hostess gift when flying in
jlsch
8 years ago
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recycled hostess gifts, ever got those??
Comments (46)I thought of this thread recently when I received a gift from a houseguest. As is so often the case, I think this really comes down to how you feel about the person and the circumstances, not some rule or principle about whether it is okay to regift. How would you feel about this gift: a bracelet (fashion, not fine jewelry), that I have very good reason to believe was a gift his wife received but didn't want? I think many people would think that's terrible. But I appreciated and loved it, and here are the details that both explain why I think it is probably a "regift" and that may make you feel different, as I do: - this is a very close friend, like a brother, and we love his wife, too. We even went on their honeymoon with them! - The day before he started on his trip, he asked me what I wanted him to bring (he lives in Israel and sometimes there is something I need that is hard to find here. We are way past the formal "hostess gift" stage, but Israelis ALWAYS seem to bring a present). He joked that it had to be something he could get at the airport duty free shop, though, because he had severely broken his foot and really couldn't go shopping. I didn't need anything anyway, so I told him to forget it. - His wife is a plastic surgeon whose patients -- especially the breast cancer ones -- absolutely ADORE her. Their house and her office are always filled with cakes, flowers, and gifts. The bracelet was in a box from a store in a far from theirs and to which I can't imagine them going to shop. - She is really, really tiny, and the largeish bracelet probably wouldn't look good on her. And of course she can't wear bracelets while she works. So I'm guessing that they really did want to give me something, it wasn't practical for either of them to shop at the last minute, I told them no when he asked if there was anything I wanted, and they figured that I might like the bracelet, which she wasn't going to wear anyway (or maybe even she loved it and she would have worn it, but she shared it with me instead anyway). I even like to think that they realized I might figure it out, but they feel close enough to me and think enough of me to know I wouldn't mind at all but would understand. I even like to think something like this is what happened, because it speaks of intimacy -- it's the kind of thing you could do with a sister but not with a new acquaintance. The bracelet is pretty and I am enjoying it, most of all because I feel loved and trusted when I wear it....See MoreFavorite hostess gifts?
Comments (42)My personal favorites to give are good quality dish towels and/or a jar of a special local honey. Wine, too. To receive? I always appreciate fine quality dish towels, jars of specialized foods, flowers (mums work for me in the Fall only). A large bunch of sunflowers at this time of year is always nice. Wines. HH: Your recipe sounds wonderful! I've just added it to my personal cookbook and put fig balsamic on my shopping list. I make a very similar recipe except I use baby kale, quinoa and dried cherries with feta and a similar salad dressing. Mtn: thanks again for your gift suggestion last month for my cousin (the author). I had two old photos of our mutual grandparents copied and I framed them in lovely 4x6" silver frames for her. One was taken on their wedding day; the other is of our grandmother at her coming out. Perfect gifts for my cousin! Lynn...See MoreDo you give/bring a hostess gift?
Comments (30)Seriously? Someone invites me to their home for food/fun/party but I should run by Walgreens and buy them a package of napkins or a dusty candle? I, for one, detest "hostess gifts". Flowers!, "How beautiful!" Now I gotta run to find a vase, the flowers for the party are already on the table. I got 50 people arriving so I really can't take the time to cut the ends in my kitchen, already full of food stuff. I'm trying to find which toilet is clean enough, out of the party trail, to put the flowers in until tomorrow. Ohhhhhh, and the candles and trinkets. I've probably already been dusting and cleaning for days for this partay. Someone shows up with a "hostess gift" that is going to need dusting, cleaning, pruning, feeding, whatEVER! I still have to be nice. Think about it, 50 people, say 20 couples and some singles. They all bring a "hostess gift". What are you gonna do with that "stuff" the next day even after you get done cleaning up from the party? Since I got there, I have your address, since I have your address, I probably know your name. I would send a card after the party for a big thanks. That's about as "old fashioned" as you can get. No, I will never "stop off" to get a hostess gift. It's the thought that counts....See MoreFavorite Hostess Gift
Comments (18)Funkyart, I think you could say that about almost anything, not just soaps. People bring us wine; we usually pass it along to neighbors because we so seldom drink it. A neighbor brought us a lovely bottle of port. I have no idea when we would ever open port, neither of us likes it. Someone recently brought me very nice local jams. My kids are weird and don't eat jam. I have it maybe once a month? Probably less Not sure what I'm going to do with those. All very nice gifts though! My general plan in choosing hostess gifts is a consumable so that the person never has to worry about using it or displaying it in front of me, something that does not need to be served at the event I am attending, something that does not require immediate attention, and something "nice." By nice, I mean it feels a bit posh and is attractively packaged. Soaps tick all those boxes (though I also do olive oil and vinegar and other more personal choices at times). If the hostess doesn't like guest soaps, I figure they are easily donated or passed along to someone else (or used in a bathroom the hostess doesn't use)....See More
LynnNM
8 years ago
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
8 years ago
flowerpwr45
8 years agocaminnc
8 years ago
IdaClaire
8 years agojlsch
8 years agoravencajun Zone 8b TX
8 years ago
PROMDLN
8 years agocaminnc
8 years agoco7740
6 years ago
maire_cate
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoco7740
6 years ago
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