Unconventional Host/Hostess Gifts - Page 2

Chances are, with the holidays safely behind you, your ideas for clever gift-giving have run dry. The thing is, the party invitations aren’t going to stop. So we’ve come up with more than 15 host gifts that are sure to get you invited back. Rather than showing up with the expected bottle of wine or bouquet of flowers, surprise them with infused olive oil or a Bloody Mary mixer. Each of these gifts is sure to make your host feel special.—Denise Shoukas

Sweet Gifts

You don't have to worry about someone bringing the same gift—Dolce Pizzelles (starting at $16.95; dolcepizzelles.com) are one of a kind. These pressed waffle cookies are handmade and filled with chocolate hazelnut or peanut butter cream filling, folded and hand-dipped in chocolate, and then topped with nuts or sprinkles. Sisters Linda Freed and Debra Latynski started selling them at a local flea market and have turned them into a booming cookie business. Choose from a variety of reusable tins that will best suit your recipient.

The Tuscan Spelt and Dried Fig Cantuccione ($9; piazzaitalianmarket.com), made by The Scrumptious Pantry, is a once-baked giant biscotti loaf. The packaged whole loaf makes for more dramatic presentation than your classic box of cookies. The once-baked process means it is moist and soft; fans of crunchy biscotti can slice and toast a second time for homemade biscotti. The Cantuccione is handmade in Tuscany by sisters Niccolina and Giovanna, who are smiling on the package label.

The Frosting Queens' Frostings ($8.95/1-lb. pouch, $24.95/3-pack gift pack; thefrostingqueens.com) make great budget gifts. Your host can use them for another event or just use a spoon in a quiet corner and treat herself. Italian American sisters Angela and Annette Del Biaggio rely on the same high-quality ingredients their family used for generations. With no additives or preservatives, it’s a feel-good gift. Flavors include Vanilla Buttercream, Caramel Spice, Chocolate Cabernet, Milk Chocolate and Buttery Peppermint.

While chocolates are always thoughtful, Sweet Marguerites Umami ($9; sweetmargchocolates.com), a five-piece gift based on the principles of the “fifth taste,” will make for an excellent conversation starter. The fifth taste is the full-mouth sensation you get from savory foods such as sweet potatoes, green tea, soy sauce, meat and parmesan cheese. The assortment includes Malted Bacon, Plum Sake, Sweet Potato Caramel, Sesame-Tahini and Green Tea & Ginger, and each is made by hand by the Swoboda family in South Portland, Maine.

Houston-based Somebody’s Mother’s Two Jar Gift Tube ($25; www.somebodysmothers.com) is filled with two jars of an award-winning chocolate sauce that can be enjoyed warm over ice cream, at room temperature fastened to fruit, or cold straight out of the jar. Launched in 2005, Somebody’s Mother adds no preservatives or additives to its sauce. Check out the Season of Recipes campaign online, which is inspiring customers to use these sauces in dessert creations, drinks, coffee beverages, cocktails and more.

Make your health-conscious host feel like a superhero with delicious, low-calorie Goji Gourmet Cookies ($4.25/8 cookies, $5.50/16 cookies; gojigourmet.com), available in flavors like Goji Ginger Walnut, Goji Chocolate Chip and Goji Almond Oat. Loaded with such healthful ingredients as almonds, turmeric and wheatgerm, the star ingredient in each is the goji berry, a fruit high in antioxidants and rich in vitamins and minerals. Founded in 2009, Goji Gourmet cookies are now available in specialty stores throughout the country, or you can order online.

Sweet Mavens bakes a line of artisan soft biscotti, made into a perfect host gift—the 10-piece Gourmet Biscotti Sampler ($13.50; sweetmavens.com). It includes individually wrapped biscotti, two each of Nonna’s Anise Almond, Divine Indulgence Chocolate, Mint Chocolate Chip, Golden Apricot White Chocolate and Cranberry Ginger. Packaged in a cellophane bag with red bow, it is attractive both in appearance and in price and includes a card to complete. Chef/owner Anita Carpene's Italian heritage is represented by her nonna's (grandmother) biscotti, but she also makes spicy and mild pecan treats.

Organic Wililaiki (Christmas Berry) Honey ($10/12-oz. jar; $15/44-ounce tub; royalhawaiianhoney.com) is light amber in color, has a slightly grainy texture, and its flavor has undertones of brown sugar and molasses with a subtle spicy finish. Wililaiki, Hawaiian for Christmas berry, is gathered by bees from the Christmas berry shrub, a native of Brazil introduced to Hawaii. The honey is one of the richest in antioxidants and is 100 percent raw, certified organic and certified carbon free. Founded in 2005, by co-owners Rebeca Krones and Luis Zevallos, parent company Tropical Traders buys honey exclusively from the Hawaiian Queen Co., owned by beekeeper Michael Krones, Rebeca's father.

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