Part II of giving host(ess) gifts!

"It really can be complicated," is what I kept thinking after I published the last post. So, I've been drudging through the depths of my little brain to think of other, creative, unusual ways to thank your host!

So a few more...

I am such a fan of the 5 year journal that I found a few months ago. It may sound a little cheesy, but really it is the solution for people that don't "journal" (like me) and/or who just can't even MAKE themselves "journal" (okay, me again). It has a small-ish space for each day of the year, and a place to enter the year. It's been a great way for me to jot down one or two sentences - that's really all the space there is - about something I thought, learned, or did that day.

I also imagine it being a really good way for a parent of a baby or kid to remember all those little things that happen every day that end up being forgotten. "Ate first peas." "Copied me when I swore after dropping pan on my foot." You know, those types of things :).

Coming in around $17, in blue/black or red, a lovely little coffee table addition as well:

Are you a REALLY good party guest? The one everyone wants to invite? Me either. If you're not, maybe you want to give your host a small house plant that will live on so they CAN remember you? :) Kidding, kidding. We'll all remember you, promise. How about tying a lovely ribbon or fabric around a clay pot, write a small thank you note, and replace it in the little sticker-thing-with-prongs (technical term) instead of the card that says what type of plant it is.

(Then check and see if they kept it alive when you go to their holiday party the next year, of course....)

If you're going a little more "all out" in your host gift, I love Martha's idea about a morning-related gift. She has a lot in her basket that I may actually skip and replace, but I like the idea.

Besides the funny things you could add to a little basket (maybe one you get at Home Goods for $3.99? Of course!) like a little pack of Tylenol, etc., there are a bunch of inexpensive items that would be so nice for the morning after hosting a party: a foot bath salt or miniature nice hand lotion (after doing all those dishes!), maybe two wrapped home made (that you buy at the store of course!) scones or muffins, a nice individual-sized coffee grounds from the market, an apple & orange... you get my drift. It could go in a variety of directions!

Here is what Martha's looks like, which of course is lovely - of course! But it could be done any way to personalize it!