THE HOLIDAY GUEST.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19833, 31 December 1927, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE HOLIDAY GUEST.

Show some enthusiasm in your act pf welcome. Never allow a guest, expected or otherwise, to imagine for a moment that they have arrived at an inopportune moment, or that you are aofc quite pleased to see them. A bored or coldly-appraising expression and a limply-extended hand make a chilly reception. But, don't be extravagantly effusive, either. It is apt to be embarrassing. Cordial smiles, a warm handshake, and a brightly-spoken " So glad to see you," make a cheerful, encouraging greeting. " She always seems so pleased to see one," is the happy description I have heard given of a born hostess of my acquaintance. It is an enviable reputation. If you? acquaintances number among them a few you really don't thoughtlessly want to entertain, don't -thoughtlessly press them to " corno and see me," as some women seem to get into the habit of doing with all and sundry. It is your own fault if they take you at .pur word, and you must put a pleasant face on the matter when they do turn up. Don't be too full of your own affairs and so anxious to relate them that you forget those little courtesies embodied in making interested inquiries regarding health and well-being, both of your guest and her nearer relations, as early as possible in the conversation. Make the latest arrivals known to the other people in the room. Only at quite a large gathering should the hostess not trouble about this important matter, and then she should introduce her new guest to as many people around as she is able at the moment, so that no one may feel a stranger in the midst. Meet your friends at the station if you ask them to stay, or, if this can't be managed, arrange for some conveyance to fetch them and their luggage. It is rather an inhospitable beginning to leave them to find their way as they can.