The best hostess gifts aren’t expensive – they should surprise, delight, and – here’s the important bit – be something that your host can immediately ignore. Your host has gone to such lengths to make your night a good one, a good hostess gift is just one way of acknowledging all of that time and effort!
Without, ya know, creating more work.
Gifts: French kitchen towel | Glitter Syrup | Confetti Cutting Board | Chocolate Bars
Outfits: dress | heels | top | pants
For years, my default hostess gift was a bottle of wine – which is fine! But after hosting a party in which we ended up with more bottles of wine than we drank (haha certainly not our intention), I started to look for hostess gifts that were a little more…unique. Which is how we ended up with a hostess gift collection in the TME shop! Like our other collections, our hostess gifts are made up entirely of useful little gifts from small makers we know: a Philly chocolatier, a New Hampshire syrup maker, a Brooklyn herbalist, a Rhode Island metalsmith.
Below are our favorites, grouped by the kind of host you’re visiting, plus a few golden rules of good hostess gifting. 🙂
–> Shop all of our favorite hostess gifts here
The Golden Rules of Hostess Gifting (Don’t Make More Work for the Host)
French kitchen towel | Glitter Syrup | Confetti Cutting Board | Chocolate Bars
A few things we’ve learned, mainly from hosting ourselves:
- Something to eat/drink is better than something decorative (especially when you don’t know them well!). You’re taking a gamble when you gift a candle or a pretty dish – these gifts work best when you know their aesthetic. But chocolate, a bag of fancy nuts, a drink mixer – these are thoughtful little gifts that get consumed and – poof! – disappear. Not only the answer to “what do I bring to a house I’ve never been to,” I actually think that something you can eat or drink are almost always the best hostess gift, period.
- Don’t bring anything that needs attention tonight. Cut flowers – as pretty as they are!! – mean that the host will have to hunt for a vase (which is how I once learned…I have no vases). A plant, a wrapped bottle, or something in a box that can sit on the counter until tomorrow is a more gracious gift.
- For an overnight or weekend stay, go up a notch. Something for the kitchen they’ll keep (a set of French towels, fancy cheese markers) or a truly indulgent candle – with some candle snuffing tools! – make really lovely gifts for hosts.
- Pampering gifts are always appreciated – hosting is hard work, and a luxurious bath soak or an aromatherapy towelette to be used after everyone leaves is often one of those surprise & delight moments.
- Skip the gift bag and wrap the bottle in a towel. This is our favorite trick! Lay a French jacquard kitchen towel flat, set the bottle diagonally, roll it up, gather the fabric at the neck, and tie it with ribbon or a sprig of greenery. Granted, these towels are incredible enough to make great gifts all on their own, but rolled around a bottle of wine or good olive oil is a seriously next level gift.
- Write a card! There’s often so much going on that you don’t want to host to re-discover your gift the next morning…and then feel bad because they can’t remember who gifted it.
ski cards | ski candle | paper crowns | chocolates | Confetti Cutting Board | Bosch playing cards | candle | snuffer | rosemary salt | wildflower sugar | bath salts
The Most Foolproof Hostess Gift Ideas: Something to Eat or Drink
Food or drinks are the safest category of hostess gift, and the best idea for a host you don’t know well. The only caveat is that whatever you’re bringing shouldn’t look like you expect your host to serve it at the party. Their party, their call on what gets served! So wrap your edible gift up in a bow and set it aside for later. Here are some of our very favorite options – super fun, super unique, totally delicious – and all from local, small-batch makers.
Glitter Simple Syrup by Wood Stove Kitchen, $22. Edible glitter suspended in a rich 2:1 cane-sugar syrup, so the shimmer actually stays swirling in the glass (it doesn’t just sink to the bottom!). Small-batch from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and I love the idea of bringing it with a written cocktail idea (“Snowglobe Sparkler: gin, squeeze of lemon, white cranberry juice, glitter simple syrup, prosecco, finish with a sprig of rosemary” – as one example.)
Specialty Chocolates By Drinker (Wine, Cocktails, Coffee or Tea) by MECHA Chocolate, $12. These little boxes of four stunning chocolates are so freaking delightful – this is going to be my go-to hostess gift this year. You can choose a little box based on your host’s drink preference: there’s a box of four chocolates that pair best with red wine, a box that pairs best with white wine, and a box for coffee lovers, tea lovers, and one inspired by cocktails. These chocolates are absolutely beautiful, and so incredibly delicious – the flavors are creative, complex, and some of the best I’ve tried. From a Philly chocolatier, chef Melissa Crandley.
Miss Maude’s Milk and Dark Chocolate Bars, from $18. Each square on these chocolate bars is a different flavor, so one bar is basically a little box of chocolates. The Holiday Edition has gingerbread, mulled wine, eggnog, peppermint, the Après-Ski bar has a cheese fondue square, which sounds odd but is yummy. 😉 My favorite is the whiskey tasting bar…and while I’m always a dark chocolate girl, the Theater bar – buttered popcorn!! – is another I love busting out on movie nights at home. All are made from organic chocolate, too.
Rosemary Sea Salt by Wood Stove Kitchen, $10. I love this finishing salt on popcorn, but it’s just as delicious on roast potatoes, focaccia, or – if you’re making creative cocktails this season – the rim of a glass.
Mocktail Drink Mixers by Mother Shrub, $15. A shrub is an old-fashioned drinking vinegar, and these are based on a family recipe from the 1800s. Tart, sweet, and mixing one tablespoon into plain sparkling water makes one heck of a seriously delicious, complex, adult mocktail. We tasted alllll the flavors and our top picks are Black Cherry, Salted Honey, and Carrot Thyme. One 8-ounce bottle makes about 8 to 16 drinks.
Tikka Masala Spiced Nuts, $9.50, and Masala Spiced Cranberries, $7.90, by Varah Gourmet. Our team has been nibbling these at our desks for months! Dry-roasted (not fried), gluten-free, vegan, mild heat, and wildly addictive. Put a bow through both and give as a set. (The spiced cranberries are a GIFT to winter salads.)
Piccolo Pesto Gift Set by Bella Cucina, $60. This is such a useful set for anyone who loves to have people over! It contains four 3-ounce jars (basil, artichoke-lemon, sweet pepper, sun-dried tomato) all delicious enough to just spread on crackers. They come in a gift box, are made in small batches (with no preservatives) and would be a really great hostess gift for a weekend stay. Also from Bella Cucina but easier on the budget? Wildflower Sugar, $15.95 (so ridiculously pretty) and the Key Lime & Meyer Lemon Duo, $39.
Shaved Hot Chocolate by Nu Chocolat, $24. Gang, this is NOT a cocoa-powder mix, it’s a tin of real chocolate shavings you melt into hot milk. About seven servings a tin, in a Signature dark-and-milk blend or a 65% dark blend. We discovered Nu Chocolates two years ago (handmade in Burlington, Vermont by a chocolatier who apprenticed in Switzerland) and make special trips to Burlington all winter just to replenish our stash. One of my son’s favorite things EVER.
Italian Orange Segments by Nu Chocolat, $19. Candied Italian orange, barely sweet so the bitterness comes through, dipped in Colombian dark chocolate by a family-run maker in Burlington, Vermont. My mom and I LOVE this one. Vegan, too.
Miss Maude’s chocolates | Bosch playing cards | paper crowns | bug garland | white wine tasting chocolates | Confetti Cutting Board | heart coffee spoon | spiced nuts | spiced cranberries
Pampering Hostess Gifts For After The Party
Hosting is so much work, these gifts create a little moment of ahhhhh once everyone leaves.
The Big Pause Bath Salts by Niteswim, $24. A botanical soak (Celtic sea salt, Epsom, milky oats, rosemary, tulsi, lavender, clary sage, neroli) blended for the perimenopause and menopause years, handmade in small batches in Brooklyn. The herbs come in a muslin bag so there’s nothing to scrub out of the tub afterward. For the friend who is our age, hosting on interrupted sleep. 😉
Coconut Rose Bath Salts by Merigold, $19. Epsom and Himalayan pink salt with organic coconut milk and whole rose petals, handmade in Colorado by a nurse and nutritionist (and you get roughly 3-5 soaks a bag). This is the most beautiful, ‘wow’ bath I have ever taken. The whole thing tints a soft blue, and the rose petals float in the water. I’ve never felt like such a Pinterest girl.
Spice Soap by Mayron’s Goods, $12. The team can’t stop talking about the scent of this one! Cold-pressed with organic oils, ground oats for a gentle scrub, and clove and cassia – basically, it smells like December. Founded by actor Melanie Mayron (who is a hoot, btw) and her chemist father.
Rest Your Eyes At The Desk, $24. There’s nothing quite like these aromatherapy eye towels – they’re such a lovely, uplifting moment. Can be used wherever (even at your desk) and won’t ruin your eye makeup.
Confetti Cutting Board | bug garland | bath salts | Miss Maude’s chocolates
Unique Hostess Gifts They’ll Actually Use: Kitchen, Table & Game Nights
For the host you know well, or the weekend stay where a bag of nuts feels too light, these unique gifts are thoughtful, useful, and still…delightful. Think: everyday pieces that are a little elevated, and incredibly well-made.
French Jacquard Kitchen Towels by Garnier-Thiebaut, $33. Garnier-Thiebaut has been making French linens since 1833, and these towels have ruined me for all others – wash them a hundred times, mine still look like new, absorb like a dream, and feel SO good in your hands. We carry three collections (South of France, French Bistro, Pop Art). Use one as the wrapping for a bottle (see above) and you’ve given two gifts.
Arrow Cheese Markers by Beehive Handmade, $78. This is the splurge in the collection and perfect for someone who loves to host! Four weighty metal arrows with slots for paper banners (40 are included), to fancy up a cheese board. Hand-made in Rhode Island by a husband-and-wife team. We love everything these guys make – the craftsmanship is superb.
Heart Coffee Scoop by Beehive Handmade, $40. Same maker, but a smaller gift! This lead-free pewter scoop (exactly one tablespoon, btw) lives on my counter next to the coffee machine and gets used every morning. It’s such a lovely little ‘brings joy’ kind of a thing. Pair it with a bag of beans from the host’s local roaster.
Sobremesa Candle, $125. This candle is pricey, but it is SO beloved – by everyone in my family, kids included! It’s really incredibly special, and comes stunningly packaged (beautiful box, luxe wooden candle cover, etc). Also, Sobremesa is the Spanish word for lingering at the table after the dinner is over, which is the loveliest part of a dinner party. Perfect for the host whose evenings always run late (and would be amazing for the friend who hosts you every Thanksgiving).
Candle Wick Snipper & Snuffer, $18. The kind of fun little item that people rarely buy themselves, but is absolutely delightful to own and use. I gifted this set to my husband and he was oddly charmed by it.
Hieronymus Bosch Playing Cards, $16.95. A full deck printed with The Garden of Earthly Delights. Not for your mother-in-law, very much for your friend with the dark sense of humor (and/or an art-history degree). These so delight my atheist husband, haha, and make an epic White Elephant gift.
Celebration Crowns by East End Press, $24. Six hand-screen-printed paper crowns on thick recycled stock, each in a different pattern. These charming paper crowns are designed in Glasgow, and made by fair-trade artisans in Jaipur. Their Paper Chains, $24, are the grown-up version of the kindergarten garland and are such a fun little holiday project. These are such charming hostess gifts for anyone who has kids (or appreciates a little whimsey).
Skiers & Snowboarders Card Deck by Ski House Games, $10.99. For the ski-house host, obviously. Pairs well with the hot chocolate mix above.
5-Minute Desktop Hourglass ($15) by Gry Mattr. A really pretty, unexpected object with a surprisingly large amount of uses. Especially good for a host with young kids (teeth brushing, turn taking, “five more minutes”).
Everything mentioned above is in our Hostess Gifts collection at the TME shop, and we’ll keep adding to it as the season goes. If you’re in Philly, you can pick up at the studio and skip shipping.
What’s the best hostess gift you’ve ever gotten? Tell us in the comments – we’re always looking for fun, new things to add.
xo,
S
