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With gift shopping, house decorating, and a whole lot of holiday cooking on the horizon, it’s easy to become overwhelmed with all of the looming to-do’s on your list. But, remember that it is important at this time of year ‘to spend time with your family and friends. With all of those holiday parties and get-togethers, however, you may need some new hostess gift ideas, lest you show up to the festivities empty-handed. In an effort to avoid last minute rushing around, plan ahead and have a few hostess gifts ready at the helm!
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This one is just beginning to sprout, so hopefully it’ll be in full bloom with plenty of life left before it arrives at its new home.
This year, why not give potted paper whites to your family and friends? There are a few advantages to giving paper whites:
1. You can make them ahead of time, and they’ll cheer up any home while they’re waiting to be gifted.
2. Paperwhites are a traditional Christmas plant, and they’re easy to take care of.
3. Gifted flowers are always a success because they continue to bloom for weeks.
To make these chic hostess gifts, you’ll need the following materials:
You’ll need:
3-4 red terra cotta pots, I used these in red
3-4 potted paperwhites
1 package sheet moss
1 package ribbon of your choice
a gift tag
scissors
A few notes on these materials: I used these red pots because I like their shape and color, but feel free to use any pot you like or ones lying around the house. Also, I like adding moss on top of the pot because it makes the plant feel more finished, like it just came from the floral shop. You can certainly omit the moss if you like. I used a homemade gift tag that I printed with my computer printer, but feel free to use a store bought one — also look for the downloadable gift tag here on the blog tomorrow.
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A little moss hanging over the edge of the pot is okay, moss grows where it wants after all.
Here’s the step-by-step:
1. Remove the paperwhites from the plastic pot and transfer them to terra cotta pot of your choice, adding or removing soil as needed.
2. Carefully place a few handfuls of moss on top of the soil, fitting the pieces around the paperwhite stalks. Press and manipulate the moss so that it fits to your liking.
3. Add a ribbon (and some ornaments if you like) and a gift tag to the pot.
4. Let it hang out in your house until you’re ready to give it as a gift.
Also, watch this video to learn how to care for paperwhites.
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My mom always wrote in gold pen on holiday gift tags, and I’ve adopted this tradition too. Gold feels so festive!
All in all, these hostess gifts break down to about $22 a piece. The pot was $10.98, the paper white bulbs were $9.89, the sheet moss was $3.97 for one package (which is enough for at least 4 pots depending on how heavy-handed you are with the moss), and I already had the gift tags and ribbon at my house so they were free. So if my math is correct, each hostess gift came to a grand total of $21.86, and hey that’s about the same price as the nice bottle of wine I would have gotten last minute. This pot is a heck of a lot cuter than a bottle of wine though.
As far as the time cost goes, it took me an hour to put together all four of these pots (not including the time spent buying the supplies and printing the gift tags). Not a super quick project, but not particularly labor-intensive either.
Would you try this next time you need a hostess gift, or do you have your own go-to for hostess presents? Or maybe you want to make a few of these pretty pots and keep them for yourself!
[Editor's Note: DIY Décor is a series about small, affordable design and décor projects for home and garden.]