gift horse

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nothing pisses me off more than seeing christmas and holiday decor out and about even before halloween.

(ok, i lied. things which piss me off more: my waistline, drivers who refuse to use their blinkers, old navy commercials, the waiter bringing me flat water when i clearly asked for sparkling 
(i said "con gas"!!!)...

i digress.

the day after halloween, my inbox was flooded with the 

first wave of this year's onslaught of 

holiday deals/gift ideas/party dresses/etc.  

all of this has me freaking out a little bit

--i have got to get on it with my cards! gifts! i'm living across the country from everyone...just how am i going to do this?!--

but also has me excited. 

i truly love the holidays. 

my family schedule is always jam-packed with fun events 

of memory-making material, and i do my best to 

decorate/cook/craft up the season. 

in that vein, 
(and because when i went to the halloween party armed with a bottle of veuve to give the hostess, people looked at me funny--and not because i was dressed like sexy dorothy), 
i thought i would share with you some of my favorite hostess gifts, including some new ones i'm going to use this season, and get your opinion on the act itself. 

do you normally give a hostess gift when attending 

a (holiday or otherwise) party?

what is your favorite thing to give? to get?

here are a few of mine:

 

1. veuve clicquot brut yellow label 2. st. germain 3. two hands shiraz 4. knob creek bourbon 5. avion tequila (exposado, silver, or anejo)

you can never go wrong with a nice bottle of booze.

unless, of course, the recipient doesn't drink. so yeah.

poilâne french bread.

you can order a fresh loaf to be shipped overnight for about $35bucks. it is an extravagance for sure, but for the right recipient and special occasion, it would make an impression, and be a thoughtful (and delicious) gift.

 

1. votivo 2. balenciaga 3. tom ford 4. diptyque 5. temperley

6. d.l. & co. 7. fomasetti 8. d.l. & co. 9. seda france 10. koff

the left side was curated solely on scent; 

these are my faves, & they are delicious.

the ones on the right are showstoppers as far as candles go.

gorgeous!

(now if someone could send me one of each of these, that'd be great. mmmmkay? thanks.)

those are my top three simple hostess gifts... however, i often like to create custom baskets/bags for that special event. 

they are, in fact, kind of a signature of mine, 

and i really love creating them. 

the key is to tailor it to the recipient, as with any gift; i'll show you what i mean soon. 

stay tuned...i've got to go untangle the spider webbing from our front gate, take the spiders and pumpkins down, and start planning our thanksgiving dinner!

xo