Are you lucky enough to spend this Christmas as a family guest?

International students and visitors often worry about staying with a host family over the Christmas season. They worry about possible expenses. They suspect they may be considered an imposition on the family.

Here are 10 tips, almost all free, that will make you an absolute hit with your host family at Christmas:

one. Help to decorate the Christmas tree.. This is a fun task, but it’s something two people can do much more easily than someone working alone. Offer your help.

2. Prepare gifts for your host family. These should be individual gifts rather than one general gift. Instead of giving, for example, a large box of chocolates to the family, it is better to prepare a small gift for each member of the family. Gifts don’t have to be expensive. They must be well wrapped. Attach a small label to each gift that says who it is for and includes your name, so they know it’s yours.

3. Offer to help with shopping. By this, I don’t mean Christmas shopping when everyone is out and buying surprise gifts for other family members. However, be available to help with Christmas. grocery shopping. For most families, this can be an exhausting excursion. Your host parents should not only make sure they have everything for a big family Christmas dinner, but also, because shops are closed on Christmas Day in many countries, they should make sure they have enough general supplies so the family doesn’t stay behind. out of essentials before stores reopen. There will probably be twice as many bags of groceries as the family buys on a regular shopping trip. So if you go and help carry things from the store to the car and from the car to the kitchen, your help will be greatly appreciated.

Four. Make friends with the vacuum cleaner. I know you probably vacuum your own room a couple of times a week. In the festive season, when a lot is going on and many visitors are coming and going from the house, it is often a time when your host mother will be particularly busy and tired. In downtime between visits, if you can quietly pull out the vacuum and zoom in on the public areas of the house, it will be a great addition to the home.

5. Go to church with the family for the special Christmas service. Your host family will not try to convert you to their religion, but they will be happy if you come. They will be proud and happy to introduce you to all their friends at church.

6. Enter a custom from your own country.. There may be a special dish that your own family always enjoys. Or a story or a custom that you follow. Share this with your host family. They will be thrilled to add something new to their Christmas routine.

7. Learn a Christmas carol (song) in English. There are thousands to choose from. You can choose a song you already know in your own language. Then download the English lyrics from the Internet and memorize them. Famous traditional Christmas carols like “Silent Night” are perfect for this. You never know when they might call you to present something, or sing a song, and it’s a great idea to have something prepared in advance. If you can sing a verse of the song in your own language, then follow it up with an English verse, you will probably find that your host family will join in on the English verse and your little article will be a big hit.

8. Volunteer to cook a meal for the family. You are not expected to plan or prepare a major family meal like Christmas dinner. But if you can prepare a simple meal the next day when people are tired and relaxed, that can be a welcome gesture to the family.

9. Give the family some space. You will be a welcome addition to the holiday season, especially if you have contributed in any of the ways mentioned above. But the family will also appreciate a little “alone time with the family.” So, if possible, plan during part of the holiday season to go out and do something with your friends, or to do a couple of hours of your own Christmas shopping.

10 Riot for the old women. At every Christmas family gathering, there are likely to be at least one or two older ladies (or gentlemen). Instead of sticking with family members in your own age group, how about making a special effort to make sure older family members have lots of fun? Make them a cup of tea. Help them find a comfortable chair. Bring them something special from the Christmas table. But above all, talk to them and encourage them to tell you their stories of Christmas past.

Here are 10 simple ways to add tremendous value to the holiday experience for you and your host family. Try at least a few of them and see what happens! I’d love to hear from you to find out how things worked out.

Merry Christmas!