Bring Happiness Wherever You Go!

Every house guest brings you happiness. Some when they arrive, and some when they are leaving. - Confucius

So true! So true!

Don’t you love it when someone opens their home to you and invites you over for dinner or a party? It’s such a fun way to spend time with friends. If you're a lucky duck and invited over, start things off right by arriving with a gift for your host. Two of the most common go-to gifts are flowers and wine.

If your host is a flower fan, we suggest having flowers delivered the day before or after the event- all the work is done and all they need to do is find a place to display the beautiful flowers. We like this approach more than arriving with freshly-cut flowers in hand. A bouquet of flowers, no matter how beautiful, creates immediate work for your host. They have to stop what they're doing to find a vase, fill it with water, add the food, trim the stems and arrange. Phew ...

If your host is a lover of wine, you may want to arrive with a bottle of wine in hand. If you do, make sure to beautifully wrap it so it’s crystal clear you don’t expect them to serve it that night. Your host likely has already selected wine to be served that evening. We like to say when handing over the wine, “we thought you would love this bottle. Save this for a night you can relax with a glass.”

While flowers and wine are the most common, there are endless array of host gifts to choose from. Most hosts would enjoy receiving a delicious tin of tea in pretty packaging or specialty honey with a honey dipper. Coffee beans and fresh muffins for the next morning, linen guest towels, candles, cocktail napkins, olive oil, or cute note cards are all wonderful options.

A host gift is simply a nice way to say, “thank you for your kindness and opening up your home." Your gift need not be expensive, just thoughtful and beautifully wrapped. Think about their interests and tastes, and select accordingly.

And lastly, the absolute best items to bring along to someone else's home are a smile and a happy disposition! They will help you help make the evening a roaring success.

Have a marvelous week -