Creative Wine and Alcohol Hostess Gifts
Inside: Creative ways to up your hostess gift game from just the ho-hum bottle of wine! ➡
The beginning of December through Christmas day seems like a whirlwind.
The decorating. The shopping. The family activities.
It’s just nonstop things to do.
And it’s also the beginning of holiday party season. Figuring out what to take when you’re invited to a holiday get-together is just one more stressor, especially if you don’t know the host well.
I’ve found gifting alcohol to be the simplest solution that’s appropriate for almost any kind of holiday party (as long as you know the host or hostess partakes). It’s a gift you can tailor to their tastes and it’s something they can use instead of another tchotchke they probably don’t want.
And it’s fitting for almost any gathering – like a girlfriends gift exchange, a dinner at someone’s house, or a holiday open house.
But showing up with a plain bottle of wine is not very exciting. And let’s be honest, it comes off as a little generic, impersonal, and whispers “this required little to no effort on my part“.
Sometimes you want to make it more like a gift, especially during the holidays.
There are so many creative ways to elevate wine and other alcohol as a gift – and I’ve come up with eight easy and fun ideas for you to use right here!
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Let’s start with four for the hostess:
Prosecco in pretty bottles with champagne flutes.
The bottles that Prosecco and champagne come in now are so gorgeous on their own it’s almost a shame to throw them away. And most of my friends always appreciate a bottle of bubbly. This brand’s bottle is one of my favorites to gift. The bottle with all of its facets would look beautiful with fairy lights inside after it’s emptied. And it’s under $20.
I tie a pretty bow on it and usually pick up a pair of rhinestone encrusted champagne flutes at Homegoods to go with it. This hostess gift always brings oohs and aahs from the ladies. I had to sub in plain flutes for photo purposes but the blingy glasses really do add to the wow factor!
Cozy slippers with wine and chocolate.
Who doesn’t love a cozy pair of slippers with a glass of wine or bubbly? And what makes it better? Chocolate. There are so many cute ways to use this idea depending on your slippers and ribbon. Here I’ve tied a wine glass ornament on top with Christmas ribbon, tucked in a mini bottle of Prosecco, and paired it with a hazelnut chocolate bar.
Champagne with a cocktail cookbook.
For the champagne lover, this recipe book will be sure to please. Put it in a pretty gift bag or box along with a bottle of bubbly and some champagne flutes. I gifted these with a set of non breakable acrylic glasses to one of my girlfriends who hosts a lot of people on her patio.
Bath night basket.
And one more for the ladies – a wine bath basket. You can include anything with the wine that you might use to take a relaxing soak in the tub. Here I’ve included flowers, a candle, and a bath bomb. And the wine I have here is a rose’ (also less than $20) and is another bottle I love to gift because the bottom is a rose!
Bourbon with a decanter.
Here’s an option that might be more appropriate for the men hosting a holiday get-together. I love decanters so I always have my eye out for good deals. During certain parts of the year, Homegoods has these for $10-20. Bourbon is definitely having a moment right now so this gift might be appreciated by host or hostess!
Wine and cheese board.
This has a nice presentation that doesn’t add a lot of cost to your wine gift. You can usually pick up a pretty cheese board for under $20. Here I’ve put the wine and a baguette side by side on the board along with some yummy cheese.
I tied it snugly with twine underneath the ribbon. Then wrapped the whole thing with ribbon and twine and embellished it with rosemary and a jingle bell. (Hold onto the wine and carry this one flat!)
Wine and a tea towel.
This may be one of the most common ways to dress up wine but it is so versatile depending on what kind of towel you use! My favorite way to give wine this way is to wrap it up in a funny tea towel. (Am I the only one that laughs out loud and says yes! in the store while reading them?)
There are several ways you can find on the internet to wrap a wine bottle but this one is super simple:
- Fold the towel in half and center the bottle inside with the bottom down at the crease. Next, wrap one side over the bottle.
- Then roll the bottle until the towel is completely wrapped.
- Tie it in place at the top with a ribbon and fan out the top a tiny bit.
Easy peasy!
Cocktail in a box.
This last idea is one of my favorites. Include the recipe for a yummy cocktail with the alcohol, ingredients, and glasses. Or in this case I’m using this blingy martini shaker since I’m gifting a martini.
You can see how to make this particular delicious and decadent White Christmas Martini here.
If you’d like this free printable recipe card to include in your gift, you can find it in the subscriber only library in the footer menu. The password is in every email you receive from me.
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And lastly, if you have a really good friend (or you’re coming to visit me), bringing a bottle in one of these wine bottle chillers will always get you invited back:
Keep in mind these ideas aren’t just good for the holidays! Really all of them can be changed to suit anytime based on the trimmings you use.
And now that the pesky hostess gift is handled, you can stress about what you’re going to wear to the party.
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Thank you for the ideas.. simple but elegant!
Great ideas! Thanks for the inspiration. So beautiful!
Great hostess gift ideas. Hugs, Laura
All great ideas; love them all. I’d be happy to get any of these (but the bread would have to be gluten free lol).
Your home is lovely and those gift ideas are very nice. I got some great ideas
Geez, the presentation is equal to the contents. Only downside: I’d be tempted to keep everything wrapped as is and never uncork -:D
These are most certainly handy, Kate. I always struggle to come up with pretty hostess gifts that won’t just clutter up someone’s closet space, but these ideas fit the bill perfectly.