Giving Great Hostess Gifts
I've been getting invited to a lot more dinners and small parties lately than I have in the past. I don't think I've gotten more interesting or more popular or anything like that. But like me, many of my friends didn't throw lots of dinner parties when they were raising young kids. Now that most of us have pre-teens and teenagers, entertaining has become easier. So we all seem to be doing it more often.
When I receive an invitation, my response (right after I say "Sure we'd love to come!") is "what can I bring?" But more and more, I'm hearing the hostess or host say "Don't bring a thing!" That's when I start to feel a bit...uneasy. I was taught to always bring some sort of dish when invited to a party. But then again, if the person hosting asks you not to, should you do it anyway? In the past, I've gotten around this by just bring a bottle of wine. But sometimes, the hosts have already purchased wine--sometimes even special wine--for the occasion.
So over the past year or two, I've started opting for hostess/host gifts instead. Although the idea sounded a little old-fashioned to me at first, I've really started to enjoy finding a small but special gift to bring to the person who is treating me to an evening at their home. Some of my ideas are really quite simple. For instance, for my wine-loving friends, I often do pick up a bottle of wine I think they'll enjoy, then add something to the bottle, such as a Christmas ornament or other home decorating, hung around the neck of the bottle like a necklace. Coasters and wine-glass charms are also great gift idea, as are plants, and notecards. Sometimes I whip up beaded bracelets (I make them by hand using my massive collection of glass and silver beads), and the recipients are often surprised and thrilled to receive them. And as far as hostess gifts I have received, my favorite was a bouquet of wildflowers (hand-picked from the guest's garden) placed in a Mason jar, with a raffia ribbon tied around the jar.
For more hostess gifts ideas, check out About.com's Top Ten Hostess Gifts Under $30, Oprah.com's Hostess Gift ideas, Country Living's Hostess Gift ideas, Iloveindia's Party Host and Hostess Gift Ideas.
