Japanese kindness to visiting lady?

I helped an elderly Japanese lady once that had a friend in a dire situation. Since then I have been graced by a brief encounter every Christmas as she drops gifts to my home for my family of 4 and flowers on Easter. I suppose she knows we are Catholic. That is the extent to which I know her. She never stays. So this year my two little girls and I are going to sit down and have some tea and have asked her to come. Her grown daughters may come too. The outsite of my home does not show welcome at it's current state of disrepair. What can I do to show welcome? Is there a particular greeting and parting I can exchange? We are to have what I call a western tea table (casual)setting but with Japanese tea (bags I think) and a few food items. Is there a particular food item that she might consider a show of thoughtfulness? I want to extend my heart through my actions. Thank you.

Micee,

I'm sure a lot of people would agree that one of the best things you can do is to host her in the authentic style of your home country/town. It will be a rare and fun treat for her and her daughters. But if you have anything from Japan that you specifically like, you can use/serve that as well, and they would probably enjoy the fact that you like something from their country.

Speaking from experience, I think that things work best when you offer something you really like rather than to offer something you think the other party likes.

I am not sure where you are.
But show YOUR kindness.
The fact you are thinking about what to do / serve means you are an attentive host(ess).

Relax and welcome her to your home.


Super sweet / super buttery food tends not to be so appreciated by Japanese if you are thinking about food keep this in mind.