Hosting Gifts
Holiday party season approaches!
Back in July, I saw a video from Franchesca Ramsey about things that make her feel grown. At the top of her list was her gift drawer, which she keeps stocked with items that strike her as being good gifts to take to social functions as a little thank you to the host(s). I’m not at that level yet, but it did make me think more about hosting gifts in general.
A nice bottle of wine is often a solid choice, but if the event you’re going to is non-alcoholic, or if you just want to mix things up a little, here are some ways to think about hosting gifts that may be helpful for you.
Elevate it! Whatever you’d normally bring, if there’s a slightly fancier version, go for that option. Luxardo maraschino cherries were a recent huge hit in this category; if I recall correctly, my friend’s delighted response was “are you freaking kidding me?!” I was not freaking kidding! These cherries are in a class by themselves – their flavor has just the right degree of complexity (they taste like actual candied cherries, not like cherry candy, with a tiny bit of bitterness right at the finish), and they’re as good over ice cream or a plain slice of cake as they are in cocktails or mocktails. I like to buy two or more jars at a time to take advantage of whatever small bulk purchase discount may be on offer, and to make sure I don’t run out of my home use supply.
Some other options in this category, which are largely consumables and therefore have the added advantage of not becoming a contribution to their junk drawer:
Mixers & non-alcoholic spritzers – these are good for sobriety maintenance and for households with folks under 21
Delicious foods you might not see at your usual supermarket – I find more and more restaurants offering small grocery sections lately. They’re a great source of unexpected gifts, because the selection is usually small and full of items the restaurant owners themselves love. Some recent winners have been Turkish delight in flavors other than the traditional and controversial rose water (the cilantro of dessert notes), super-flavorful fruit leather, pomegranate molasses, and baklava in a wide variety of shapes and fillings like pistachio and cashew.
A little gift box of treats from the bulk foods store or grocery aisle. Go on, be the low-key Harry & David you want to see in the world.
An unexpected essential! These are items that your host(s) didn’t know they needed. Dough scoops for the friend who loves to bake cookies but is still estimating their sizes (also great for ice cream), a screwdriver that contains multiple bits in its handle — the list is nearly endless, and we crowdsourced so many great ideas in last year’s Doo-Dads open thread issue.
Something totally unnecessarily fancy! I love to use fancy things for everyday use, and a longstanding favorite is using cocktail glasses for non-cocktails. (Oooh, she’s subversive! A rule-breaker!) Vintage barware is a staple of Etsy shops, I’ve seen classic ones at places like Home Goods, and these ones personalized with the recipient’s birth month are charming.
Trays! We had a bunch of friends over recently and I found myself in an animated conversation about trays. At a certain point, we realized that we were having an animated conversation about trays, collapsed into laughter, and I shouted, this is 48, baby! But we weren’t just talking about some boring nonsense — quite the contrary! Trays are great. They’re perfect for the forgetful (me), the untidy (me), the in-need-of-visual-reminders-of-the-existence-of-one’s-stuff (me), and the messily organized (a paradox, but also: me). I keep my various perfume bottles and samples on a sweet little gold lacquered tray with a 1 ½” lip that I picked up at Target some years back. I also like to use a square cake pan as a tea caddy. Thomas Paul has very cute trays and several are on massive sale right now (you’ll need to visit individual pages bc there’s no filter mechanism for the sale pages, but they’re worth it!). Unsurprisingly, there are tons of lovely vintage options on Etsy – I am currently obsessed with this midcentury lacquerware variety, otagiri. John Derian’s collection for Target launches on Sunday, and includes a number of witty serving trays. The entire collection is a personal attack on me, and Mr. Derian will be hearing from my attorneys shortly.
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My lifestyle is more casual, so my newest go to is a flowering plant in a pretty container. How suburban of me: my local Target has a plant selection at the front door, so it's easy to run in an out. Back in our dinner party days, I used to bring a "bottle of red, bottle of white" to ensure I would have the wine varietal I preferred and still leave a hostess gift.
And again in our dinner party days, when we were bringing a dessert/appetizer, a friend would buy pretty platters/bowls from estate sales/Goodwill and leave it at the end of the night as part of a hostess gift (this was when we were young marrieds and you still needed serving pieces to fill out your collection.)
Thank you for the ideas on non-alcoholic gifts, I am always stumped and these are great!