Over 45 of the Best Hostess Gifts
I was taught when visiting a person’s house that I need to bring a hostess gift. But, the creative part of me isn’t always winning, so I selfishly wanted to put together a list of great hostess gifts so I always have a place to look for them. When a host or hostess is generous enough to have you and/or your family over (and in my case…that’s a lot of people), I don’t like coming empty handed. I want to make sure I’m bringing a the best hostess gifts any host will enjoy and appreciate.
About The Best Hostess Gifts
Before you decide on a good hostess gift, it’s important to remember who your hostess is. What do they like? Do they have dislikes? What is their style? Do they have any allergies? Remember that the best hostess gifts ever are the ones that the recipient loves. It’s also good to remember that these gifts shouldn’t involve a lot of fuss for the hostess. She should be able to take them and continue on with whatever she is doing and not have to tend to the gift immediately.
After talking with friends, there were quite a variety of opinions on the best ideas for hostess gifts. Some people preferred gifting and / or receiving consumable items, while others liked host gifts that were keepsakes and were able to keep.
I thought it would be helpful to break down the hostess gift ideas into a few categories for easy gifting and searching. Because these three seemed like a natural breakdown for hostess presents (click to jump to each section).
Consumable Gifts for Hostess
Wine or Champagne seems to be one of the most popular top hostess gifts. I recommend knowing what the hostess likes and bringing two bottles. One for while you are there and another for her and her family to enjoy later.
A bottle of her favorite alcohol was a close second hostess gift idea. It helps to know if she has a favorite drink, bring the ingredients for her to make it as well later.
Homemade candied pecans are an amazing and delicious tasty treat. My parent’s friends used to gift them to us every year and we always devoured them.
Macaroons are delicious crunchy and chewy cookies with a filled center that is just divine. Try to keep your hands off of them as you gift them to your hostess.
A fruit basket or bowl is an easy gift you can put together on your own, or purchase already put together. You just need to find the right basket and filling and stuff it full of the freshest, in-season fruits.
Fancy soaps are a nice touch the people don’t always buy themselves. If you are crafty, you can even make your own homemade soaps.
Cocoa Gift Set makes a great gift for one hostess or can be broken up into a gift for three hostesses.
A Ghirardelli Premium Collection will always be on the nice hostess gifts list. Why? Because chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. You just can’t go wrong with chocolate.
The Popcorn Factory Gift Basket offers a variety of popcorn flavors and options that will last a family for days. It’s a great gift for the entire family of a hostess that they can enjoy during a movie night or for an afternoon snack.
Homemade vanilla extract is another easy one that you can make at home with some planning. Then you can put it into a nice jar and dress it up with some ribbon and fabric and you have a very practical and thoughtful gift.
Homemade taco seasoning in a mason jar or pretty glass container is handy, unique and a great gift that will get used. Say goodbye to packages and hello to delicious meals.
Candles come in a variety of shapes, colors and fragrances, so the odds are in your favor that you will be able to find one or many that makes for great hostess or even host gift ideas. You could also create a basket or an arrangement of candles and holders to make it consumable and a keepsake gift in one.
A basket full of Splendid Emoji Pops would be a fun and unique way to spread joy in a hostesses house. They would work nicely in a fruit basket or all on their own with an assortment of emojis for every mood. You could even turn it in to a game.
Homemade treats are always a winner. From cookies, to easy turtles to easy pretzel treats, sweets make great host and hostess gifts. In fact, in the case of our house, the host is usually the one that ends up enjoying them all!
Coffee + coffee syrup can be used at the end of an evening, or set aside for the hostess to use at a later date. You could even pair it with a nice coffee or travel mug, so she can take her coffee on the road to work and it becomes a gift with a keepsake element attached.
Flowers in a vase because what makes them great hostess gifts is the vase. It makes them no-fuss and allows them to easily be placed somewhere as a decoration. Plus, the hostess has a vase to use later for future flowers.
Keepsake Hostess Gift Ideas
A Decorative Chalkboard is perfect for placing in a kitchen and writing the week’s menu or grocery shopping list in a nice and classy way.
Custom photo postage stamps might be hard for some to use, but they are a very unique way to capture a friendship and share them with the world, from the postal carriers and workers to friends that will see them.
With a Long Distance Touch Lamp you can light up a loved one’s life—from anywhere in the world—with two or more of these lamps that synchronize with a wifi connection. A friend will know you are thinking of them when the light changes color. Not only is this a cool hostess gift, but it captures a friendship for a lifetime.
Personalize stationary or a card set is such a great personalized gift idea. I guess technically, it’s consumable, but it will last for a while and it’s customized. I think card with a person’s last name, monogram or initial would make a great and appreciated gift.
Hand-planted herbs in a cute little tin planter or a couple would be handy. Something that doesn’t need immediate tending, but would come in handy for all cooking. Also, they usually smell amazing. Fresh basil, anybody?
Personalized jewelry dishes are so easy to come by and make such an expression. If you are handy, you can even make your own with a cute or cheeky saying on it. If your hostess is like me, it would be handy to gift two; one for the kitchen and one for the bathroom.
A Charcuterie board or Marble and Acacia Wood Cheeseboard is such a nice gift for people that love entertaining or love their cheeses. Pair it with some nice meats and cheeses for the hostess to enjoy later. Or bring it ready to serve and tell her it’s her hostess gift for after the gathering.
A monogrammed clutch is something that isn’t in every person’s closet. But, it’s a nice piece to have for nights out and pairing with a favorite outfit. Find her favorite colors and you’ve got a great customized gift that will come in handy on many occasions.
A diffuser + essential oils is one of my favorite things in my house. It makes it smell amazing, can have health benefits and doesn’t involve a flame or heat. Did I mention they smell good? This diffuser has a beautiful glass dome with an LED light that either changes colors or can be set to a certain color. It can put out some serious mist and distributes the essential oils throughout my entire living room.
A pair of gloves and a hat make me immediately think warm thoughts. These make good gifts for hosts and hostesses because pretty much everybody likes having warm hands and heads. You can really pick something that suites their personality and maybe even shop small and have them custom made.
Wine Stoppers offer so many options. I’d pair a cute or funny wine stopper with a bottle or two of wine. Something memorable (and small) with something consumable.
Photos from event would be gifted in the form of an IOU maybe in an empty photo album. Tell your hostess that you will take pictures during your event and after get the pictures processed and fill her album full of fun memories from an evening. Too many people don’t get pictures printed anymore and this is a trendy way to capture memories.
Picture frames are hard to come by at my house. They make great gifts. Either filled with a picture, or pull out the demo and write a fun note with a dry-erase marker on the glass. Then you’ve got a fun greeting and a gift for later.
Board or card games make great gifts for everybody. Not only can they be used after an evening or afternoon together, but the good ones get brought out again and again. There have been board games our family has played with other families or couples that we know are guaranteed to be a good time. Find your group game!
Serving trays or bed tables are something that I see all the time and think they are so perfect, but never commit to purchasing them. They make for great decorations yearlong or seasonally. Plus, they are functional…and might mean your hostess gets served breakfast in bed one day!
Trivets for pots and pans are useful to anybody that has a kitchen. There are so many times it’s nice to be able to set a pot or hot dish on a surface and have it protected. With a cute trivet, she’ll want to display it all the time, even without a hot pan on it!
Spoon holders are one of those items you don’t think about until you need one or yours is dirty. It’s nice to have a couple in rotation. They can have so much personality, too; an initial, a favorite fruit, with a fun print and more. It’s sure to fit into all decor.
Make a seasonal or year round centerpiece that can be featured on their table or a counter when they’d like to display it. You could also bring one with fresh cut flowers or plants.
High quality dish towels are another thing that so many people won’t buy for themselves but will be used again and again and again. If a family tries not to use paper towels, they might go through a couple towels in a day, so the more quantity and quality the better.
Coasters are fun to purchase and gift because you can go for so many different moods by what you decide to gift. You can go with coasters that have a picture or a pattern, or custom monograms, silly pictures or expressions. The options are limitless making it easy to find one that will work for all hosting occasions.
Baskets can be filled and themed with almost anything; from fruit to chocolate to wine to soaps and bath goodies. Plus, the basket makes a nice reusable gift once everything has been used up. I can always find a use for a basket.
Pocket printers are becoming very popular and easy to come by. Make sure to get a couple refills of the paper, and maybe offer to take pictures of the evening so the hostess has printed memories instantly.
Planted succulents or a potted plants help add oxygen to the air. Make sure to get a low maintenance plant, but one that is still really pretty to look at! I think I read once that indoor plants just make people happy. I’m sure there’s no science to back that up, but I read it somewhere, so it must be true.
Tote bags….one can never have too many tote bags. We use them for shopping instead of bags that can’t be recycled. The ones that are really nice to gift fold up into themselves in a nice little pouch. They come in so many prints and colors as well as fully customizable options. You can design your own many places, too.
Cracker trays (with toothpick holder) are great for people that love to entertain. Especially a fun one like this one that allows a person to display that enjoyment of all things wine while putting out a spread of crackers (and probably cheese, too).
Throw blankets never seem to go out of style or use. When it’s cold, you can layer them. They are great for sitting on the couch and relaxing with a loved one. Or for throwing on a bed for extra warmth in the cold.
Food storage containers always come in handy for any hostess. Odds are there will be leftovers and the host or hostess will need a place to put them. In comes Joseph Joseph NestLock containers. The problem with most storage containers is that they take up precious cabinet space when not in use and usually require the lids and bases to be stored separately – which makes finding and pairing both elements a hassle. With the unique design of NestLock, container bases nest neatly inside one another and lids clip conveniently together for efficient, space-saving storage. As each element is color-coded too, it’s very easy to match lids with bases when you need them. All containers feature lockable, airtight and leak proof lids that work in the fridge and freezer.
Or, if you don’t think there will be leftovers, bring a batch of homemade cookies or delicious pretzel turtle treats in one or more of the containers for after a get together. Take it up a notch by using your Silhouette to add their last name to the containers so they aren’t misplaced.
Experiential Gifts for a Hostess
Manicure / Pedicure Certificates might require being a little sneaky. When I asked for suggestions for hostess gifts, my sister told me she once gifted hostesses gift cards to the nail salon they went to. She asked where their favorite manicure was from because she “wanted to get one” and got them each a gift card to the place they frequented. Everybody appreciated that it was to a salon they already liked and was close to home.
Massage gift cards are great because hosting a gathering is usually a lot of hard work. What a great way to tell somebody you appreciate everything they did in the form of a massage and relaxing hour or so. Also, I think I know one person that doesn’t like massages…and if she is the person you are giving a gift certificate, I’ll make sure she knows I’ll accept it!
Handmade coupons for babysitting or a fun night out with a friend are great for friends with children. It is so hard to arrange a sitter and get out. Coupons for free babysitting and or a girls night out would carry a lot of weight with most parents I know.
Tickets to their favorite sporting event or concert make a great gift. This, of course, requires careful planning, but could be a complete win with your favorite host or hostess! I think it would be a bonus if you were going with them at a later date, too. A bonus evening with friends would be a win for me!
Movie gift cards make for good hostess gifts to have an evening out at a later time. Movies are expensive, but having them covered and maybe some treats while there would excite most recipients. It’s a nice gift that will often be enjoyed by more than one person, too. Plus, movie popcorn, soda and candy…they just taste better!
Many of these would be great ideas for hostess gifts. It’s always nice to bring a little something to show appreciation to your hostess.
Serving platters are the best!
These are all great ideas.
These are great gifts!
I always like to bring a hostess gift. Even something small shows appreciation and good manners. Great ideas! I like to give fancy soaps.
Ooooh Movie cards!! I like that one! My favorite thing is a tea towel, either plain or surrounding the upcoming holiday. Mine wear out so fast because we use them constantly!
These are great ideas of hostess gifts, simple but thoughtful. I just love the single idea so it’s hard to choose for me.