I think the OP is flying…and that limits the those of things she can carry with her.
Honestly…
Either take them to dinner…or mail a consumable thank you gift when you get home.
Stonewall Kitchen( online) has some very nice gift baskets. If you are looking for really nice towels, Neiman Marcus online has a lovely selection. Frequently you can find them on sale.
Once sent the hostess 6 bottles of her favorite wine after I got home through a winery.
I keep scented candles and nice soaps on hand for hostess gifts. Marshalls and Homegoods have good special soaps and candles selections. We live on the Chesapeake so sometimes pull together a local treasures bag or bucket with Old Bay seasoning, crab crackers and crabby bibs. A good book can work too or a nice board game. Books might seem to be personal but there are plenty of books which have good generic appeal such as ones on travel and interesting places. Gift cards to the movies or dinner out…
ChoatieMom, you and your son are welcome to visit us in Maine! 
Interesting to see how many of you dislike scented candles. I’ve always thought of them as harmless and since they are consumable, good as a house gift. I guess I should rethink that. When I mention soaps, I am talking about the very nice soaps which can be a treat or something a hostess might put in their powder room. Sometimes I order monogrammed soaps.
Also interesting to see no one opposes bringing/sending wine. Not everyone drinks.
I was given a pretty little tea towel a few years ago and have not even taken the tag off of it. Towels-tea towels, bath towels, beach towels-you risk not matching someone’s decor.
I’m not a fan of wine–given or received or anything scented because I and many are highly allergic. I’ve always enjoyed being treated to a meal or having one prepared for us (especially if they clean up afterwards and buy the groceries). We’ve done that as house guests.
Good of you to take note about the candles grandscheme. I think that many are bothered
by fragrances and I do not use scented soaps either. I sneeze badly if near anything of scent and
really dislike the smell of lilies or dying roses.
Everything in our home is scent free including my make up.
It is tough as just enough folks enjoy scents but then there are the rest of us…
I find myself rarely shopping anymore as so many of my favorite boutiques have scented candles
and my last hold out decide to sell scented lotions. I mainly shop, even for clothes, Amazon and Zappos.
No smells!
The thing about wine is that even if you do not drink it you can still use it as a donation to a charity basket
or for a gift when you go to dinner or when you have wine drinking guests.
Local handmade chocolates. A nice brand of liquid hand soap (Kiehls or Williams Sonoma or the like). A flowering plant like an orchid in a beautiful pot (not cut flowers). Beautiful pot holders/mittens (they get so dirty, new ones always appreciated). A batch of brownies baked in beautiful stoneware that they get to keep. Obviously alcohol for folks who appreciate that (esp if you know their favorite libation).
I laughed at this. I used to work at a company and we always had to stay at Sheraton hotels. A co-worker claimed he loved it because he could bring monogrammed soap to his wife, 'S’ue.
I like the idea of showing up with local consumable goods such as jam/jelly, chocolates shaped like lobsters from ME, real maple syrup from VT, taffy from Cape Cod, depending from where you hail. I also pick up the check one night at a place that fits my budget. A bottle of wine from a local winery is nice too. There is a winery in Truro where the bottles are shaped like the Truro lighthouse which are very cool and the wine is drinkable lol.
Adding to the choir. I do not like scented…anything. If someone gives me a candle, or soap that is scented…it is immediately given away to a friend of mine…who happens to love these things.
We are having company almost every weekend this month and into mid-July. We do NOT expect a “gift” from any of our guests. And to be honest…we don’t need anything that will sit in our house.
First person bought a six pack of their local beer, and a nice spring flower bouquet.
Person here now, nothing…but he was flying. He offered to get something…and we said…no need.
Next guests will be from out of the country. I’m really hoping they bring NOTHING.
Last guest is a favorite relative. She is our guest…and we don’t expect a gift or want one.
Some of these folks have taken us out to dinner at other times.
We could start another thread about thank you hostess gifts that were useless…but really…it’s the thought that counts!
I sort of figure if they don’t drink they can bring it (wine) to a party. But I wouldn’t bring wine to someone I knew didn’t drink. Our main hostess gift is taking whoever we are staying with out to dinner. Recently someone from CA who was having dinner with us brought some fancy dried fruit - I thought it was an excellent hostess gift - light, easy to bring on a train and local produce.
I would think if you are spending a week or a weekend with someone in their home, you know them well enough to know whether or not they drink alcohol, right?
People bring us bottles of wine, or beer all the time. I don’t drink either. DH does. When the friends are here, we will serve the gift with a meal we make usually.
And my friends KNOW this.
@thumper, you should start that thread!
This week’s guest just took us out to lunch to thank us for having him as a guest…and for DH loaning him a bicycle for the week. Perfect!
Wine and paying for the restaurant tab works well for us. Of course we help with clean up after meals and any other tasks we can.
Add me to the chorus of ‘no candles’. Not only might I not like the scent but, honestly, I just don’t use candles. Every now and then a tealight or a taper on the dining table but not the kind of candles I’ve seen as hostess gifts. I’m with others who suggest consumables and/or taking the hosts to dinner. And I always strip my bed and have often offered to get the wash started but no one has ever taken me up on anything beyond taking the linens to the laundry room.
Oh, just remembered, last time we had house guests, they ordered a gift basket and it arrived the morning the morning they arrived. It was Thanksgiving and, even though H and I didn’t really care for what was sent, we put it out with the appetizers and guests enjoyed it.
Two friends of my daughter are staying here at our vacation place (in our guest house). They took us out to dinner tonight. They made reservations at our favorite restaurant (asked where we’d like to go). I put them in the category of excellent guests–they don’t need to be entertained. They just asked for suggestions and then went out on their own.