The key to being invited back is simple: good behavior, good conversation, and a good host gift.
Hosting is an exhausting, laborious, and sometimes thankless job, so even the smallest gesture can go a long way. The perfect gift says thank you without adding clutter to the home, and centers the host (not the person gifting it). These foolproof, but not cliché, host gifts will help you express gratitude to every type of host when that standard bottle of wine won’t cut it.
Coasters With The Mostest
Coasters are the kind of thing everyone needs and almost no one thinks to buy for themselves. Which is exactly what makes them good host-gift material. Consider this set from the MoMA Design Store functional art you can and should put a sweaty beer on.
Buy: $45
Play Games
Nobody needs another game box to toss in a drawer. But one that disguises itself as a handsome linen-wrapped book? Yahtzee.
Buy: $49.95
Get Picnic-y
There are host gifts for the home, and then there are host gifts that make the outdoors feel a little more like home. TBCo’s recycled wool picnic blanket does the latter.
Buy: $136
House Warming
Anthropologie’s scalloped glass candle warmer lamp melts candles from above instead of relying on an open flame, releasing the fragrance while doubling as a rather nifty little lamp. It’s cozy, useful, and just unusual enough to prompt a “Wait, what is that?” the first time somebody sees it. The holy trinity of housewarming gifts. Amen.
Buy: $32
A Little Pot
Flowers are nice. Plants stick around. The Aglaonema Beauty from The Sill brings plenty of color without requiring your host to suddenly become a horticulturist. Its pink-and-green leaves make it decorative enough to stand on its own, and it’s relatively forgiving when it comes to care. In other words, you’re giving them a houseplant, not a new responsibility. A subtle but important distinction.
Buy: $79
