowering the temperature, we recommend that you don't open the windows for more than 10 minutes. Between 5 and 10 minutes is more than enough to get some fresh air in. Also, it's better if you do this room by room instead of opening all the windows at once. This way, you won't create draughts that make the house much colder. By doing so, you'll avoid having to turn the heat up to warm the house again, therefore saving money and energy.

Clear the living room for more space  

If you don't have a particularly large living room or dining room, you might want to clear out as much as possible so that there's enough room for everyone. Store any objects that are in the way and even rearrange some furniture if necessary.

You can set out chairs for each person (respecting the maximum capacity allowed in your community). We recommend keeping stackable stools or folding chairs to hand so you always have enough seating for everyone without losing vital space in your home.  

Receiving guests at home

Ding dong! Your guests are here. To welcome them, prepare a space where they can leave all their things and disinfect themselves as soon as they arrive.

You can place a couple of mats at the entrance to your home: one soaked with a bit of surface disinfectant (you can also use a bit of bleach instead) and another dry mat to dry off the disinfected shoes so the floor won't be full of footprints.

Your home's hallway is going to be a great asset in this sense, as you can leave a small bottle of hand sanitiser so that as soon as your guests arrive, they can clean their hands without having to go to the bathroom. You can even put out a little sign with an original message so that no one skips this step. If you don't want to put out the typical bottle of hand sanitiser, you can fill a soap dish or dispenser to provide a unique and even decorative touch.  

Another thing you should consider is a place for your guests to leave their coats and other personal items.

Ideally, there will be a space in the hallway itself for this, but as not everyone has a wardrobe or coat rack, it's most common to use another room in the house, like a bedroom.

To avoid mixing coats with your clean clothes, we recommend leaving them on top of the bed. You can put some plastic or a blanket on top so that they do not come into direct contact with the duvet or quilt on the bed. It's a very simple alternative and it gives you the option to wash it easily.  

Prepare a tray or trolley with snacks and drinks

Now that everyone is comfortable, it's time to set the atmosphere and start having a great time. What better way to start than with an appetiser before lunch or dinner?

If you don't want to take up space on the dining table, the best thing to do is prepare a spread on the coffee table in advance. Just leave a tray with a glass for each person, a few paper napkins (they'll take up less space if you put them in a vertical napkin holder) and some dishes and bowls with some classic, foolproof appetisers to whet your guests' appetites, like some delicious seasoned crisps.

Not enough room for everything? A trolley is the best option for that extra space you need. You can leave all the basics in it, such as napkins, plates, glasses, or the different bottles that you're going to use so you don't have to go back and forth to the kitchen all the time.  

Menu to welcome guests at home

It's time to move on to the table! Something super important when inviting friends or family over is creating a menu that caters for the individual nutritional needs of each guest. Do they have any intolerances or allergies? Is anyone vegetarian or vegan? These factors must always be taken into account.

Once this is clear, it's up to you to decide how complex to make your menu, based on your skills in the kitchen. If you don't want to waste too much time cooking, it's best to use easy recipes that get the job done by adding just a few touches. Baked recipes are often a great option as they don't make a huge mess, you'll avoid odours and while the food is cooking, you'll have time to do other things, like decorating and setting the table.

In our Swedish Food Market, for example, we have a wide variety of food and dishes to enjoy a healthy, delicious meal. Don't miss out on the chance to check out our full range of food and drinks. We're sure that they will give you more ideas for lunch or dinner at home!  

Want some ideas for your menu? Don't miss our #CookingWithIKEA recipes. We tell you step by step how to make some of our most famous and scrumptious dishes: plant balls with yoghurt and beetroot sauce, cream-filled pancakes, marinated herring salad, vegetable meatballs with pumpkin and ricotta cream sauce… And many more!

Here is a small sample of our salmon in orange sauce recipe.  

Prepare the bathroom

Surely, at some point during lunch or dinner, your guests are going to need to use the toilet. So, we think it's important that you prepare this room, as well. If you have two bathrooms, we suggest only letting your guests use one. If this is not the case, don't worry – you can still apply these tips.

In addition to cleaning and disinfecting it beforehand, check that you have enough hand soap (liquid soap in a dispenser is better than bar soap) for your guests to wash their hands, and set out some small towels. In case you have to use your everyday bathroom, it is best to swap your hand towels for ones you will use only on that day. Oh! And it doesn't hurt to freshen up the bathroom with a pleasant fragrance, like with a scented candle or a few scented dried flowers.