Hostess Gifts for the Holidays

Ah, the holidays. The hustle. The bustle. The shopping. And the PARTIES! Getting together with family and friends, in my opinion, is the whole point of the season. I love to entertain and I love going to parties. But with every party, you may find yourself in a last minute conundrum because your mama raised you right, and she taught you never to show up to someone’s house empty-handed. But what’s an appropriate hostess gift? And where do you get it? Fear not! We at Buy-Her want to help you. It’s what we do.

The best thing I can say is RELAX. It’s not that hard, really. You don’t have to make the perfect statement in your gift. A hostess gift is simply your way of saying “Thank you for your hospitality!”  In my opinion, you can’t go wrong choosing from one of these three categories, all available at stores you are probably going to on your holiday errands anyway!

Hostess Gift Ideas

Booze
Now, if your host and/or hostess does imbibe, you really can’t go wrong with bringing alcohol. The traditional bottle of wine will never go out of style and if your friends drink wine, it will certainly be appreciated. But why not a bottle of champagne as something a bit more special for the holidays? People rarely buy champagne for themselves, unless they have a particular occasion in mind, but sometimes a glass of bubbly sounds just right and if you already have a bottle chilling in the fridge, it will make your day. Another option in this genre would be a nice liqueur, such as Kahlua, Frangelico, or Bailey’s Irish Creme. There are so many options in several different flavors for all tastes. If you go to a decent liquor store and ask for some recommendations, you will probably find something that is lovely and in your price range.

Flowers
I am a firm believer in flowers as a hostess gift. It’s relatively easy, perfect for when you don’t know your host/hostess very well, and can be surprisingly budget friendly. Around the holidays, seasonal arrangements are often made using pine and eucalyptus which are cheap. But please, for the love of god, do not stop at the grocery store on your way to the party and pick up some half dead pre-made arrangement full of carnations and filler flowers. Don’t despair however! You can still go to the grocery store. Most people don’t really fully utilize the flower department at grocery stores, which are often staffed with people who really know flowers especially if you go to one of the fancier, bigger stores. Go early, like a day or so in advance and talk to the florist about what you want.  The best part about this is that the grocery store florists rarely charge you a design fee – more likely they will just charge you the price for the stems they use plus the container. Ask them to put the finished product in a box for transport so you don’t spill the whole thing in the car on the way over.

Food
This is a no-brainer. A box of nice chocolates, some toffee, a loaf of your famous banana nut bread, or a batch of your grandmother’s handed-down-through-the-generations cookies in a nice tin or basket?  Easy peasy lemon squeezey. You could also do a little basket with some nice cheeses and crackers. Again, super easy to acquire and put together, and it won’t break the budget. You have better things to do with that money. Like buy yourself those killer heels you want to wear to the party!

As for presentation, that’s the easiest part of all! Lovely gift bags, either cloth or paper, that will fit a bottle of wine or other spirits are pretty much available everywhere. Target has a great aisle in their holiday section full of beautiful bags, boxes, wraps and tins that will help you add the perfect finishing touch to your hostess gift.

Featured photo by dps

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