Halloween Hospitality

I have several friends that have the gift of hospitality, and I love how they inspire me in different ways.

One is always an open door, even having people over for Sunday lunches and mid-week dinners, both times I tend to think of as too complicated. I have even dropped by when each of her four kids has a friend over for dinner and her husband is out of town. The kids are piled around the dining room table, saying grace, and passing around the chicken nuggets and other of their favorites goodies. She inspires me to spend more time on the asking and welcoming and less time on the fretting about the details (though the details are always taken care of, too). Her focus is clearly on people.

Another friend is wonderful about setting an occasion. She comes up with a brunch to meet parents in a new class or a dessert to swap recipe ideas. She even makes an impromptu lunch at her house into a time you feel you've gone out to lunch--sitting in the dining room with a beautiful table set. She inspires me to be creative and not wait for a certain time to entertain. She is clearly having fun.

These are friends in the same town whom I see often; but another friend in Paris is an amazing hostess as well. She threw another Texas ex-pat a baby shower at a Mexican restaurant in Paris. She threw a going away party with a U.S. flag tablecloth, personalized quotes at each place. Plus, I've eaten lots of her food, and she's an incredible cook. The details. Oh, the details. She's pretty Martha Stewartish. It could be intimidating except that she (and her husband) are so cute and loving and truly have in their hearts to cherish the people they are celebrating. It's an amazing gift. When another friend and I visited them in their old home of the Cayman Islands (no, I'm not making this up), her husband greeted us with Mojitos, and she made Key Lime Pie (among other delicacies).  She inspires me to strive for excellence.

We are having a party on Friday for my husband's colleagues and their families. Between passing around the stomach bug in our family and being out of town, I've done nada for the party. I'm trying to get my creative juices going here by reflecting on my friends' talents. I'm open to ideas.