If you're hosting friends and family for the holidays, you might be wondering how to elevate your hospitality game. Whether you're celebrating Thanksgiving or Christmas, or simply spending quality time together, you want your guests to feel at home in your house.
Creating a guest welcome box or basket is the perfect way to make a guest room feel more homey. Stock just the essential amenities or treat your guests to a few little luxuries. This thoughtful gesture speaks volumes about your attention to detail and ensures your guests enjoy a comfortable stay.
I've done the research for you to help you curate you welcome boxes. From soft, fluffy towels to silky sleep masks, I've found everything you need to elevate your guest bedroom for hotel-quality comfort.
How to curate the perfect guest welcome box
The first step to making your guest welcome box is to put yourself in their shoes. Consider what they might want or need to feel comfortable in your home. Take a piece of writing paper and, in your best handwriting, jot down any need-to-know information, from contact numbers to a list of local recommendations, not forgetting the Wi-Fi password.
1. Consider the length of their stay
How many things you should fit into a guest welcome box is largely dependent on how long your guests intend to stay. If it's just for a night or two, then you can curate a simple selection of high-quality essentials and a few luxury items to make your guests feel more at home.
If your friends and family plan to stay for an extended period, that leaves you more time and space to play with in their guest welcome box. Consider including items they can repurpose throughout their stay, such as a stylish tote bag or a customized guidebook, detailing favorite restaurants, attractions, and hidden gems in the local area.
My rule: the longer the visit, the bigger the box. You're looking for something with timeless style and durable design that you can use again and again in years to come.
Shop a box with a glass lid to give your guest a sneak preview of their gifts to come. Opt for Small or Large, depending on the duration of their stay.
These baskets come in all sorts of shapes and sizes to accommodate gifts large and small. The neutral hue and natural texture of the rattan weave should complement any style of guest bedroom decor.
One of these hexagonal trays would add a bit of interest to your guest welcome box ideas, allowing easy access to essential items.
2. Consider their preferences
A welcome box provides the perfect opportunity to enhance your guest bedroom with some personal touches, tailored to the wants and needs of your friends and family.
You could start by including items that cater to their interests or hobbies, such as the new book from their favorite author. Consider what you know about their nightly routine. Perhaps your guest likes to do a face pack or listen to white noise before they sleep. Double-check whether they use an iPhone or an Android phone charger and make sure you're stocked up on spares.
This holiday season, you could treat your guests to a few stocking stuffers in their welcome box. Nothing big, just one or two little treats that show you care: a scented candle for fragrance aficionados, for example.
Help your guests feel at home for the holidays with this pine and eucalyptus scented candle, with the earthy, woody notes of a winter forest.
Many houseguests struggle to sleep their first night in a new place. Help them drift off with a weighted silk eye pillow, infused with cooling gel and filled with lavender and flax seeds.
If your houseguest is a bookworm, you could treat them to a Kindle for lightweight, on-the-go holiday reading. Go the extra mile and pre-download the new book from their favorite author.
3. Assemble a care basket
When creating a welcome box for your houseguests, perhaps the most important step is including all those guest bedroom essentials they might have forgotten to pack.
This might look like basic toiletries, from a toothbrush and toothpaste to shampoo or conditioner. You could always treat your friends and family to a few elevated essentials, including hair oil or face masks.
Outside the welcome box, you should make sure you've got spare sets of clean, fresh towels, as well as a washcloth and a hair dryer, so that your guests can look their best.
I started testing these bath towels at the start of the spring, and I've brought them with me into my new apartment. I love the fluffy feel of Turkish cotton towels, which also happen to be highly absorbent.
With a shower caddy, your guests can easily ferry their toiletries to and from the bathroom, without losing track of any essential items.
If you really want to inject some hotel-quality comfort into your home this hosting season, you could treat each guest to their own bath robe. I love the dramatic drape of this robe from Cozy Earth.
4. Include night-time essentials
First and foremost, your guest bedroom is a place to rest. Be sure to stock your welcome box with everything your guests might need for a good night's sleep.
This might include a sleep mask for shut-eye or earplugs for noise-sensitive sleepers. Grab a few blankets for guests who get cold in the night, especially through the winter. Choose your favorite bedroom scents for sleep and buy a small spray bottle for your guests to mist their sheets and pillows.
I live on a busy street in the city center, and I've been looking for a pair of earplugs to block out the noise without irritating my ear canals. Loop gets rave reviews for their adjustable ear tip sizes, so I've called some in for testing.
I recently stayed a few nights at my sister's place, and she keeps a bottle of this pillow mist by her guest bed. I liked the mix of lavender, cypress, and clary sage so much that I went home and bought a bottle for myself.
I feel most festive in a cable knit sweater, so I like to carry the theme through the rest of my guest bedroom decor. This throw blanket comes in camel, ivory, heather gray, and cranberry to complement any color palette.
5. Include little luxuries
In addition to the essentials, pamper your guests with a few little luxuries for an extra touch of comfort and indulgence to their stay.
Your guests will thank you for a snack after their journey. Go above and beyond with a selection of gourmet goodies. Think artisanal chocolates, coffee beans from a nearby roastery, or a small bottle of wine to enjoy in the evenings as they get ready. A reusable water bottle they can take around the house and out on trips with them is a nice touch too.
And consider that every guest sleeps differently. The best way to cater to their sleep preferences is to invest in an adjustable pillow. Side sleepers like theirs thick, while back and stomach sleepers might prefer theirs firmer and flatter.
Gift your guest a reusable water bottle that they can keep topped up throughout their stay. A STANLEY Cup is a classic for a reason, vacuum-insulated to keep ice cold and available in a wide range of cute colors. This doubles as a gift too as well as a practical additional to a welcome box.
I get all my skincare from La Roche-Posay. The non-greasy finish is great for all skin types so perfect for a welcome box, and the notes of shea butter leave a nutty, creamy scent behind.
This adjustable pillow makes its way into almost all of my bedding buying guides. All you need to do is reach down and remove or replace handfuls of organic wool until your pillow reaches your ideal firmness and feel.
6. Don't forget entertainment
For quiet moments, your welcome box could also serve as an entertainment center for your guests. Consider including some reading materials, including books and magazines, a deck of cards, or even a streaming service log-in to use during their stay.
Some other small details your guests will greatly appreciate, especially if they have forgotten their own, are chargers and adaptors for their phones, laptops, and toothbrushes.
I love flipping through other people's coffee table books. It's such an insight into their interests. This one feels especially festive: a compilation of Christmas traditions from around the world.
If you aren't sure what type of phone your friend has, or you want to cater for the widest range of possibilities, invest in a wireless charger. This one gets rave reviews on Amazon for ease of use and charging speed.
This charging dock has six ports to charge your cell phone, your tablet, your kindle, your headphones, your smart watch, and even your toothbrush. Good news: it's compatible with both iPhone and Android and comes with mixed charging cables.
If your houseguests are staying for more than a day or two, be sure to restock and replenish their welcome box as required. You can anticipate their needs by washing towels and glasses, refilling their water jug, and offering new snacks.
