Hostess Gift Ideas: Handmade Pieces a Host Will Actually Use

You've been invited to dinner, a holiday party or a weekend away, and the easy answer is another bottle the host may never open. A handmade table piece outlasts the evening: a set of bamboo snack baskets for the host who always puts out nibbles, a woven basket carrying a loaf you've brought, a pair of placemats, or four woven coasters for the host who pours the drinks.

Every piece below comes from our own shop and is handmade in Thailand. The ideas are grouped by what the host does when guests arrive, each with its listed size or set, who it suits and the catch to know first. Left it late? The coasters and snack baskets both come as sets, so one choice makes a complete gift.

Hostess gift etiquette

A hostess gift is a thank you, not a contribution to the meal. A few habits keep it that way.

• Bring it ready to keep. Wrap it simply, in brown paper or cloth, so once it's unwrapped it can go straight onto a shelf.
• Say it's for another day. Tell the host it's for them to enjoy later, so nobody feels it has to appear on the table tonight.
• Add a short note. One handwritten line about why you chose it says more than a tag with only your name on it.
• Bring nothing that makes work. Skip anything that has to be refrigerated, arranged or finished in the kitchen while they're cooking.

For the host who always puts out nibbles

Some hosts can't let a guest sit down without something to pick at. Give them something to put it in.

Set of five bamboo snack baskets

The set of five bamboo snack baskets is handwoven, each basket 21 x 7 cm, and listed for nuts, crackers and sweets. It suits the host who has little bowls dotted along the table before anyone has taken their coat off. The catch is care: the listing says to hand wash them gently and dry them thoroughly, so they're for a host who doesn't mind washing by hand.

DAORUNG rattan tray

The DAORUNG rattan tray is a handwoven natural rattan tray-style basket, sold in Small (15 cm) or Large (20 cm), or as a set of two. Its listing suggests serving fruit, which makes it a fit for the host who keeps fruit within reach all evening. At 1 cm high it's a flat tray rather than a bowl, so think a few pieces of fruit, not a heaped bowlful.

Wa Rin Ram Pai rattan basket

The Wa Rin Ram Pai rattan basket stands 15 cm tall and 12 cm wide, and is listed for cutlery and napkins as well as bread and snack serving. It suits the host who runs a help-yourself table, where forks and napkins need one place to live. It's taller than it is wide, so it stands upright like a cutlery pot rather than lying flat like a tray.

For the host who sets a proper table

A host who lays the table properly, napkins folded and glasses lined up, is the one most likely to keep using table pieces long after your visit.

A pair of woven placemats

Our placemats are sold one at a time, so the gift is two of the same. Three looks:

• YA NI SA: a round water hyacinth placemat, 25 cm across. It suits a host with a small round table, or one who likes a mat under a serving dish. Care, per the listing, is a wipe with a damp cloth.
• RUN CHI TA: handwoven sedge from Thailand's Isaan region, 45 x 30 cm, and its listing mentions dinner parties. It suits the host who seats people for long dinners. It's the largest of the three, so make sure their table has room for two side by side.
• PHAK RA DA: handwoven bamboo, 40 x 27 cm, in a woven boho pattern. Set that against RUN CHI TA's 45 x 30 cm and the size of their table before you choose between the two.

Two placemats won't dress a table for six, so give them as a pair for the host's own breakfasts, or as a start they can add to. There are more looks in our woven placemats.

Woven coasters, set of four

Coasters are for the host who has a drink in your hand before you've sat down. Two looks, each a set of four:

• PI MA IA coasters: four round woven coasters, 10 cm each, for a host who would use them every day as well as at parties. They're the smaller of the two sets, 10 cm against Lavila's 12 cm, so picture the host's widest mug before you choose.
• Lavila coasters: four coasters in natural woven fibre with a black woven centre and a natural edge, 12 cm each. The black centre is a definite look, so they're for a host whose table already has some dark in it.

Either way, four coasters cover four glasses, which suits small dinners more than big parties. More designs are in our coasters.

For the host who bakes, or buys good bread

PASUB seagrass basket with a loaf inside

The PASUB basket is woven from seagrass, 32 x 20 cm and 8 cm high, with sturdy handles. Tuck in a loaf you've baked or bought, wrapped in a tea towel or a paper bag, and the host has bread for the morning and a basket to keep.

It suits the host who always has bread on the table, or the friend who bakes their own. The listing presents it as a storage basket, so the loaf is your addition, and storage is the job it keeps once the bread is gone. Check your loaf against those 32 x 20 cm before you wrap it. For more options, see our bread and serving baskets.

For the weekend host with a guest room

NEE RA NA bamboo tissue box cover

A weekend stay calls for a gift for the house as well as the table. The NEE RA NA tissue box cover is round, made of bamboo and about 12 cm, and its listing suggests it for guest rooms and bathrooms. It suits the host who keeps a guest room ready, fresh towels and all. The listing says it fits standard tissue boxes, but boxes vary, so it works for a host who buys the usual kind. For a bigger gift, add the DAORUNG tray above, which is also listed as a guest bathroom tray.

Choosing for the host you know

Think back to the last time you ate at their table. Bowls of nuts before dinner point to the snack baskets; a carefully laid table, to placemats or coasters; good bread, to the PASUB basket with a loaf in it; a made-up guest room, to the tissue box cover. For a new home rather than a dinner, see our guide to housewarming gifts in woven rattan and bamboo.

Hostess gift FAQs

What is a good hostess gift for a dinner party?

Something the host can keep for their next dinner that asks nothing of them tonight. Table pieces fit well: a pair of placemats, four coasters or a basket for bread or nibbles. Match it to what you've seen them do at the table, wrap it simply and add a short note.

Should a hostess gift be opened at the party?

There's no need, and a host in the middle of cooking may prefer not to. Hand it over at the door, say it's for another day and let them put it aside. If they do open it, don't expect to see it on the table that night. A gift that waits for a quieter moment still does its job.

What do you give a host who has everything?

Choose something that adds to what they already use. Placemats or coasters in a different weave give a full table a new look without crowding the cupboard. For a host with a guest room, a small piece for that room can be the one thing nobody else thought to bring.

What's the difference between a hostess gift and a housewarming gift?

A hostess gift thanks someone for having you over for a dinner, party or weekend, so keep it small and easy to put away. A housewarming gift marks a new home, so it can be something for the home itself, like a storage basket. For that occasion, browse our handmade housewarming gifts.