'Tis the season for inviting people over, which can lead to disaster. Avoid the anxiety—and broken china—with this three-step self-preservation plan.
This time of year, it's inevitable. Friends and family will be stopping by or—worse—staying over. Yes, I know you're supposed to feel jolly about welcoming in every relative looking for a bit of holiday cheer, but, if you're like me, you're more likely to experience some confusion, faintness, even a little nausea. Interacting with people on neutral turf, say at work or in a restaurant, is akin to a peck on the cheek. Entertaining at home, bluntly stated, is equivalent to a French kiss. Opening your house, like opening your mouth, exposes you to myriad ills. So before anyone crosses your threshold, you've got to immunize yourself against various threats to your system.These threats can be both emotional and physical. For example, guests may make harsh judgments about your homemaking. (I remain scarred by the woman who toured my house, silently scrutinizing every room, then asked, "Are you bipolar?") You could be pulled into an arms race with someone who buys all of her Christmas decorations from Bergdorf's and never, not for one second, lets anyone forget it. There could be problems you've never even imagined: A guest could slip on a puddle in your kitchen, swing from your drapes, have lethal allergic reactions to your cockatoo. A kleptomaniac could heist everything from the menorah to the chips and dip, leaving you distraught with nothing to eat for consolation. It could get ugly. Really ugly.
Fortunately, you can increase your resistance to all these dangers with the three simple steps on the following pages, which serve as a sort of prophylaxis for any holiday hosting situation. Use them before you even think about answering the doorbell.
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