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Speyer Home hostess gift?


hugueys
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Our river cruise has a home hosted Kaffeeklatsch in Speyer. What would be appropriate as a thank you gift?

 

We went to the home hosted dinner in Speyer in Sept. and our family was quite well off financially. The husband was a painter and his wife an author. I would bring a bouquet of flowers or a box of candy...the same thing you would bring as a hostess gift in the US.

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We went to our home hosted Kaffeeklatsch yesterday in Speyer. While we wished we had brought something from home, we (5 of us) bought some hostess gifts in Speyer: jam imported from the UK, chocolates, and flowers.

 

If you've got a local product you're proud of, that travels well and you want to share it, by all means that would be an appropriate gift.

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I've been to a bunch of these, and try not to bring something that will clutter up the host's home. I've brought chocolate covered cranberries from my area, and recently have brought printed in USA kitchen towels with a recipe on them. They've been well received.

 

Thoughtful, different and sensitive....you must be from New England....cranberries are one of my favorite foods...chocolate covered or not...what a great idea!!! :D

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Germans usually bring one or two of the following: flowers, chocolate, wine. Buy all of it in Germany. German flower shops make beautiful arrangements ready for the vase. Bring nothing that clutters up the house. If you live in Hawaii, bring Kona coffee. :)

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Germans usually bring one or two of the following: flowers, chocolate, wine. Buy all of it in Germany. German flower shops make beautiful arrangements ready for the vase. Bring nothing that clutters up the house. If you live in Hawaii, bring Kona coffee. :)

 

Kona coffee is a REALLY nice gift!!! For anyone, but kind of pricey especially if you don't know whether your host family drinks coffee or tea. Only thing I disagree with is the wine...I don't like wine as a hostess gift because I always feel that to be polite I should serve it.....in place of or in addition to the wine I've already chosen...but candy and flowers are always welcome....especially flowers....but that's just me.

Edited by Hydrokitty
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If you've got a local product you're proud of, that travels well and you want to share it, by all means that would be an appropriate gift.

 

Agreed! We visited Norway last year and some gentlemen were kind enough to open the Scout Museum (Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are combined into one there) for us on a day they were not open to the public. We are from the San Francisco area and brought them Ghiradelli chocolate.

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Agreed! We visited Norway last year and some gentlemen were kind enough to open the Scout Museum (Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are combined into one there) for us on a day they were not open to the public. We are from the San Francisco area and brought them Ghiradelli chocolate.

 

If you brought me Ghiradelli chocolate, I'd open anything you wanted!!!! :D

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We're from Louisville KY and the specialty here is bourbon and horses. Wasn't sure of bourbon was an appropriate gift and didn't think I could fit a horse in my 26 Lb luggage limit. Thanks for all the help on this thread.

 

Horse could be a problem....I mean the over weight luggage fees would be more than the National Debt!!! As for the Kentucky bourbon....you never know...of course you couldn't carry it on...and one of the baggage handlers could remove it for some reason :D

 

Seriously though....something totally Kentuckian....maybe a bottle of mint julep or a coffee mug from the Derby.

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I'm not sure I understand the concept here. If I read the brochures correctly, this is an included excursion offered by a cruise company (and paid for as part of your overall fare). If that is not essentially the case, please disregard the rest of this post.

 

We take "bread & butter gifts" to homes we visit as guests and often receive them from our own visitors. That's simply a polite response to hospitality.

 

On the other hand, we (or those we visit) are not selling tickets and don't profit from the occasion. There is a difference between a social call and a paid excursion. The former merits a gift from the visitor; the latter is a purchase similar to buying a ticket to an amusement park attraction and does not.

 

If you consider the gift as a non-monetary tip to a local guide who has provided you an above-average experience, please continue the practice but treat (and discuss) it as such.

 

If you just enjoy doing it or it makes you feel less like a paying visitor and more like a guest, go right ahead.

 

In either case, however, please don't imply that it is in the same Emily Post category as social occasions with friends or relatives (unless you charge or pay your friends and relatives for visits).

 

End of rant. Thanks for asking.

 

Edited by Ka Honu
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All that you both say is true, and well put I might add. I don't know where or how it got started because none of the cruise literature suggests that you bring a gift....and you're absolutely right, the cruise line pays the host and in some cases provides the food. I have been on trips where the home hosted dinner is an optional (Russia) and you paid extra for it (we didn't) BUT...I still think it's a nice gesture to bring a little something for the hostess who, even though she didn't have to buy everything, did have to clean the house, prepare the food and clean up afterwards. However, no one should ever feel that they would be remiss if they did NOT bring a gift.

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never even thought about a gift...and have not seen any brought the couple of times we enjoyed a home hosted meal...not sure what I will do in the future....it might be nice if as a group the tour director could bring flowers or something...what if the entire group each brought a gift....could be a problem for the host trying to deal with the it!

 

Have taken things to schools we visited...

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I went to a GCT home hosted lunch yesterday. For the first time ever, I didn't bring anything. I'd noticed that less and less often were people bringing gifts. As the above poster mentioned, the hosts are being paid. We had a terrific time with our hostess in Croatia yesterday and I felt a little guilty. However, I'll not be bringing gifts again. She told us she'd hosted about 25 times this year. Think how the stuff would pile up!

Edited by Barrheadlass
Typo
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I was told that GCT was the first river cruise company to have a home visit as a regular feature of their cruises. And as H2Otstr notes, GCT suggests that one might want to bring a small gift. I gather (from friends who have traveled extensively in Europe) that it is the custom to bring a small gift to one's hostess - with the emphasis on "small" gift. I would definitely bring a gift again, probably flowers. We had an amazing visit with our hostess, and I think our freely offered gifts may have helped establish a rapport that enhanced our visit.

Edited by Sapphire73
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I'm not sure I understand the concept here. If I read the brochures correctly, this is an included excursion offered by a cruise company (and paid for as part of your overall fare). If that is not essentially the case, please disregard the rest of this post.

 

We take "bread & butter gifts" to homes we visit as guests and often receive them from our own visitors. That's simply a polite response to hospitality.

 

On the other hand, we (or those we visit) are not selling tickets and don't profit from the occasion. There is a difference between a social call and a paid excursion. The former merits a gift from the visitor; the latter is a purchase similar to buying a ticket to an amusement park attraction and does not.

 

If you consider the gift as a non-monetary tip to a local guide who has provided you an above-average experience, please continue the practice but treat (and discuss) it as such.

 

If you just enjoy doing it or it makes you feel less like a paying visitor and more like a guest, go right ahead.

 

In either case, however, please don't imply that it is in the same Emily Post category as social occasions with friends or relatives (unless you charge or pay your friends and relatives for visits).

 

End of rant. Thanks for asking.

 

 

As long as we're ranting today, COULD YOU PLEASE TURN OFF THE CONSTANT BOLDING IN ALL YOUR POSTS? It is a form of shouting, similar to what I just did above -- and it makes your posts very painful to read.

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