For a while there, it felt like I was attending a bachelorette party or wedding every other weekend. I absolutely loved celebrating some of my best girlfriends and now that a lot of the wedding-related celebrations have died down a bit, I find myself missing them (although my wallet certainly does not)!
During my friend Cherayne’s bachelorette party weekend in Miami, a group of my girlfriend’s spent one night at my friend Leah’s in-law’s house in Ft. Lauderdale on our way down to Miami to break up the drive. We quickly realized Leah’s mother-in-law is pretty much the ultimate hostess.
She welcomed us with open arms and a warm smile but went above and beyond with little extra touches all over her house. We had bottles of water and a piece of dark chocolate waiting by our beds at night. We woke up to the smell of a delicious breakfast casserole and hot coffee. My girlfriends and I all told her we felt like we were staying at a bed and breakfast and we really appreciated all of the effort she put into making our stay in her home so comfortable.
With all of the guests we’ve had visit us since Chase was born, I’ve tried my best to make everyone feel at home with the usual necessities: Fresh towels, clean sheets, readily-available snacks and extra toiletries. I keep a big basket of items guests might need under the guest bathroom sink but an article in a local magazine that addressed “Southern Hospitality” made me want to go a step further. None of our guests made us feel like we needed to do more but sometimes it’s fun to put a little extra effort into the small details that might make someone’s stay with you feel a little more comfortable.
And that’s where the Houseguest Welcome Basket comes into play!
Have you ever traveled to a wedding and the bride and groom had welcome bags waiting for guests at hotel check-in? I love thoughtful touches like this and now that my wedding planning days are behind me (tear… I loved wedding planning!), I jump at the chance to revisit things that remind me of my wedding planning days and assembling a houseguest welcome basket definitely took me back!
I had so much fun selecting the items for the basket and made sure to start with the basics: Fluffy towels, shampoo, conditioner and body wash.
For this gift basket, I included Ultra Calming Honest Shampoo + Body Wash and Conditioner from The Honest Company in the Dreamy Lavender scent. Aside from the plus of smelling like a relaxing spa, the shampoo and conditioner are made without potentially harmful chemicals and synthetic fragrances, pH balanced and hypoallergenic, so they’re products I feel good about our guests using while they’re staying in our home.
The Honest Company’s updated bath and body products include four new scents (Perfectly Gentle – sweet orange vanilla // Ultra Calming – dreamy lavender // Deeply Nourishing – apricot kiss // Purely Simple – scent free) and while I figured the lavender scent would be perfect for guests, I think the apricot scent is pleasantly subtle and we’ve been using the sweet orange vanilla shampoo + body wash on Chase daily for months now and adore the bright, clean scent that now makes me want to wrap Chase up in a cozy towel and snuggle him all day long whenever I smell it.
Continuing with the essentials, I included a spare toothbrush, toothpaste, floss and mouthwash in the welcome basket, as well as some tissues, Deeply Nourishing Honest Face + Body Lotion in Apricot Kiss (perfect for the dry winter months) and facial cleansing wipes.
And then it was time for the fun stuff! I made sure to include some non-essential items that will hopefully make our guests smile. Since tasty snacks are almost always appreciated, I added a few bars, dried fruit, dark chocolate squares and peanut butter cups to the basket, along with a couple of bottles of water and a pack of gum.
I couldn’t resist adding a few beauty-related items to the welcome basket, including dry shampoo, extra hair ties (because we all know hair ties and bobby pins constantly disappear into oblivion), lip balm, cotton swabs, a razor and shaving cream.
The next time we have guests in town, I hope this gift basket makes them feel a little more welcome and extra special!
And now here’s your chance to grab some goodies from The Honest Company to enjoy for yourself or to use to assemble a welcome basket of your own for your guests!
The Honest Company Discount + Giveaway
The Honest Company is offering PBF readers 35 percent off their first bundle order on Honest.com through March 15! (The discount may be applied to up to two bundles purchased in a single transaction.) The Honest Company offers a variety of bundles on their site (a convenient way to continually receive favorite products from The Honest Company at your doorstep for up to 40 percent off) and you can choose the products you want to receive in your bundle! (They currently have Diapering, Health and Wellness, Cleaning and Personal Care Bundles.) To redeem this offer, simply click here and use the code PBF35OFF!
I am also self-sponsoring a giveaway for one reader to win a bundle of their choice from The Honest Company! To enter this giveaway, please leave a comment on this post telling me which bundle you would select to receive if you were to win this giveaway! Does the diapering bundle call to you? Are you in need of some new cleaning supplies or personal care (bath + beauty) items? Let me know!
I will randomly select a winner this Friday.
Terms: The 35% off discount is eligible for new honest.com Bundle subscribers only. Limit 1 Promo Code per customer/household. Code must be entered into “Promo Code” section at Checkout. Ends at 11:59 p.m. (PST) on 3/15/2016. Valid for up to 2 Bundles purchased in a single transaction. Cannot be applied to previous purchases, Gift Card purchases or Gift Bundles. Cannot be redeemed for cash or combined with any other promotion. Terms subject to change at any time.
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Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by The Honest Company who provided products and payment. All opinions are my own. I am personally sponsoring the giveaway portion of this post. I truly appreciate your support!
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I’d go with personal care!
I would definitely go for the personal care and cleaning bundle!
What a great company! Awesome to learn about them! I would choose the essentials bundle…we are trying more and more to become a chemical free home and these products are great!
Essentials Bundle! The salt/sugar scrub looks amazing!
I would LOVE to the cleaning or personal care bundle! We live overseas in Germany and are getting ready for lost of visitors this spring and summer so I LOVE this idea!!
I would really love the cleaning and personal care bundle. This would be awesome to check off my list of things I don’t have to worry about buying!
Id love to win the health and wellness bundle! 🙂
I would LOVE the personal care bundle OR the cleaning bundle! Thanks so much! 🙂
Love Honest cleaning supplies! I feel good about using them with two little ones in the house. Thanks for the great idea, Julie! Love the welcome basket idea (and loved making welcome baskets for our wedding guest EIGHT years ago!) 🙂
I would love to win the health and wellness bundle.
I would love the cleaning bundle!
Personal care bundle! 🙂
I would love the diapering bundle. We are expecting our first baby any week now so it would come in handy!
With a 15-month old at home, we could certainly use the Diapering Bundle! Plus, their diapers are just the cutest and I love seeing your posts of Chase in all the different designs that are available 🙂 I just know our little Olivia would look so cute in the diapers!
I would love love love the personal care bundle!
I would LOVE to try the beauty and personal care products.
The essential bundle would be great! Thanks for the giveaway. Thanks to you and The Honest Company for the discount code too.
Health & Fitness 100%!!
The cleaning bundle looks great!
I would love to try the cleaning bundle!
I would love the personal care package!!
i’d love the diaper bundle!!
I’m in need of a personal care bundle!! Thanks for the giveaway
Personal care bundle for sure!
I would choose the personal care basket.
I am in dire need of some new skin care– so the personal care bundle would be fantastic!
I would choose the diapering bundle because my husband and I are expecting our first little one in July!
Thanks for the giveaway!
The personal care bundle!!
I’d love to win the personal care products 🙂
Blessings,
Edye
I’d love either the health & wellness or essentials bundle!
I would love the personal care bundle! I love new soaps and shampoos 🙂
I would love for the essentials bundle with fragrance-free personal care items! Some great ideas in your gift basket.
Essentials for sure
Such a great idea! I would go with the personal care bundle!
I would definitely get the diapering bundle, I have a little one due in June!
I would love the diapering bundle!! The designs are so cute and would make changing my son’s diapers a fun task 🙂
I would love to try honest cleaning products!
I would definitely choose the Diapering Bundle! This would be SO helpful, thank you!
Defiantly the personal care bundle!
The personal care bundle would be amazing. I recently moved to a new city and am having a bunch of visitors, so I love this post!
The personal care bundle looks awesome! I have been wanting to try their products, and this would be a great way to do it! Thanks Julie:)
I would definitely go with the essentials bundle!
I’d love the Personal Care bundle! I love their products! Thanks for the great giveaway!
The cleaning and personal care bundle would be wonderful for me right now ?
I would love either the diapering or personal care. We are expecting our first baby so something for Mom or something for Baby 🙂
I adore Hint watermelon water! I could live off of it! Discovering that water made it super easy for me to give up soda for good! Yummy 🙂
You always have the most creative gift basket ideas! I’m currently planning my wedding and am looking for items to put in welcome bags. I’d like things that are thoughtful, but easy on the wallet. Any suggestions?
personal care! my skin is so dry always and the weather in nyc is not helping!
I would love to try the personal care bundle. As a Mom of two, I’d pamper myself.:)
I’ve been hearing amazing things about The Honest Company! I’m torn between the diaper bundle or the essentials bundle. I think I would choose the essentials bundle because I want to incorporate more chemical free cleaning supplies in my home.