What to give for an invitation to lunch or dinner?

As soon as we receive an invitation to lunch or dinner from friends, the first thing we think about is the following: what do I bring as a gift?

And so begins the frantic research on what to do: food, flowers, drinks, objects, clothing? And yes, it’s a big dilemma.

Let’s go in order for the various options and see the most correct, the least, and the ones that today give us the opportunity to choose an original idea.

A precise rule: never arrive empty-handed, because according to etiquette, bringing something is synonymous with thanks for the invitation received. Let’s start with the idea of ​​wines for dinner or spirits for after dinner, they are indicated only if there is a certain knowledge of the environment and the hosts, in a context of confidence and friendship and in which it is possible to prefigure the type of dinner that you are going to meet or you know, at least, the tastes of the participants. If you decide to show up with wines, you must foresee that it may not be open during the evening because it is unsuitable for the menu and because it may not be enough according to the number of guests; if instead you choose a liqueur for after dinner, you have to bring it to room temperature and, if the owner forgets to serve it, never remind him, it would seem that you have bought it for yourself.

Avoid gifts for the home or garden when you do not know the style of the apartment, but also knowing it, it is not certain that the choice is appreciated by the landlord.

The bouquet of flowers, avoiding to insert flowers with an equivocal meaning, is always an appreciable gesture, regardless of the contexts. But remember that a fresh bouquet of flowers could put the recipient in the condition of having to find a vase at a time when, perhaps, she is busy with the final preparations for the evening. Therefore, it is more suitable to present yourself with a plant, certainly not bulky, perhaps more uncomfortable to carry, but easier to place once you arrive at home.

Although it may seem an obsolete gift, the classic box of chocolates is a gift to be preferred over ice creams, sweets or fresh cakes that could interfere with the dinner menu chosen by the hosts or may be in an amount unsuitable for the number of participants if you don’t know it. Of course, maybe an elegant box with fine or artisan chocolates. If the guests are a group of friends, the gift in question can be agreed with the other guests of the dinner. This certainly helps to buy something that the hostess may already want and therefore somehow you need to do some espionage to understand what can be useful.

In order not to put other participants in the evening in difficulty, it is always advisable not to exceed in expensive gifts that could be out of place or make others look out of place.

Let’s move on to the originality point. Today the thought that the object itself is perhaps more important and therefore if we bring something that has been thought, organized, made beautiful, it will probably be appreciated even more. So, let’s try to give vent to our imagination, always with taste and discretion, and we invent gifts that are prepared ad hoc, for example of the desserts or biscuits made by us, or maybe an elegant bottle of our best country oil, and why not , elegant and artisanal packets of pasta from our land. All you need to demonstrate the passion and time spent in choosing our gift.