Hostess Gifts

‘Tis the season for holiday parties!  I love parties this time of year because it’s always a great excuse to wear something sparkly!  I’m normally a jeans and tee kind-of-girl but it’s always fun to step out of my normal casual style for the holidays.  Most guest show up with a hostess gift, and probably 90% of the time it’s wine.  Of course, there is nothing wrong with wine but here are some other ideas.  These would also work for ideas for teachers and neighbors too.

• Anthropologie - I love all their unique dish towels.  They would be great alone or wrapped around a loaf of fresh bread from a bakery.  Also, their Volcano candle is my favorite!
• Aveda Hand Lotion or Bliss Hand Cream
• A baking cookbook with some cookie cutters or another baking tool wrapped to it.
• Coffee or Hot Chocolate with a travel mug, my favorite coffee is Counter Culture
• Stationary – check out two of my favorites, Smock and Lily Pad Paper
• A gift card to a local small business – small businesses are the backbone of this country, help support them by purchasing something from their shop or a gift card.
• Board games are always a hit.  Who knows you may even end up playing that night!  I just saw a new one that looks fun, Konexi.  Or for someone with young kids, a craft kit would be a good idea.
• Gift card to the movies – there are always a few great movies released around the holidays and it would be a nice relaxing date to enjoy after the party and holiday madness.
• Tervis Tumblers – Bed, Bath, and Beyond carries them in many patterns and sizes.
• Make a donation to a charity in their honor – donations to charities have been on the decline but you could help by making a donation to a charity of their choice.

For my daughters pre-K class I made mason jars filled with ingredients for them to make their own salt dough ornaments.  Instead of cookies in a jar, it’s a craft in a jar!  Perfect to do on a cold, wet day.  The only things I needed were mason jars, flour, salt, and then printed instructions to go along with it!

Here is how we made it:

• 2 cups of flour
• 1 cup of salt
• mason jars

Directions: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.  Mix the flour and salt mixture with 1 cup of water in a large bowl until it is mixed well and has a crumbly texture.  Then knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it comes together and is smooth.  Roll it out to 1/4″ thickness.  Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes or let your little one’s make handprints.  Poke a hole in the ornament and then place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Leave in oven until it has dried out, about 2 hours.  Let them cool completely then you can paint or decorate as desired.  Tie string through the hole you added and then hang from your tree or use as a gift tag on a present!

If you haven’t noticed already by the burlap background on the site and burlap ribbon wrapped around these mason jars, I love burlap!  And mason jars are one of my other favorite things!