Today kicks off the first of many gift guides! We are doing our gift guides slightly differently this year. You’ll probably notice there are fewer products featured, with an emphasis on supporting smaller brands and finding things that might not be featured elsewhere. Of course, there are a few finds from Amazon and department stores peppered in, but the emphasis is on smaller businesses. Gift guides have always been a labor of love for me, and this newer direction really energized me. Enjoy!
You will notice that many of these products are part of my Flagship Store. Flagship is a new affiliate platform I joined, and they are very small business friendly. I’ve added a separate “Hostess Gifts” tab to my storefront with more ideas. The cool thing is that if you buy multiple things from multiple brands, you can check out in one place, and shipping is free when you spend more than $75.
The best Host or hostess gifts 2024
The Berkshire Press Mini Notecards
The owner of The Berkshire Press is also my friend and graphic designer, Monica Ascioti! I love all of her products but for a hostess gift, these mini note cards are just the greatest. I am personally partial to the Fa La La La but these and these are also great. The smaller size is a great gift, or you can attach one to your actual gift.
Alexa Pulitzer Note Pad
My friend Nehal turned me onto Alexa Pulitzer’s brand, and I love everything she does, especially her long notepads—perfect for lists of any sort: to-dos, groceries, etc.! My favorite, of course, is Madame Kitty, but definitely peruse her site; there are so many good ones!
A Festive Ornament
I was really impressed with Parterre’s holiday collection this year. In my opinion, it’s their best one yet! This shell ornament is perfect. I also really love these matchbox ornaments; they come in all different cities. I bought one for Cape Cod, Charleston, LA, and New York. I have more ornament favorites in this blog post (and will be updating it soon with other favorites!).
Fun Matches
A while back, I had a party and my friend Pamela brought over a bottle of bubbly + these fun cat matches. I thought that was such a brilliant idea. (And I really, really love my cat matches. There are lots of other fun designs here. This matchstick holder is also really beautiful!
A serving set
I love these enamel spoons so much. They’d make a very fun gift.
A pretty vase, maybe with flowers.
I love the idea of bringing a pretty vase pre-filled with flowers or botanicals. Once, a friend brought me a vase filled with basil from her garden. I loved that! This marbled vase is a bit of a splurge for a hostess gift, but I included it anyway, as I just really love it! More really good vases at a more reasonable price point: this, this, this, and this!
herbivore’s coconut milk bath
Hosting can be a lot of work, so I also like the idea of leaving behind a little pampering goodie. This coconut bath soak is one of my favorites, and it’s a nice price point, too.
Edible Glitter
This is a fun little extra, clocking in at just $10. I received a jar ages ago in a cocktail-making kit and tracked down the brand. Happily, they sell on Amazon! It’s fun to sprinkle on champagne or in a pretty cocktail. I like to tie one of these onto a bottle of champagne.
Foodie Favorites
Peach Vinegar
This peach white balsamic vinegar, from a small business, is absolutely delicious. It somehow walks the line between sweet and tart. It’s perfect as a salad dressing ingredient or drizzled over a tomato and burrata salad.
Brightland olive oil
I love these olive oils so much. If it were me, I’d bring a bottle of the lemon olive oil (my favorite!). I also have some Brightland goodies in my Flagship store!
Red Clay Everything Salts
These are one of my personal favorite condiments. I literally put them on everything, be it cottage cheese, salads, or eggs. So delicious.
Glittery maple syrup!
This sparkly maple syrup (with edible glitter) is just fun. It’s always a crowd-pleaser, especially if your host or hostess has children. It is great over pancakes (of course!) but also in cocktails, over ice cream, etc.
Anything from Siesta Co
My friend Curry turned me onto Siesta Co, and I love everything they make. It’s perfect for parties, and I’m thrilled to have just added them to my flagship storefront. This Iberico ham, their citrus sea salt flakes, fiesta-sized anchovies… I could go on. It is all so tasty and is great because if your host feels like it, you can eat it immediately… or they can save it to enjoy later!
Disclosure: If you buy something through my links, I may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. I only feature things I truly love here. Thanks for your support.
wow that was the best gift guide I have ever seen. I love that you are supporting small businesses
Thank you <3