<http://schema.org/articleBody>
" It doesn&amp;#039;t show much imagination to bring flowers or wine when you&amp;#039;re invited to dinner. What&amp;#039;s more interesting? There&amp;#039;s nothing wrong with bringing flowers or wine, but it&amp;#039;s how you deliver them that can make a difference. It&amp;#039;s awkward for a hostess who&amp;#039;s greeting guests at the door to be handed a gorgeous bouquet of flowers that needs arranging. In France, people often give flowers but have them delivered either early the day of the party or the day after, so the hostess has time to arrange them. When it comes to wine, as with any other gift, I never bring something that the hostess feels she has to serve at the party. I might bring a bottle of my favorite wine or Champagne, but it&amp;#039;s never chilled so she knows to save it for another occasion. But I actually prefer to bring something the hosts can enjoy the next morning, such as a pretty bag filled with homemade granola, or a homemade coffee cake and a can of Barefoot Contessa coffee. Or I make big batches of orange marmalade to bring as hostess gifts. It&amp;#039;s personal, it&amp;#039;s not extravagant, and it shows that you really appreciate the effort that it takes to organize a party. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.housebeautiful.com/entertaining/holidays-celebrations/q-and-a/a59/barefoot-contessa-host-gifts-0406/>