Interiors: Pampering your holiday guests

Traveling during the holiday season is both exciting and exhausting. If you have family or friends staying at your house for the holidays, be sure to give both holiday cheer and a chance for your guests to rest. Let's explore.

Besides the incomparable happiness of being together, the comfort of a well-appointed home can add to the joy. How can you make guests' experiences even more special? How about pampering them in their guest quarters? Remember, it is the little things that count.

When you go to a luxury hotel, all the necessary toiletries are there for you. How about doing the same for your guests? Find out what shampoos, conditioners and hair products they use. What are his favorite shaving products? Provide them. An early Christmas gift could be his favorite cologne or her favorite perfume. Wrap them up and top off the package with a festive bow.

Place a basket on the bathroom vanity filled with fun items such as specialty soaps, scented sprays for spritzing, lip balm and fancy hand lotion. Have plenty of fresh (new, if possible) washcloths on the vanity. If there is space, provide a taller basket or other container for the used washcloths.

Stock your medicine cabinet like a mini-pharmacy with travel-sized packets of over-the-counter medicines for cold, headaches, etc. Provide bandages and maybe some muscle-relief lotions. Think of what you might need and you'll know what to provide. Don't forget a nail file and nail clippers.

Around the bathtub, place a basket with bubble bath and sea sponges. Roll several plush towels and set them on the towel rack. Whether these items are old or new, they provide a feeling of comfort and show you went the extra mile.

In the bedroom near the bed, perhaps on the nightstand, provide aromatherapy items. There are many available at local drugstores as well as specialty shops. Fill an album with pictures of you all together and set it on the dresser. They will enjoy looking through old memories. Then provide them with a disposable camera in case they forgot to bring their camera so more pictures can be added to the album.

Finally, surprise them with a bottle of champagne waiting in their room along with a couple of champagne glasses. Let them rest on their own before the real festivities begin.

(Rosemary Sadez Friedmann, an interior designer in Naples, Fla., is author of "Mystery of Color." For design inquiries, write to Rosemary at DsgnQuest(at)aol.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)