Another original idea to help you welcome your guests in a creative way. Owing to a magnetic dry erase board, you may surprise your family and friends with a new welcoming message each time they come to visit!
How did our dry erase board settle in our house?
Frankly speaking, its presence at our home is largely due to a coincidence. One of our daughter’s toys has small magnets stitched into it. Together we were looking for places that would attract the. It wasn’t easy to find one since we have a built-in fridge. We tried with a radiator (which is rather risky in winter), a microwave (which was inconvenient) and with door handles (which only resembled steel), until the paws of our plush reindeer were suddenly attracted to… the door, which at first sight appeared to be wooden! As I found out later, it is not such a rare phenomenon – check it out yourself!
Once I learned about it, I started to ponder on all the new possibilities. First, I adorned the door with the magnets that we have bought or received as souvenirs. Next, I thought about something more practical that can also be frequently found in kitchens: a magnetic notebook with a shopping list. I was looking for a perfect one for quite a while when I finally found something that exceeded my expectations.
Magnetic dry erase board
Decorative dry erase boards are available in many sizes and colour palettes to suit various interiors.
Our has a magnet on its back surface, owing to which it sticks to the door perfectly and is not too easy to take off.
At the front, there is a neat rectangular lined notebook – just like I wanted. If we run short of a certain product, I immediately write it down to remember it during the next shopping.
The part that I enjoy most, however, is the 16 x 10 cm big dry erase board. Normally, I write there reminders, words of wisdom, inspiring passages from the Bible or draw a sun and smiley faces to make the day brighter.
How to use a magnetic dry erase board as a gift?
I won’t encourage you to give the board to others. Despite its numerous advantages I don’t recommend giving it to someone who doesn’t like adorning his or her flat with such things or wouldn’t know what to do with it.
I will encourage you though to use it yourself to surprise your guests with personalised greetings.
I always liked doormats saying ‘WELCOME’ or greeting boards inviting to ‘Make yourself at home’, but I’m afraid that most guests who visit us frequently would only look at them once. A dry erase board, in turn, may contain a different message each time. I am positive that many of our guests who were greeted this way will check on their next visit whether there is a new message waiting for them.
What do we write on our board?
Usually, it’s just ‘Hi + name!’. And it really doesn’t matter that most of our guests only notice the board when they leave. If we wrote ‘Bye!’, and they looked at the door when taking off their coats, they might feel as if they were already asked to leave. Therefore we only write goodbyes when someone stays longer (e.g. several days), and we may change the message during their stay. Here are some other examples of our greetings:
How do our guests react to this creative greeting?
Most of the guests read the message aloud, show it to others or smile broadly and thank for the kind words. But we have also had even more enthusiastic reactions. Some of our friends liked our greeting so much that they took a selfie with the dry erase board. Another friend answered our greeting with her own words at the bottom of the board.
How do you like this idea? Would you like to be greeted this way? Let me know in the comments below!
A short reminder: after such a creative greeting you may welcome your guests with a personalised cake with their name or a suitable picture, and record their stay (in the case of a bigger party) on a music video!
My advice:
– The board doesn’t have to be magnetic. You may easily hang it on the door or near the entrance differently: with a nail, an adhesive tape or even Blu Tack.
– If you want your guests to notice your creative greeting immediately, place the dry erase board in front of the entrance.
– If you buy a magnetic board with a notebook, add a magnetic pen holder or a pen with a magnet to your shopping cart. Looking all around the apartment for something to write with when you want to make a quick note can be really frustrating.
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