Monday, December 17, 2007

The perfect hostess gift

We have been entertaining ALOT over the past month. House guests, dinner guests, Christmas parties... its all been very fun. On Saturday night we had a formal Christmas dinner with 12 friends. I loved it - I volunteered to do it, but I was soooooo unbelievably exhausted by 11pm. The guests had just left, and we were cleaning up. I rested for a moment and fell asleep on the sofa. My husband coaxed me to walk to bed so my neck wouldn't get stiff. I awoke the next morning to this- clean, polished dishes all lined up on the table. I love that he took the care to wash our good china and silverware by hand as I do.

We are heading home on Saturday for Christmas with family. Its much warmer where we are going - I'm looking forward to their white sandy beaches, long conversations with family members, tennis and bike riding. I love that for the next two weeks we will be entertained by others :)

I was always taught that you should never arrive at a dinner empty handed. This has lead me to contemplate "what is the perfect hostess gift?".

I think that the perfect gift is consumable, thoughtful, simple, classy and inexpensive.

Kate Spade in Manners, says "Wine is a customary hostess gift, however flowers are always a crowd pleaser and safe token. Arriving with them is always thoughtful, but better still send the flowers early in the day of the gathering."

So wine for the non-drinkers? On more then one occasion we have had guests bring wine to dinner at our house. Its always a little awkward - they have been thoughtful, however in a country where drinking is so mainstream, it is a bizarre concept to others that we don't drink - not ever, not even at Christmas.

Flowers? They are always a winner with me. Ensure that they are fresh and dressed with a ribbon. I recently received flowers that the giver admitted were being re gifted. Clearly they were a couple of days old.... I felt a little insulted, and would have preferred she hadn't admitted that. After all the dinner I cooked was not a few days old.
Cakes? Be careful. There is nothing worse then an oversupply of desert. Its such a burden (on the hips!) of the host. Phone ahead and warn the host so she can manage the desert.
Candles? Simple, scented candles in neutral colours are always a winner.

Some other thoughtful gift ideas: fresh cherries, a bottle of quality olive oil or balsamic, hand cream; gourmet jams or conserves, a nice t-towel rolled and tied with a ribbon, homemade lemonade, quality chocolates, gourmet salt flakes, note pads, lemons secured in an inexpensive t-towel, homemade soaps.
According to Emily Post, a contribution to the meal (by way of desert or salad) constitutes a hostess gift, so unless you desire, there should be no need for an additional hostess gift.
In the absence of a gift, card or meal contribution -a complimentary and grateful heart expressed is priceless.

2 comments:

Celia Fae said...

Thank you for the tips. I can't believe you had a formal dinner. Are you nuts? Beautiful silver and decor. I'm sure the electric knife went nicely with that. So what were the activities? What did you eat?

Kerry said...

Thanks for your kind comments Celia - you are the queen of blogs.

Nuts? Yep - I'm still recovering.

I think I took some shots of the food - I'll do a post. Anyone for left over ham??