Hospitality Hints is a monthly feature on our blog with some helpful hints for being hospitable in everyday life. Our hints may involve inviting people over, but not always! Most of the time, they will be about having a posture of hospitality—welcoming others into our lives.
Moms are wonder women. They cook, clean, pack lunches, coordinate schedules, and soothe little ones back to sleep in the middle of the night when they need sleep themselves. Add in outside responsibilities like extended family, church, and corporate jobs, and it’s a wonder we only have one national holiday dedicated to moms. Because really, every day should be Mother’s Day.
If you want to show some love to the hard-working moms in your life—whether you know them from church, work, your neighborhood, or the drop-off line at school—plan a Mom’s Night In to give them a little breather from their hectic lives.
Here are a few tips guaranteed to make this get-together a success:
- Set a dress code.
First things first: Outlaw “real” clothes for the evening. Ask everyone to come dressed in whatever they find the comfiest: yoga pants, sweatshirts, pajamas, slippers, or any combination of those. And tell them makeup is not banned, but it’s definitely not required. - Do all the work before your guests arrive.
Moms are used to doing it all. Since this is their night off, get everything done ahead of time so they don’t feel the need to help. The great news is, this night does not need to be extravagant! Set out simple food and drinks before anyone shows up. Start a fire in the fireplace or light candles to make the room cozy. Scatter little bowls of chocolate around the room. Turn on some uplifting music. And when your guests arrive, greet each mom with a big hug and tell her to make herself at home. - Ditch the agenda.
While you may be tempted to start the night with icebreaker games, step back and let the moms mingle, talk, and snack until their hearts’ content. Mothers spend so much time with their kids, but they also need to talk to other adults, especially like-minded women who are going through the same highs and lows of life. And moms spend the majority of their time running from pediatrician appointments to school meetings to music lessons and sports tournaments that they need that unstructured down time just to talk, laugh, and relax.
When Betsy Langmade, one of the amazing events coordinators here at Lifeway, threw her own Mom’s Night In, she learned a lot about the women she invited over during this part in the evening. “There was a lot of laughter in the beginning,” she said. “Then the conversation turned to deeper things like recent good and troubling moments as wives and moms. And the most heart-breaking theme was that they never felt good enough. Not skinny enough, not kind enough, not smart enough, not a good enough cook, wife, or caregiver. It brought me to tears.”
Isn’t it great to know you can be the encourager the moms in your life need by simply having them over? It really is as uncomplicated as opening your home and lending a listening ear.
Have you ever hosted or attended a night like this? Tell us about your experience in the comments.
