That Girl Guide

Some people may feel that inviting someone to your home for a fabulous home cooked meal is gift enough, but your guests will truly appreciate a little memento of their Thanksgiving Feast.  I’ll include some ideas for favors below.

1. Send them home with little pumpkins hollowed out with a small flower arrangement in them.  You can even use them as part of your centerpiece and have each guest take one with them when they leave. 
2. You can also send them home with a slice of pie or cookies baked especially for the day.  Make sure you have little boxes or bags tied with festive ribbon.  No one will brag about the favor they got in a ziploc bag. 
3. Print your favorite Thanksgiving recipe on velum paper and tie it up like a scroll.  What could be a better momento than that?  You will be getting credit for this thoughtful gift every time they make the dish for their family and friends.
4. Send them home with a Christmas tree ornament or a holiday scented candle.  I love Christmas Eve by Yankee Candle.  Admit that you are already thinking about Christmas as you are drying the Thanksgiving dishes – I know that I am. 

It is a lovely gesture for someone to invite you to their home for the holidays.  You should thank them by giving them a gift that they won’t need to attend to when you give it to them. 

1) A special occasion coffee – perhaps Jamaican, Kona or something flavored for the holiday such as Pumpkin Spice or something apple or cinnamon flavored.

2) A box of chocolates

3) A bottle of champagne.  We love to have a champagne toast on Thanksgiving to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season.

4) Send a centerpiece beforehand for them to use on Thanksgiving or send a Christmas themed centerpiece a few days afterwards.  Take their personal style into account and it is probably best to go with something simple rather than something bright orange or red – unless you know them well enough to know they would like those colors. 

5) Bring some cookies on a plain but elegant serving tray that are already arranged.  Don’t bring something that may clash with the rest of their serving trays.

6) Send them a gourmet cheesecake.  It will help with dessert and you can have it delivered directly to them.  Be sure to let them know to expect it.  Visit http://eclecticgrocer.com/cheesecakes.html for a great selection of holiday flavors. 

I have found the most fabulous mascara to ever exist.  Diorshow Mascara is wonderful.  It makes your lashes long and thickens them as well.  At $24 it is reasonably priced and well worth the small investment.  I used to use Chanel mascara, but I have to admit that Diorshow is a superior product and it costs less.  This makes a great gift too.

We recently purchased a memory foam mattress topper and it is absolutely fabulous.  You place it under your mattress pad and many of them come with a covering as well.  You can have all the benefits of a memory foam mattress for a fraction of the price.  It helped with my back pain and I slept like a baby the first night we had it.  I also have a memory foam pillow which helps immensely with my neck and back pain.  Now we don’t want to get out of bed in the morning!  Order one for yourself or give one as a gift.  The recipient will thank you again and again. 

It is always hard to decide what to bring to thank someone for having you to their home, whether for dinner or for a long weekend.  My best advice is to take the time to tailor the gift to the recipient.  For instance, it is alright to bring a bottle of wine if you know they like wine – and it is always more meaningful to bring one you know they will enjoy.  If you know they like vodka, make a flavored vodka such as cherry or limoncello.  Making a homemade gift can also be nice, a tin of biscotti or chocolate chip cookies is always appreciated.  Or bring them a little gift basket – coffee themed or pasta themed with homemade or your favorite jar of sauce.  Flowers that are arranged or a plant can be used as a centerpiece will brighten their day.  If you are not able to bring something you could always show your appreciation by picking up coffee and pastries for everyone or take them out to dinner or lunch.  There are so many ways to thank your host. 

Many people are great at buying a fabulous gift. I think that it is important to think about presentation i.e. wrapping paper and ribbons. After all the wrapping paper or gift bag is the recipients first impression of the gift. So take time to buy some silk ribbons and keep a supply of them ready for the next gift giving occasion. You will be so surprised at the reaction when you dress up the gift.