First thing this morning, as I opened up the local papers online over coffee, I was drawn to an article about hostess gifts for the holiday season. It went on about the folly of taking cut flowers to a hostess as she is in the midst of furious cooking and I sighed audibly. I'd been telling my kids this very thing for YEARS!!
When you take, as a little thanks for having us present, some pretty flowers cut and wrapped up in a cone from the flower stand. to a busy hostess, it is more than a touch annoying. Not only must the hostess aaah and thank, she must then drop everything, locate an appropriate vase (which she may or may not have), trim the ends off the flowers, arrange them, then deal with the MESS in her kitchen sink. It's both annoying and disruptive. There are so many other alternatives!
Try thinking of a box of nuts or chocolates, some fancy vinegar or olives, a tin of special tea, pretty guest soaps (I love the ones shaped like roses and one petal does just the trick for the hands), an interesting tea towel, or, of course, the ever-popular bottle of wine. Oh yeah, or special COOKIES, like some Scottish shortbreads in a tin form the grocery store.
Just don't bedevil the hostess with cut flowers! Of course, if you have the time and inclination, live not too far away, and have absolutely nothing else to do, you COULD take hostess the cut flowers early on in the day so she could tend to them at leisure before the time crunch hits, but that's often impractical.
Just thought I'd share this with you. I know that both Moore and Sundancer have plenty of experience with this, lol, but some of the younger sprogs here may not. And yep, I did send all 3 of my guys the article as an annoying reminder. :)
This is exactly why I save all of the vases that come with the flowers Jim and/or the kids give me!
Whenever I want to take someone flowers, I grab up one of those "free" vases, and put the new flowers in them, ends clipped and everything. That way, whoever is receiving them from me doesn't have to bother with it. I just did that a couple of months ago when I took flowers to the dollmaker in our club who's been holding extra workshops in her house. They've been great fun, and she always provides coffee, tea, and sometimes a hearty soup in her crockpot, to go with our pot luck, or bagged lunches. She's a very generous and sharing kind of person, so she more than deserved a little bouquet!! With a vase...
You're right about the challenge of hostess gifts, KaeEll. If it's a Christmas, I think it's nice to take an ornament for the tree, or special holiday candle. Food is always good too -- either the cookies you mentioned, or a quick bread. My sister and I used to make a wonderful honey walnut bread that people loved. (Hmmm... Come to think of it, I haven't made that lately!) I also think that potted herbs are nice. If it's still cold weather, they can be kept inside, then transplanted in the spring.
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"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
Moore, taking a vase from home is a wonderful way to present cut flowers, however, that takes FORETHOUGHT, lol. I think this caveat was intended for the people who stop, at the last minute, to pick up a little something so they don't walk into the party empty-handed.
Thanks for the tip ladies! Never thought of it that way! I've never taken flowers as a gift, mainly yummy goodies, and If I do want to do flowers, I'll remember the vase! LOL.
First thing this morning, as I opened up the local papers online over coffee, I was drawn to an article about hostess gifts for the holiday season. It went on about the folly of taking cut flowers to a hostess as she is in the midst of furious cooking and I sighed audibly. I'd been telling my kids this very thing for YEARS!! :)
People shouldn't show up early as a guest to someone's house either. If a host or hostess is furiously cooking and not quite ready yet, popping in early on someone is rude!
My mother would get upset that a certain sister-in-law of hers would almost always show up early. Like she was trying to catch her at something!
Kae I am going to post some of this on FB...we are getting close to that time and I want to make sure that none of my friends brings flowers to some poor woman while she is trying to get everything finished.
