Your Ultimate Guide To Hostess Gifts

'Tis a fun Tuesday because I have my gal pal Alesya visiting and chatting about hostess gifts.  Why did I invite Alesya to chat about hostess gifts?  Because I've dubbed her as THE BEST GIFT GIVER.  Seriously.  In the past 2 months I've received two REALLY thoughtful gifts from this sweetheart, and both made me hold my head in shame at my own lame attempts of gift giving (in a good and "I feel inspired" kind of way).  So read what she has to say because she's sharing a lot of good ideas.  Guarantee you'll leave here today brainstorming.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello LLL fans! I'm a big fan myself and honored that Chassity asked me to do a guest post.
Like me, I'm sure many of you are traveling this week or are attending a holiday gathering. The last thing on your list is the need for a little something to bring the hosts. Before you crack out yet another bottle of meaningless wine I have some suggestions.

The secret to any gift giving is to personalize. Here are a few places to get ideas:

1. Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest: People post things they like! If you were getting a gift for Chassity, you could head on over to her Pinterest page and see she loves this nail polish. Perfect.

2. Favorite Places: Does your mother-in-law love her trips to Florida? Bring her a beautiful SPF. Maybe your brother hangs out at the local watering hole. Give him your favorite craft beer. Or perhaps like our family your hosts root for one team like The Ohio State University. Then you can't forget the Buckeyes.

3. Event Help: Any hostess can use assistance as the clock counts down. If you're traveling, it's doubtful that you can bring a dish to pass, so use this trick from my Mom. Ask if you can bring the centerpiece. Then call the local florist and have it delivered before you arrive. If your family aren't centerpiece kind of people a nice large white poinsettia will also add festive touch.

4. Play Time: You can't go wrong by bringing something extra for the kids. As a parent, something small to keep them occupied but won't be messy will win me over too. My daughter is getting this sticker book to keep her busy on the plane.

5. Something Consumable: If you're at still at a loss about what to get, you can't go wrong with a gift that can be used up (aka doesn't have to kept for all eternity) and local. I love the sample pack from Charleston chocolate company Sweetteeth. My husband sends fresh local fish to his father. Anyone would adore some stationary from Sideshow Press.

Easy travels to you and your family this week. If you forget to bring a hostess gift, don't worry. I'm sure your safe arrival is gift enough!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Told you she's good.  And lucky for us gift giving is not the only thing that Alesya is good at.  She's also the girl behind Alesya Bags, the super cute yet functional laptop bag.

Photography by the amazing Charlotte Elizabeth Photo

Just in case you still need an idea for Christmas...

Thanks for visiting, Alesya!