The most stressful parts of hosting guests at your home include making sure the house is clean and tidy (47%), and preparing a nice-tasting meal to impress your guests (38%), a study has found.
A third of hosts worry about keeping their guests entertained – and other concerns include catering to everybody's tastes, and making sure the food is cooked to perfection.
A poll of 2,000 adults, who have cooked food for their visitors, found that over half (52%) have been desperate to impress – with 43% overcomplicating a menu, and then regretting it.
And one in five weary hosts (19%) are guilty of hinting that it's time for people to leave – by starting to clean up around them.
The research, commissioned by Tesco, comes as one in four Brits (26%) are planning to host this Easter bank holiday weekend – but 24% are feeling apprehensive about the festivities.
In a bid to combat the stress, the supermarket has partnered with Jamie Oliver to create a fuss-free, prep-ahead, five-ingredient roast leg of lamb recipe, and a hot cross bun pudding which uses leftover buns, and costs just £0.63 per portion.
Jamie said: “My secret to cooking a roast for a crowd is to choose a deliciously easy recipe that's reliable, you can prep ahead of time, and one where the oven does all the hard work – so you can spend time with family and friends, and not be stuck in the kitchen.”
Easter will be spent celebrating at home this year – and, of those who aren’t hosting, 22% will enjoy being a guest at someone else’s house.
But despite the stresses of hosting, 44% of those polled, via OnePoll, want a challenge.
Tesco has worked with Jamie Oliver to curate 30 limited edition “Easter in a box” hampers including recipes and treats, which can be won via the supermarket's Instagram and Facebook pages.
Alessandra Bellini, chief customer officer, said: “We know that many of our customers celebrate Easter, and we want to help them to come together with friends and family over good food at great prices.
“We’ve created some delicious recipes with Jamie to show people that hosting a gathering over the long weekend can be low stress, low spend, and maximum enjoyment, especially when taking advantage of our cracking Easter offers in store.”
TOP 20 MOST STRESSFUL THINGS ABOUT HOSTING AT HOME:
- Making sure my house is clean and tidy for guests
- Making sure the food tastes nice
- Making sure all elements of the meal are cooked at the same time
- Keeping guests entertained
- Catering to everybody's tastes
- Making sure the food is cooked to perfection
- Getting through all the washing up afterwards
- Being stuck in the kitchen and not being able to socialise or chill out
- Worrying the meal is good enough quality
- People turning up early or late
- Not having enough food to go around
- Not having enough time to prepare
- Guests' dietary requirements/restrictions
- Worrying the chosen recipe won't work
- Worrying your guests will break something or spill drinks on your furniture
- Topics of conversation with guests
- Who to invite, and ensuring all guests get on
- Keeping guests waiting between courses
- Cooking too much food
- Family members quizzing you about your life i.e. work life, love life, etc.
