Holiday Hostess Gifts

We've pulled together a few fun hostess gifts if any of you are traveling over the holidays and want to impress your mother-in-law, or even if you're just going to visit friends for a Christmas party, it's nice to bring a little something.  A few fun (mostly yummy) ideas below...

 

For your fun, cocktail loving friends, a specialty mixer would be fun and less predictable than wine.  (It's so fun how popular cocktails are right now!)  Jack Rudy Aromatic Bitter's is perfect for the bourbon loving host, and Elderflower Tonic is perfect for someone who prefers something a little lighter.  (Aromatic Bitters is also the perfect stocking stuffer for the bourbon loving husband who enjoys Manhattans and Old Fashioneds!!)

I LOVE these Nest candles, and it would be fun to pair them with a cute stack of matches.  The candles look understated and elegant with any hosts' décor.

Have you guys ever tasted Callie's Biscuits?!!  If you're staying with someone for any length of time, it would be nice to surprise them with a batch of these frozen biscuits.  They'd probably be happy to have them to feed the crowd while company is in town, or they can save them for later as a special treat.  These are so good, and they're available in so many flavors - buttermilk, black pepper bacon, cheese and chive, country ham (my grandfather's favorite!) and cinnamon.  mmmm....try to find a local place to pick these up though.  Much less expensive than paying for shipping and paying for two dozen.  Charlotte folks, they have them in the frozen section of Reid's.

Along those same lines as the yummy biscuits, I think anyone would LOVE this Mo's Bacon Chocolate Chip pancake mix by Vosges.  I put this in J.D.'s stocking one year at it was sooo good.  Pair it with a cute bottle of maple syrup, and if you're really nice you could even treat your host by making breakfast for everyone one morning.

Olive oil is the new wine when it comes to hostess gifts I think.  It's easy to bring, portable and you can pick it up at the last minute.  This bottle from Sunday Suppers is beautiful and would wow any host, but you can find beautiful, reasonable options anywhere.  We're partial to Pour Olive around here.

Any other fun ideas?  I've made myself hungry!  If you can't tell, I think that consumables are totally the way to go on hostess gifts.  Also, 9 times out of 10, a bottle of wine or champagne is my go to. :)

~Mary Keller

P.S.  We did a similar post last year and I still love all of these ideas too!  Bourbon Balls are definite crowd pleasers!!