I came to know yesterday that we will be having 6 people ( 5 adults and a 12y old kid ) staying at our place for TEN days in 2 weeks they are my bil & his family from another country and pretty demanding ! They usually stayed with us for a day after their flight every year and travel to another city to mil but this time they decided to stay here and call mil to meet them too so it was easy for me to manage. I have had a sleepless night eversince I came to know about their plan because with a sick kid and another one going to school and a ‘busy’ husband, it will be my worst nightmare cooking 3x a day and driving to take them shopping,etc all this time
I am thinking about cooking some dishes and freeze so it will be a bit easy for me at times. I am already making chicken karahi for that purpose today and need more ideas too.
whew...deff will be an interesting 2 weeks. try these tips...
get all your bedding/sleeping arrangements down before they come and have a. back up plan if they end up refusing your ideas (have all your extra sheets/pillows etc cleaned/ironed and placed in one closet so you know where they are. Set up the guest bedrooms (if you have) beforehand with extra towels, soap... you know the drill.
day or two beforehand, stock up on extra groceries...breakfast stuff and snacks for kids (chips/popcorn, cookies, ICE CREAM).....bread/eggs...milk/juice... flour..rice etc. get all the food before they get here and make sure pantry is stocked. Also get extra laundry detergent and towels if needed.
Let your kids know guests will be here...so they will be used to it a little beforehand, and ask them for their help in making the guest feel at home, maybe they can help you in making their school lunches etc
for desi food....start making and freezing these items: 1. shami kababs (can be eaten at any meal) 2. eggrolls/potato rolls.... just fry them during tea times.... 3. koftay, make tons and just freeze them...make into fresh salan when needed. BUY FROZEN PARATHAS, NAANS, SAMOSAS
Stock up on ready-made salads mixes....pasta/sauces....chicken breast.....ground beef....and frozen veggies!!!!! Mix up the food here and there....pasta dishes with chicken/veggies can be good for lunches..plus the kids will enjoy.
if you can, plan out a rough menu...so you have an idea what you want to make on what day....and know what your plans might be in case you need less or more time for your cooking. (for example...all day out shopping...know what you want to cook for dinner that day so you're not late)
keep breakfast simple.... bagels/toast..eggs, fruit...juice and something fancy if you want (b/c you know we desi like to go over the top)...... add in aloo bhujia... chanay, halwa puri, nihari, paye on special weekend days
Lay out all your guest china and glasses/cups beforehand in a separate cabinet...so you can set the table easy each time for food.
hmmmm also, think of some ideas of sight-seeing/shopping areas you want to take them and still keep in mind of your own sick child (hope they get better soon!) ask your hubby for ideas as well...so he knows that he needs to chip in also.
and get those women to help you out!!!! :)
think of it as a fun challenge and reward yourself when they are gone! :) Good luck!!
hmmm totally didn't pay attention to the fact that you are in Pakistan. OKie....add in getting food ordered from outside some days....that should be a BIG help
Just to add , plan several menu lists ahead of time , so that you dont have to plan anything on the day ... freeze things like Chutni's and sauces ... Make loads of keema and divide it into chunks and freeze it ... Keema's come in handy ...
For demanding guests , the best bet is to keep it simple from day one , to manage expectations .. otherwise you will be done with!
So ensure you dont keep more then two items per meal time ...
also , when i have guests who live more then a few days .. I try to pass on as much responsiblity to them as possible so they share the burden .. tell them to help themselves to tea when they like , or tell them breakfast is self service etc ... show them where the groceries are .. .and let them deal with their things ... that will take some of the pressure off you ...
ensure you let them know ahead of time when the laundry will be done ... make sure you keep the iron stand in a communal area so they can use it independently when they like ... etc ...
Good luck..
PS .. you can also do this :
prepare basic masala , eg fry loads of onions , when they brown add in ginger , garlic and the usual spices and then tomato paste and bhon until oil separates ..then cool this mixture and divide it into chunks and freeze so that you can use for a handi on days when you need a quick fix .. all you got to do on the day is defrost the masala , add vege or meat .. bhoon .. and your salan will be done in no time ....
Here are some of the dishes you can freeze and still come out stunningly fresh when reheated
1) Nihari
2) Masala for Biryani (minus aaloo)
3) Qorma
4) Qeema
5) Kababs
6) Bhuna howa gosht for couple of dishes.
7) Put Tandoori masala on chicken pieces and freeze. You can almost directly put that in oven for baking
8) Get frozen Tandoori Naans and Parathey
and finally, KEEP IT SIMPLE. Just 1 light dish on lunch (like Pasta, Kabab roll etc) and couple of dishes on the dinner
Thanks D6C ! I am all set for it. They are coming tomorrow IA. abb koi yeh bataa day how to keep my mood calm when it’s day 9 of post-‘khat patt’-silent treatment for hubby He wont give in neither will I and now I hate anything related to him and not too enthusiastic to host his brother and family (I know this should go to life1 but am not in mood of another thread in this context)
^ husband or everyone else ? ignoring him is not working and I know I am a total loser when it comes to be polite and nice to everyone when I am not at peace inside I will have them for a couple of weeks which is already going to be too tiring for me and jub dil already kharaab hoga tau … :-/
i feel your pain…i once had my jait & jaitani come stay with us “indefinately”, my husband made it sound like it was just a short visit, (they were going for canadian nationality and dividing their betweeen Khi & Vancouver) so i was kind of excited, did not think much about it until they arrived from the airport with 5 big suitcases…became very obvious that it was not a short trip!
i was working full time and was having major health problems (back to back miscarriages), so it was extremely frustrating having to cater to their needs as well…on the days I would cook full meals, they would decided to eat out at restaraunts, or on the days my husband would say “don’t bother cooking, i’ll pick something up” they would complain “aaj kuch khaana kyoon nahin banaa hai ghar main?”…
they are my bil & his family from another country and pretty demanding ! They usually stayed with us for a day after their flight every year and travel to another city to mil but this time they decided to stay here and call mil to meet them too so it was easy for me to manage. I have had a sleepless night eversince I came to know about their plan because with a sick kid and another one going to school and a ‘busy’ husband, it will be my worst nightmare cooking 3x a day and driving to take them shopping,etc all this time 
You all make it seem soo easy and manageable 
thankoooo 
He wont give in neither will I and now I hate anything related to him and not too enthusiastic to host his brother and family 
