Creative Hostess Gifts Are in Full Bloom for Summer Entertaining
By Lori Steiner
Summer is a time when flowers and parties are bountiful. And gracious guests are always appreciated. While host/hostess gifts are not required, it is a very nice gesture to acknowledge your appreciation for the invitation and for your host’s efforts. Even the most casual pool party or patio dinner deserves a small gift.
One of the objectives in selecting a gift is not to create more work for the host. While a bouquet of flowers is lovely, it requires that the host find a vase and fiddle with the flowers instead of enjoying the guests. However, if you want to bring fresh flowers from your garden, put them in a vase or bring a flowering plant in a pretty pot. For more formal invitations, have an arrangement delivered the day before.
Enhance your host’s drink recipe library with a book on summer cocktails. Add decorative toothpicks, umbrellas or other fanciful toppers – and package them in a linen bar towel. Or tie together with a two-inch wide ribbon a packet of fun cocktail napkins and a small box of votive candles. Tuck a few swizzle sticks into the bow and you have a perfect cocktail party hostess gift.
Be creative and colorful. A little ribbon around the simplest thing makes it festive.
Matching a gift with your host’s interests provides an additional personal touch. If your host loves to cook, pick up a few small pots of herbs and place in a small basket. Or tie a sprig of rosemary to a bottle of balsamic vinegar.
For the gardener, arrange garden gloves around the outside of a potted plant, intertwining the fingers to hold the pot. Secure with raffia.
For the barbeque chef, pick up a bottle of gourmet barbeque sauce and a basting brush and pop into an oven mitt.
Entertaining is a part of the celebration of summer. Start planning your own get-together. Welcome your friends. Be their host. It’s summer. It’s your home.
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