It’s just about that time of year again: the time when you pile onto planes or into cars, and fly or drive far distances to eat things like cranberry sauce while wearing ugly (or ugly-amazing) sweaters.
(We’re going to Ohio. That’s 2011’s trip, above.)
It’s also the time of year when you have to start bringing presents with you anytime you see people…and especially when you see people whose homes you are invading (potentially with assorted small children and dogs) for an evening, for a weekend, or for more.
I think hostess gifts are a wonderful tradition, and to me, there are three basic tiers:
1. Regular dinner (or cocktail party)
2. Holiday dinner (or cocktail party)
3. Weekend trip (or longer)
For a regular old dinner or cocktail party, I honestly think a bottle of wine or a bottle of decent liquor is sufficient (assuming your hosts drink or are serving alcohol) – flowers force your hostess to stop whatever she’s doing and trim stems and find a vase. If your hostess has children, you can just bring them something and call it a day; your friend will love you for providing at least a momentary distraction. A classic book (check with mom to make sure they don’t have it already) or this retro penguin slide-thing (which Morgan gave Indy for his birthday and has barely been turned off since) are both cute picks.
For a holiday-type celebration, you’ll probably want to up the ante a little bit, in the spirit of it all. Wine is still good, but you may want to include a gift (small is fine), like an ornament tied onto the neck, a pie from a local bakeshop, some cool specialty salts, or something else festive (I love those gold playing cards below).
It’s when you get to the whole staying-overnight-with-people that things get a little tricky. The key is to pick up something that they’ll love but don’t actually need…that’s part of the fun of a hostess gift.
Some of my personal favorite picks:
Or, of course, you can can always DIY something (this is an especially good hit with parents-of-significant-others-whom-you’re-meeting-for-the-first-time) like body scrub, flavored table salts, vanilla extract, linen water, or a reed diffuser.
If you’d like to make something edible (and easy), these caramel-chocolate apples are super cool-looking and can be dressed up in any color scheme you like. Just wrap them up in some pretty foil and you’re good to go.
(Click here for Meeting-The-Parents etiquette advice.)
