This is day 18 in a 31 day series on hospitality. Start from the beginning here.
So, now that your guest room is well-appointed and your guest bath is well-stocked, let’s talk welcome gifts.
I like to leave a little welcome gift by the bed along with a brief little note.
It’s a simple touch that goes a long way in making people feel at home and loved.
My hospitality board on Pinterest is full of ideas but I’ll share a couple of my favorites. Don’t go overboard. This is a small, simple token of friendship and love and need not be expensive or overly formal.
via (this one may well get diy’ed by my girls very soon!)
I tend to go in cycles with gifts but for the last year or so my favorite has been the Tervis tumbler. It’s perfect for guests that are visiting here because they can use it for hot drinks (fill up with coffee in the morning before antique shopping) or cold drinks (fill with ice water before heading out on the boat). You can fill it with packets of propel powder of crystal light tea mix and then attach a cute little welcome note to the bag. These even make good gifts for men, especially when they have an orange power T on them!
Most importantly, keep it simple and look throughout the year for little things that would make fun gifts so that you’re not stressing every time someone comes to visit.
True story:: I bought the Tervis tumblers you see above for our July 4th house guests. I found them two weeks ago in the closet. I’m awesome like that.
Maybe they’ll all come back next year and reclaim their rightful tumbler.
Also, I’m so mad at myself for not taking a picture of the awesome welcome gifts that Adriane, Lauren, and Kellee left at our bedsides in Texas. I’m doing a whole post on Texas soon but suffice it to say, these girls thought of EVERYthing in the welcome gift. They even gave us baby swimmies to pack our wine in so we could take in our luggage. The best item of all? The picture frame signed by Todd Wilken and President Harrison. I’m still giddy! Thank you ladies. I’m pretty sure you may be part Southern!
Now, the best part of the post—-where you tell me what you like to give for welcome gifts!
p.s. Contrary to the above welcome note, my internet password is not ‘Honey Boo Boo Child.’ I just thought I should clarify 🙂
Love all these ideas – especially the Tervis tumbler with the Power T 🙂 I hardly ever have guests (hence why I am taking notes on how to do this hospitality thing) so I don’t have very many ideas for gifts. However, I have put together many a “Tennessee” gift basket and love using fun local products. I also like other themed baskets such as a book, book light, and handmade book mark; antique tea cup and saucer, tea tin, and tea strainer; beach towel, sunscreen and after sun lotion, etc. Thank you for this series. You are making me rethink hospitality and how I can do more of it in my life. Blessings!
Wow! Wow! Wow! Now if only I had a guest room!
I want to come stay at your house. lol
I’ve really been enjoying all of your hospitality posts! So very inspiring. Because of you I’m seriously considering turning our “bonus room” into a guest room. We meant it to be a room for the kids to play Wii, etc., but they never use it, so might as well convert it into something useful.
Dollars make me holla!
Sorry, that’s my only Honey Boo Boo-ism and I gotta use it somewhere!
Fun post! I often think of taking along hostess gifts like personalized tea towels and such, but aside from cooking special foods for our guests, I never really think of gifts… Maybe this will start a little guest-room revolution around here! LOL Cool posts, Edie! xoxo
We don’t currently have a guest room but I have always enjoyed giving little, thoughtful gifts. When I was teaching I would pick up small things the other teachers liked and put them in their mailboxes as a little surprise. Sometimes they were journals, pens,stickers, or a favorite candy bar. I love the gifts you’ve shown here. There are so many great ideas, especially the welcome baskets.
Ruth
A favorite magazine.
Love these posts….I do magazines mints water fun coffee mugs and special lotions and soaps….candles as well! Tervis tumblers are a great idea!
I live on a lake, so I think the summer guests enjoy beach bags, towels, sunblock, mosquito spray, and chapstick (Burt’s Bees). In the winter: candles (love Bath & Body Works), our local sorghum molasses, classic flavored K cups for the Keurig, and the inexpensive throws you get at Target because they are so soft and cozy.
I have a decent camera and a good picture printer that prints awsome pics and a cupboard full of of frames from TJ Max. The frame is the key, to give a picture without a frame insures that it will just end up in a drawer.
I’m so glad you figured out the frame said Todd Wilken and not Omar, which was the name I was pretty convinced he signed to it. Pictures to put in the frame to follow!
I love magazines, bottled waters, candy and snacks. This way they have something to read, drink, and snack on whenever they want. Little inexpensive monogrammed notepads are fun too! Thank you, Edie, so much for all of the care wisdom and thought you are putting into these posts. I am savoring every one!
I love giving gifts to my house guests or give hostess gifts. I’m still loving the Anthropolgie candle you gave me at Blissdom….love that scent, it’s almost gone though, I’d better go get more.