This post is part of my ongoing series on hospitality.

As you have hopefully seen from the list of creative ways of showing hospitality, it involves more than just hosting dinner parties!  I know those of you who have a small house are limited on space, so this post is devoted to some creative ideas for still practicing the biblical command to show hospitality.

First of all, print off the list of ways to show hospitality and circle the ones you can definitely do.  There are probably more than you initially thought!

Evaluate your space.  Do you have room for one other couple to come for dinner?  Try that.  If your table is small, consider borrowing a church table.  Ditto to not having enough chairs.  Many churches would be happy for you to borrow a few folding chairs provided you return them before the next gathering.

If you truly don’t have room to eat at your table, see if you could have a simple meal in your living room using your coffee table to set drinks.  Set up a buffet line in the kitchen and then move to the living room to eat.  Don’t be afraid to move extra furniture out of your living room (into a bedroom) so you have more space.

Consider hosting outside rather than inside.  If you have a front porch, a carport, a patio, or a backyard, you can host several couples or a family.  Invite your friends to bring lawn chairs so you have enough seating.

If your kitchen is quite small, you definitely will want to keep your menu very simple.  Perhaps a potluck meal would be a good idea if you’re limited on oven or fridge space.  Grilling out can also utilize space other than the kitchen.  If you have a tiny sink and/or no dishwasher, keep it simple by using disposable plates/cups.

If serving a meal is just not an option, have friends over for ice cream and card games or popcorn and a movie.

Invite a friend over for coffee one morning and have a good chat.

Again, there are lots of other ways you can show hospitality without having a sit-down dinner party!

Even if your house is small, you can still offer a BIG welcome to your guests and make them feel like you are very glad they are there!

This post is part of my ongoing series on hospitality.

Today we’re talking about lots of different ways we can show hospitality to others!

In Practicing Hospitality, Ennis and Tatlock write:

Practicing hospitality can be experienced during every season of life. However, it may not always be implemented in the same manner.  We may need to invite people for dessert rather than a full meal, or meet them for breakfast rather than lunch.  Our commitment to hospitality should motivate us to be flexible and resourceful during each season of life.

Here is my list of ways to show hospitality that go beyond just having friends over for a dinner (the point isn’t to discount that, but to help you be creative in your particular season).

40+ “Unconventional” Ways of Showing Hospitality

• Host a ladies’ Bible study in your home
• Invite friends over for ice cream in your front/back porch, and ask them all to bring their favorite topping
• Host a potluck meal at a local park with several other families
• Take a meal to someone in need (illness, new baby, recent move, loss of a loved one, etc.)
• Invite someone out to eat at a restaurant
• Have a friend and her child(ren) over for a playdate
• Invite a friend to go strawberry/blueberry/apple picking with you
• Invite a visiting pastor/missionary to your church to stay at your home overnight
• Have some friends over for popcorn and a movie
• Invite another family over to make s’mores in the back yard
• Have some girlfriends over for dessert
• Have another couple over to play board/card games after your kids are in bed
• Offer to keep a friend’s children for her while she runs some errands
• Invite your church small group to meet in your home
• Have a “cook off” or “bake off” with a little friendly competition where your friends all bring their favorite chili or pizza or cake or… anything, really!
• Host a morning coffee group for other young moms
• In the holiday season, invite friends to come over and work on projects together (gift wrapping, addressing cards) while listening to Christmas music and drinking hot chocolate/cider
• Invite a college student or single adult from your church over for lunch after Sunday services
• Contact the foreign exchange student organization at your local college/university for a list of international students you might invite to your home for a meal
• Include widows in your family’s holiday celebrations and everyday life
• Encourage your older children’s friends to come over and/or spend the night
• Host a bridal/baby shower at your church or in your home
• Take a basket of breakfast and/or healthy snack foods to a friend who recently had a baby
• Have a group of teenagers from your church (and their un-churched friends) over for snacks/games
• Allow your home to be used for small church gatherings (new member classes, leadership dinners, etc.)
• As your kids get older and if you choose to homeschool, allow clubs (yearbook, chess club, newspaper) to meet in your home
• Invite your neighbors over for a potluck “block party”
• Host family birthday celebrations in your home instead of at a restaurant
• Take a meal to a shut-in or elderly friend (or even a few pieces of sliced watermelon)
• Participate in the hospitality ministry of your local church: greeting visitors, serving coffee or breakfast before services, writing notes to visitors, caring for the needs of the body, decorating the church, etc.
• Be welcoming to overnight guests and make their stay comfortable
• Invite new friends to join your family in specific holiday traditions: attending parades, watching fireworks, hunting for Easter eggs, decorating the Christmas tree, going caroling, etc.
• Host a cookie or soup exchange in the late fall
• Invite people to join you on a hike and a picnic
• Mail homemade goodies to a college student away at school
• Send breakfast foods (muffins, etc.) or desserts (cookies, etc.) to work with your husband to share with his coworkers
• Invite a friend over for a walk in your neighborhood
• Share part of your garden with a friend who doesn’t have the space to have a garden of her own
• Prepare cookies, ornaments, cards, and/or small gifts for the residents of a nursing home, then deliver the cards/gifts personally
• After moving into a new house, host an open house so friends can stop by for cookies and lemonade and see your new home

This post is part of my ongoing series on hospitality.

One of the biggest lies we believe as women is that everyone else “has it all together.”  Everyone else’s homes are always clean, everyone else cooks amazing meals every night, everyone else’s kids never throw tantrums, and everyone else has time to read, paint their toenails, do craft projects, and redecorate their home.

As I’ve talked to women about showing hospitality, one of the big things that came up was a feeling of insecurity based on their perception about how “together” everyone else seems to be.  I’m sure women throughout history have dealt with this, but I think our social-media-saturated culture today adds its own challenges.  As we scroll through Facebook feeds, Pinterest, Instagram, and blogs, we’re only seeing “the good stuff” that people choose to share with the world.

When we invite people into our homes, we invite them into our “mess”… our paper piles, our un-swept bathrooms, and our imperfect children.  This actually brings us closer, because we realize that no one has it all together like we’ve imagined they do.  It frees us to extend grace to one another and to be real in sharing our struggles.  As we practice hospitality, it opens us up to share more of ourselves with one another.

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The way you practice hospitality will look different from your friends.  I love to set a pretty table and present food with flair, but my house will never be as clean as some of my friends’ homes.  That’s okay!  We need to evaluate ourselves as God sees us, and stop expecting that we have to be the best of what we see in each of our friends (real or virtual).

Challenge for this week:  Identify how you tend to compare yourself with others (your cooking vs. theirs, your home vs. hers, etc.).  Pray that God would set you free from the trap of comparison so that you can be free to serve Him through hospitality!