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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My husband and I would love to try the cleaning bundle.
I would love to try the personal care bundle!
I would love to try the diapers bundle. My little man and Chase are two days apart. He’s also on the “smaller” side as he was born two weeks early. I’ve followed your blog for a while but have especially enjoyed following it since Chase was born. Our little dudes are such in sync with their milestones and sleeping patterns. Sleeping…. WHAT?!?! They should be best friends! Who cares if we are states away, right? =) My guy doesn’t have cute diapers tho. I must try these.
The Essentials Bundle would be awesome to try out:)
What a great idea for house guests! The cleaning bundle sounds perfect right now–just moved into a new place
The essential bundle!!
The essentials bundle! I want to update our cleaning products to safer options, and we’ve all been sick since January so I’ve been doing some major cleaning around here.
Now that both of my girls are out of diapers, i would pick the beauty bundle to pamper myself.
I love this idea! We don’t have many house guests because we currently live in a tiny house. We are in the process of moving, though and I can’t wait to have out of state relatives stay with us!
I would love to try the diaper bundle!
I would love the beauty bundle! I’m always excited to try new products.
I would love to try the personal care bundle! I have never tried any products from the Honest Co.–thanks for the giveaway!
The cleaning bundle would be a great one. Though any of these would be totally awesome to try! Fun giveaway.
The personal care bundle!!!
I have really been wanting to try out their cleaning supplies and love the fact that they are safe and natural!
I would choose the diapering bundle as I’m expecting in May!
The essentials bundle! I’ve been trying to go greener and would love to update our cleaning products to safer options!
I’d absolutely love the bath and body/beauty bundle! Orange-vanilla and lavendar scented things!? So great!
I’d go with the cleaning! Love to swap out the harsher chemical cleaners for these!
The essentials bundle!
What a great idea! I would love the Houseguest Welcome Basket as we are expecting our first baby in June! It would be so nice to have a basket of goodies for all of the hosueguests that we will have this summer. 🙂
Silly me! This is not even an option! I would love the the personal care and cleaning bundle. I could use some of the items for our house and some for our guests!
I would try the cleaning and personal care bundle. I want to find items safe for the home as well as items i can use on me that won’t affect my little guy since I love on him constantly!
I’d love to try the personal care bundle.
I have never used honest company products before! I think I would love to start with the essentials bundle.
I would choose the cleaning bundle!
The personal care bundle sounds amazing! Thanks for the giveaway!
Personal Care bundle
I would choose the essentials bundle! I love any product that doesnt test on animals and makes you feel good to know there are no harmful chemicals going on your body. The apricot scent sounds wonderful.
Definitely interested in one of the baby bundles! My little girl is almost 5 months old and we are ready to branch out 🙂
I would definitely try the cleaning bundle! I’m trying to “green” our cleaning products and this would be a great way to start.
So hard to choose from the cleaning products and the beauty ones, but I would love to try their products out. I have always heard great things!
I would love the personal care bundle! 🙂
We need the cleaning bundle for sure! My son is just getting over the coxsackie virus (thanks daycare) and pink eye and I would love some new cleaning products to help make our home super clean and healthy for him. Gracias!
Love all your basket ideas!! I am totally in that wedding/ bachelorette stage right now and you have inspired me. Also love that essential bundle!
What a great idea! I am currently in the process of wedding planning, so I will definitely be making welcome bags. I would love the essentials bundle…spring cleaning is upon us!
I would love to try the cleaning/personal care bundle. The scents sound lovely!
definitely need some makeup wipes! love them!
I sooooooo want the bath and body/beauty bundle!!! Really looking forward to trying it.
I do think this nice little things add a really nice touch to welcoming guests 🙂
Diapering for sure, their diapers are so cute.
I would love the cleaning supplies bundle. We use some of their products here and there and have always been pleased.
Such a cute idea! I’d love to try a health and wellness bundle. Thanks 🙂
I love the welcome basket idea and your basket is fantastic!
I would like to try the cleaning products bundle.
I would love to try the cleaning bundle.
Either the personal care bundle or essentials bundle. This would be so great. I’ve heard about this company and would LOVE to give it a try!!!
just found the bundle page haha- definitely the essentials bundle! 🙂
The essentials bundle!
I would LOVE to try out their cleaning products especially since spring cleaning is right around the corner! 🙂
The health and wellness bundle sounds wonderful right now to this sleep deprived new mama!
What an awesome idea!
I’d go with the essentials bundle!
I would love to try the personal care item bundle!
The cleaning bundle would be wonderful because I am trying to restock our house with healthy and natural cleaning products!
I have been wanting to try their products for a while now! I think I would go with the essentials bundle to get some personal care items! (: