Gracious Guesting |

Gracious Guesting

I always want to be known as a gracious guest. When someone is kind enough to have you over for dinner (or some other occasion), unless it’s close friends who you dine with often, it’s best to arrive with some type of gift for the host. Since I am a last minute person, I often end up grabbing a bottle of wine from our apartment and running out the door. It really is the thought that counts so it doesn’t matter what you take, but there are so many more thoughtful and unique gifts, that can be given instead of wine. And even small things like tying a ribbon around your gift or putting it in a cute bag, add tremendously to the gesture.

When should you bring a gift?? To a casual dinner party (gifts aren’t typically taken to a formal dinner party), a housewarming, a weekend visit, or if someone is hosting a party in your honor.

When deciding what to bring, it is always good to keep your host’s taste in mind. But, if you aren’t close enough with the person enough to know, there are plenty of general crowd pleasing gifts. And you can’t go wrong with a homemade gift because that wins you all the thoughtful points!

Here are a few ideas I have come up with and hopefully this will get me out of my “only taking a bottle of wine” rut…

Coffee from your favorite local cafe

A cute tin of Olive Oil- a friend of mine recently brought this to us when she was staying for the weekend!

Your favorite chocolate

Tea (even better if you tie a little strainer on top with a ribbon)

Your favorite ice cream with an ice cream scooper

Hand soap and a candle

A unique bottle opener

A pretty salt

Cocktail Stirrers

And like I said earlier, you can’t go wrong with something homemade. Homemade granola with the recipe is a great idea. If you bring a homemade food item like granola or cookes, always include a recipe card.