In Brazil, you never show up to someone's house empty-handed. Even if it's just a few friends for dinner, you bring something. It's a way of saying thank you for cooking, for setting the table and for having everyone over.
Our favorite gifts to give (and get) are the ones that get used again and again, so every time she sets the table she thinks of you. Here are the ideas we keep coming back to.
A few quick rules
Bring something that doesn't make work for her in the middle of the party. Flowers are lovely, but she'll have to stop and find a vase. A wrapped gift she can open later is easier. Pick something she'll actually use, and if it's handmade or comes beautifully packaged, even better.
Embroidered cocktail napkins
These are our go-to. Each set has six linen cocktail napkins with hand-embroidered designs and scalloped edges, and they come in a clear acrylic box, so you don't even need to wrap them.
The fun is picking one that fits her:
- Happy Hour for the friend who always has a drink ready when you walk in
- Mahjong Night for her weekly game
- Sardines, Lemon or Palm Tree for anyone who loves summer by the water
- Honey Bee for the gardener
- Merry Wreath, Candy Cane Lane or Hanukkah for holiday parties
A hostess apron
Whoever is hosting is usually the one in the kitchen all night, so an apron feels like a little acknowledgment of that. Ours are made from a heavy fabric in prints you'd actually want to wear, like Capri Lemon, Coquette Pink Bow and Tuileries Garden.
If she has a little one, each print also comes in a kids' size, like the Capri Lemon Little Hostess Apron. Our girls wear theirs whenever they "help" in the kitchen, and a matching pair makes a really sweet gift.
A set of napkin rings
Napkin rings are one of those things people love but rarely buy for themselves, which makes them a great gift. A set of four is easy to wrap and doesn't take up any room.
- Buriti Flower, handmade in Brazil from palm fiber
- Infinity or Wave, in handmade cotton cord, if she likes a neutral table
- Rattan Fish or Turtle for a beach house
A few more ideas
Our Buriti Stitch Coasters are handwoven with a pop of colorful stitching, and they get a lot of use. Ruffled kitchen towels come in sets of two, in prints like Capri Lemon, Rosemary and Nautical Lobster. Tie them with a ribbon around a bottle of good olive oil and you're done. And if you really can't decide, there's always a gift card.
Gifts we like to put together
- Cocktail napkins with a bottle of wine
- A mommy apron and a kids' apron in the same print
- Buriti napkin rings with the buriti coasters
- Kitchen towels with an apron
It doesn't need to be big. It just needs to say thank you.
Com carinho,
Ana & Ana
