<p>D will soon be spending several days visiting a college friend at the girl’s parents’ home in another state. She’ll be flying there and is trying to pack light so she doesn’t have to check a bag. I’d normally suggest a bottle of wine for the parents, but that won’t work on a plane. Flowers would be nice, but would be awkward to carry,might not survive the trip unscathed, and for all I know may violate some arcane airline security rule. Can anyone suggest a modest gift that will show her appreciation for the visit and not take up much room in her bag? She’s financing the trip herself and can’t afford a grand gesture like taking them all out for a meal. I’m trying to brainstorm this, but nothing is coming to mind.</p>
<p>My kids often bring small gifts representative of our home area. We happen to live in resort area and a place that many tourists visit. We live in Vermont and my kids bring Vermont style gifts. Perhaps there is something that is a memento of your home region?</p>
<p>You could always ship the wine a few days before she’s scheduled to arrive. It would be a fun idea to send a couple of varieties of wines from your local winery (if you live in such an area).</p>
<p>My son sent flowers ahead to his friend’s mom’s house one time. I think it worked out well, and flowers are very easy to send through an online florist almost anywhere.</p>
<p>My Dd’s bf brought chocolate for us when he visited. I think he checked with my D first to make sure we liked and could eat it.</p>
<p>D’s friend came to stay with us once. She already had a thank you note written by the time she left. THAT was worth a ton of gifts!</p>
<p>If she’ll be there for several days, could she just buy some flowers when she’s there? I bet her friend would be happy to drive her to a grocery store where prices are reasonable. She could give her hosts the flowers along with a thank-you note toward the end of the visit. </p>
<p>I always love a gift of flowers, and offered along with a note – hard to beat that! In our area she could find something really nice (three bunches of tulips; or two bunches of gerbera daisies; or maybe a bunch of stargazer lilies) for about $12. I bet her friend could steer her to the right spot.</p>
<p>We have an upscale grocery nearby with a huge floral department. They’ll re-wrap and combine bunches of flowers, removing the cello and replacing it with tissue, tied with a ribbon. If your D happens to have some colored tissue and ribbon, she could stick them in her bag along with a piece of stationery and envelope (or card) and put together a nice presentation, but even without the presentation it’s a thoughtful and lovely gift.</p>
<p>My D recently went with a friend and stayed in the Chicago area with friends of ours for a weekend. She didn’t want to spend a lot, but wanted to give them something for their hospitality. She actually ended up making homemade freezer jam and muffins that she prepared before she left and could bring in the car - and it became the first breakfast of the weekend for the household. I know your D is flying, but perhaps she could pick up some pastries and make the coffee one morning (maybe the last morning) of her trip as a thanks?</p>
<p>Re: the wine. Be sure you know the parents drink wine before you purchase. We may be in the minority but a bottle of wine at our house would have no purpose!!!</p>
<p>While I drink wine, I drink only a limited variety of wine and no red wines. I have a cupboard full of red wine that were various gifts over the years. I would not send wine. Personally, I would never expect a “hostess gift” from a college kid. A thank you note mailed after her stay would be more than enough for me. If she wants to give something, I agree with a “local” gift from your area and have it shipped to arrive a couple days after her stay.</p>
<p>A couple of times I’ve sent my kids off on a similar visit with a cookbook from the area where we live. I’ve also received such a book from one of my kids’ friends. In that case, it was called The Best Places Seattle Cookbook and I enjoyed it very much.</p>
<p>If her hometown is in an area with notable foods or a coffee table book about the region, those can be nice. One hostess gift I am still using 10 years later is a nice set of dish towels, in this case they were subtly Easter and another set was loudly a foreign country (homestay students), I actually use them and fondly recall the guests.</p>
<p>Agree with abasket - no wine unless you check - I always donate those gifts to the neighbors. I like the cookbook idea!</p>
<p>My D took a small wooden bowl she purchased in the gift shop of our local arboretum to BF’s parents the first time she visited them. The BF usually brings me chocolates, that is always appreciated. :)</p>
<p>Thanks for all the ideas. I like the idea of picking up some flowers while there (though in my house out two cats would turn any floral arrangement into a scene of mass destruction in no time–it’s not necessarily a perfect choice for everyone). Our area doesn’t really have any local specialty that would make a good gift to travel with, that is, assuming bringing a couple of live lobsters on the plane would be frowned upon…</p>
<p>One of D’s college friends visited for several days last year and neither brought a gift nor sent a note. I have to assume she was raised by wolves. Here in Old Fogeyville we expect basic etiquette from anyone that age.</p>