Thinking of what you can bring to a friend’s housewarming or dinner party, other than dessert or wine? The best gifts are items others love but hesitate to buy for themselves.
Here is a list of elegant and thoughtful gifts you can bring to your next at-home dinner gathering with friends!
1. Scented hand wash
Scented hand wash for your host’s powder room makes an excellent gift, especially when at-home dinner parties become the norm.
The lasting effect of a lovely scent on guests’ clean hands will make the short trip to the powder room an experience to remember.
Tip: Bigger doesn’t always mean better! A smaller bottle of hand wash from a luxury perfumery or body care shop outshines a larger, but generic bottle of handwash. The quality of the ingredients used will have an effect on one’s skin (no one wants powdery dry hands after washing) and also on how the scent lingers.
2. Linen napkins
A linen napkin, plain or printed, elevates the entire feel of a meal hosted at home.
Cloth napkins require intentionality in their placement and presentation as part of dinner table settings. They project a sense of elegance and formality to every meal and are generally favoured for their softness and absorbency.
Tip: When in doubt, choose plain and neutral-coloured napkins in sets of 4 to 8. Light and plain coloured napkins offer the most flexibility for use.
3. Stemless wine glasses
We love stemless wine glasses because of their elegance and versatility.
They make water, kombucha, wines, whiskeys, sangrias, cocktails and even a homemade iced latte look Instagram-worthy on a dreary work-from-home Monday morning.
Tip: Shatter-proof plastic wine glasses are a good alternative, especially if your hosts have pets or kids. They resemble the real thing but are much more durable than traditional wine glasses.
4. Bamboo sheets
Bamboo sheets and pillow cases exude luxury with their silky softness and elegant sheen.
Reward your dinner host for their efforts by gifting them sheets which allow them to drift right into sleep after an exhausting night of fun. Your hosts will thank you for this unexpected gift.
Tip: If a full set of sheets is too daunting, introduce your hosts to these luxurious sheets in the most discreet of ways – by gifting them fitted sheets or pillow cases which do not alter the colour and look of their existing bedroom décor. Check out our range of bamboo sheets here.
5. Fresh flower arrangements
Nothing spruces up a home more than a vase of freshly cut flowers.
They allow your host to wake up to a beautiful sight in their living or dining room the morning after, and remind them of the wonderful company they had the night before.
Tip: Head to your neighbourhood florist and pair a bouquet of fresh flowers with a simple glass vase. Alternatively, reuse an old peanut butter jar and place a few lovely stalks of flowers in there.
Ren W lives in sunny Singapore and writes about life and love. She appreciates the arts, architecture, and the little luxuries in life.
Through her posts, you will find Ren musing about her conversations with others, her observations on things occurring around her, and her views on trends developing around the world.
Ren writes casually. She occasionally eschews the rigidity and prescriptiveness of the rules of written communication, as she believes that the written form is but a poorer cousin to the intensity and expressiveness of the spoken word.
