Host gift which ISN'T chocolate or alcohol or toiletries!

[hedgehoggle]

OR flowers.

I'm staying in the house of a family friend for a night to break up a long journey. I really want to give them a gift to thank them and was thinking some Hotel Chocolate and a bottle of gin. But I've since been informed they are off sugar/alcohol. They also work away a lot in a kind of "high flying" job so have lots of Molton Brown toiletry freebies around the house, so that sort of thing doesn't work. Plus, they are not in the house for stretches of time so I thought flowers would just end dead/another thing to sort out.

Any ideas?!

Yes I remember seedlip Garden being really nice! Tastes how you'd imagine, it gives "refreshing cocktails in an English country garden on a summer afternoon" vibes 🙃 I didn't try their other two but I'm sure they'd be just as nice!

A friend just sent me this which I loved! www.marksandspencer.com/medium-fresh-fruit-basket/p/hpp60264225

Are they giving you dinner? You could give them breakfast. I’ve done this a couple of times and it was a huge hit with my friends.

A little basket/hamper/tray
Fresh squeezed orange juice
Fancy coffee or hot chocolate (one couple got bottles of Starbucks lattes so maybe not that fancy)
miniature jars of jam/marmalade/honey
pastries or croissant
berries (mostly for decor)

A pot plant maybe.

Or flowers.

Flowers and local honey

Not for everyone they're not, can't have anything with pollen in the house at all not even for an hour or two without getting hideous migraines. Doing or giving them breakfast sounds good.

Lovely DF bought me 2 x lovely china mugs from Avoca and in each she popped a wrapped hand made soap. Really love them

Get her a bottle of fancy kombucha or a similar AF fizz. I don’t drink alcohol and I’d be thrilled with some kombucha. I really like the LA Brewery ones. They are also usually very low sugar too.

I was going to suggest tea towels. Do you know anyone near you who has their own hens, and take really fresh
6 eggs with you?

Some lovely stationery.

I’m going to stay with friends this weekend and have a similar dilemma, except it’s even worse as my friend’s husband has almost completely lost his ability to taste food/drink after catching covid a few months ago. Such a shame as they are massive foodies.

So hard to know what else to get. I’m flying (short-haul) so plants/flowers are a bit tricky.

I quite like the idea of a nice pair of mugs, maybe I’ll do that.

Best House presents I've ever received:

A jam spoon from another mum when I hosted the mums coffee morning
A gorgeous jug to use in the kitchen

Really good olive oil. Not joking. Even bog standard olive oil a rare treat now due to cost.

Flowers - that are fragrance free, no Lillie's if they have cats.

Flowers are the best gift as other than chucking them in vase they require no maintenance unlike house plants.

And they don't last forever so don't have to stay in my house.

A really good bottle of olive oil and same of balsamic.

I prefer a good old fashioned thank you card above any well meaning gift.

I think I'll go for a bottle of something very fancy non-alcoholic. Thanks so much for all your help all! I did ask the family friend's son for help and he suggested... a framed picture of myself and DH?! What an insane gift to give! Therefore I thought I'd turn to mumsnet for help

I love everyone who said a really good bottle of olive oil. You can come around to my house anytime! She's not into food or bits like that though, otherwise I think that'd have been such a lovely gift.