Parties and Gifts

With the holidays approaching, the party invitations begin to arrive. I was watching The Chew the other day and liked the Clinton Kelly segment on what to and not to bring as hostess gifts. This is a departure from my usual Wardrobe Wisdom musings, but I think you will find his guidelines timely and helpful.

1. Do not bring a bouquet of flowers. When a hostess is handed a bouquet, she must leave her party in search of a vase, cut the stems, fill up the vase. . . Kelly suggests instead to send a pretty bouquet that day, already in its own vessel. Or better yet, send flowers the next day, along with a thank you note for the party.

2. Do bring a dish of something to eat if the hostess has asked you to. Otherwise, your dish may clash with her carefully thought out menu. A lovely hostess gift is a nice box of chocolates. Give the box to the hostess, telling her to enjoy the chocolates later.

3. Do not bring a decorative item unless it is an elegant holiday one that the hostess can use another time. On The Chew, the guest brought a great soup tureen in the shape of a pumpkin.

4. Do bring a bottle of wine but don't expect it to be drunk that evening. She has already chosen wine for her party so let her know the bottle is to enjoy at a later time.

I blush at the memories of bringing my host a big bouquet of flowers and hope to attend a lot of parties this season to make up for my many faut pas.