So you've been invited to a dinner party and the inevitable question looms: Gift for the host, yes or no? You may be thinking, it's only a dinner party, so why should I bother to bring something for the hostess? Well, simply put, you should because it's common courtesy! If a friend or relative has taken the time to invite you into their dining room for a homemade meal, you must return their efforts and express your thanks. For an informal dinner party, an extravagant gift is not necessary, don't spend more than $20. An interesting bottle of wine, a fragrant jarred candle, or a fun salt and pepper serving plate are exceptional gifts that will delight and please any hostess. For close friends, splurge on an animal print serving tray. Baked goods, like a coffee cake that the hostess can enjoy the morning after the dinner, or a small bag of crisp and delicious cookies show your host that you appreciate the invitation to dine. Lastly, my all time favorite gift is a large, beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers from a friend's garden. Likewise if you have ripe fruit trees or an abundance of fresh mint, give the home grown produce to your hostess. Do you have any great host/hostess gift ideas? Share them with us in the comments!
Featured
Host/Hostess Gifts: What To Bring To A Dinner Party
11 Comments Post a Comment
More on YumSugar
Top Brands
Radley
Sephora
Aminaka Wilmont
These are great gifts. Id be very happy to receive these!
1I agree
2Very nice! We usually have cook-outs -so people always bring beer. I would so prefer one of those gifts above...
3Usually I bring dessert, a bag of coffee beads or wine, or I'll bring something of interest to the hostess (If they collect something, I'll try to bring them something to add to the collection). I've never been big on bringing serving trays or dishes, because if someone brought me a dish, I'd probably wonder what to do with it. Consumables work best imo.
4my parents met my boyfriend's parents for the first time this weekend and my mom brought a jarred candle as a gift for my boyfriend's mom, who cooked us dinner. it was a lovely gift and my bf's mom really enjoyed it!
5I tend to pick up on the small details and tailor my gift to that. Its a great tip (as mentioned above) to give a gift that could add to a collection the hostess has, although some people prefer to collect those items themselves.
One of the first times I stayed over at the bfs parents place, I noticed she had a thing for Yankee candles. So as a gift I brought a few candles and a cute, glass lampshade to place over it. She loved it! Other times I had Godiva chocolates or a gourmet cake in hand to express my thanks for their hospitality.
6I love bringing flowers, but specialty foods/spices can be fun too. Grey salt, spice rubs, vanilla beans, super-dark chocolate have all been a big hit.
7if it is someone you know very well, and you know enjoys cooking, a unique cookbook is always a fun gift to bring, you just have to be careful its seen as a gift, and not a subtle insult.
8We went to some friends for dinner this weekend and brought a bottle of wine and some flowers. But sometimes we bring something interest-specific; like a new coffee or tea we've discovered, or a book we talked about last time we were together.
9Alot of work goes into throwing a dinner party. I find it to be poor taste to show up empty handed. I try to bring a homemade dessert or at least flowers for the table. As a hostess I know that I really appreciate the thought.
10Thanks so much! I need to follow these ideas!
11Post New Comment
Please share your opinion with our community, but make sure it is on topic and follows our Community Rules. We moderate comments and prohibit personal attacks, threats, spam, lewd images, or the promotion of your personal website.