Gathering season is here, which means a lot of walking into other people's homes with something in your hands.
A bottle of wine is always welcome. I just think the host deserves something she'll still be using after the last guest leaves. So I teamed up with a few small brands I love, and we each picked the hostess gift we'd actually bring. Every one comes from an independent maker who cares about the details as much as we do.
From our studio: The Bordeaux Wine Carrier by GALE STUDIO
We will admit to a bias here: we designed the gift we always wanted to give. The Bordeaux Wine Carrier is how you show up to dinner. It's made of heavyweight cotton canvas with a leather snap tab and woven handles, with room for up to two 750ml bottles or one large champagne bottle. No paper gift bag, no last-minute scramble. The wine arrives protected and upright the moment you walk through the door. And because it's reusable, the carrier keeps going long after the bottle is opened.
Carry what matters, starting with how you arrive.
Shop The Bordeaux Wine Carrier
Embroidered cocktail napkins by Jeannine Rose of Sweet Humble Home
A host can never have too many beautiful napkins, and Jeannine Rose's embroidered cocktail napkins are the kind that make a gathering feel considered. Made with quality linen and carefully stitched designs, they work as well for a casual evening as for a holiday table, and they're enjoyed long after the party ends.
Baking mixes by Stacie Barry of Cassavaberry®
Every table has someone who eats gluten-free, and Stacie Barry started Cassavaberry so that person never has to feel like an afterthought. Her baking mixes are gluten-free, grain-free and plant-based, with no eggs or dairy and none of the guesswork: soft chewy cookies, fudgy brownies, flexible tortillas. Bring a box (or bake from one) and everyone gets to feel included around the table.
Refreshing Rosewater Spray by Brittny Johnson of The Trades of Brit
For the host who has everything, something small and sensory is a lovely gesture. Brittny Johnson's Refreshing Rosewater Spray is a light floral mist made with rose water and aloe vera extract, distilled in India from certified organic rose petals, with a delicate aroma long cherished in Ayurvedic tradition. A little luxury for a guest room, a powder room, or the host herself at the end of a long evening.
Coastal toile pajamas by Emily Greaney of Oyster and Arrow
For the host you are staying with, or the one who deserves a slow morning after the party, Emily Greaney's Oyster and Arrow pajamas are hand-illustrated with real Northeast coastal towns, from the Hamptons and Montauk to the North Fork. The coastal toile prints are OEKO-TEX certified and impossibly charming. A gift that says: you did the hosting, now you get the morning off.
Thanksgiving Honey Bundle by Sue Scott of Honey in the Hollow Bee Farm
For a Thanksgiving hostess, something useful beats something merely decorative. Sue Scott's Thanksgiving Honey Bundle pairs Cinnamon Creamed Honey (for warm toast or pumpkin bread) with Raw Wildflower Honey (for green beans or tea), plus a Cranberry Beeswax Lotion Bar for the hostess's hands. The honey comes from their own bees, bottled in small batches by their family in Pennsylvania.
Shop the Thanksgiving Honey Bundle
Beginner wool felting kits by Sharon Schatz of Sharon Schatz Design
For a hostess gift with a slower pace to it, Sharon Schatz's beginner wool felting kits are a calming, tactile treat, with everything needed to make something soft and lovely by hand, even with no experience. She also makes handmade wool-felted wall art, for the host whose walls could use a little warmth. A gift that invites a quiet hour, long after the party is over.
A note on shopping small
Every brand here is independent. When you order, a real person makes it, packs it and ships it to you. That's who I'd rather buy from.
Happy hosting, and happy holidays.
Rebecca Gale Noah
Founder, GALE STUDIO