What's the Most Interesting/Best Gift from a Guest?

[Alexandra316]

So I got a funny gift from a guest yesterday: it brightened up my very long day. I don't get gifts often, and when I do it's usually wine (one of the many benefits of living in wine country).

The guests yesterday left me flowers (always a favourite) and this gem:

I was wondering what interesting, cute, funny, or meaningful gifts other hosts had received from their guests.

[Robin4]

@Victoria567

You know, isn't it amazing, the guests who left that bottle stopper were totally over the top! He was a South African antique dealer who has a masters ship captains licence, even built his own boat which he sailed over the Atlantic, and she is from Mt Gambier in the south of South Australia and wishes desperately to leave a past life behind....even changed her name from Jan to Zharn!

If anyone else had given it to me I would probably have been a bit pissed off, and seen it as bad taste, but, from Ian and Zharn, it was probably, the perfect gift!

It can pee in the bottle, I don't mind, as long as it doesn't decide the bottle is a good place to re-......nah, better not go there....some of the wines that turn up here are bad enough anyway!

Victoria, I was probably a 'wine snob'  but my sister Tina stopped me in my tracks! They were coming to a regular dinner one night when she said...." What can I bring Rob" ? to which I said..." Naah it's all under control Tina....oh maybe just bring a botle of wine"!

She said..." Oh do I have to, whenever I bring wine to your place I think it is never going to be good enough!!"   That hit me right between the eyes and l changed my drinking habits right there and then....I don't care what it is, it will be great!

Victoria, having said that, I do actually have a very good collection of wines. I have around 400 bottles of good red wine on average! I won't say I am a wine connoisseur but I do like good wine and all the wines I like are priced above $50 AU per bottle...but you have to be street smart Victoria!

I am in a wine auction site called Langtons online, and I am in anything up to 80 wine auctions a day. I nominate the wines I wish to bid on and I set a ceiling price of $15 per bottle. Now nobody gives good wine away, and $15 per bottle is not going to be a successful bid, by and large!............But, but, but....maybe it's a Friday night about 11.45pm, the boss has taken the secretary away for a weekend, the wife has found out and she says....Mate, your wine cellar is history!!!!!

And I will pick up 100-120 bottles of outstanding wine for $15 per bottle!

Like I said, you have to be street smart!

Cheers.....Rob

[Mel101]

We have been given wine, Dutch cheese (not uncommon in these parts) and vodka. My favourite has to be the guest that brought home made jam, and a cucumber (for the guinea pig)!

[Karen-and-Brian0]

We don't often get gifts - a bottle of wine occasionally has been about it. But one of our very first guests (from Ireland) sent this book to us a few weeks after his stay, with a lovely inscription. I treasure it.

[Terri38]

Sometimes it's the simplest gifts that make the most impression.

I had a young lad from Germany stay with me for one night.  It was a last minute booking as his car had broken down beyond repair halfway down the country and he ended up having to pay top $$$ for a flight to Auckland  in order to make his flight home.  He had a buyer lined up for the car here in Auckland too!  So, with earning zero $$$ from selling the car and having to spend $$$ for the flight, he was broke.
He was a lovely guest and really wanted to leave a gift for me.  I told hime of course, that it wasn't necessary, but he insisted.  When I went to reset the room after his really early check out, I found his gift and a note: "Thank you for taking me in and making me less stressed.  Please accept this.  It's all I have for you."
The gift?  His lunch box and a small bag of clothespegs.
Reminds me of the Biblical story of The Widow's Mite.

[Alexandra316]

@Terri That's really beautiful.

[Sandra126]

@Terri38, super adorable. Cherish it.

[Lisa723]

Well the best gift ever left for us was a very nice man's watch. They left it under the bed, so it was kind of like an Easter egg hunt!  😉

[Sandra126]

Errm, @Lisa723, would that not qualify as lost property?

[Lisa723]

@Sandra126 of course. In this case, as in all others, I messaged the guest (twice) offering to ship it to them, and they never replied.

[Sandra126]

@Lisa723, lucky you! I have some unclaimed things too hard to post, a nearly full bottle of gin for example. Will eventually get round to drinking it.

[Lauren259]

I frequently have beer left in the fridge, which I either pay forward or sub out and pay forward.  And, given that our only recreational pot shop is right down the street, I get pot from many of the kids who are smart enough not to fly home with it.  Fave gift though?  A sweet couple loved my vegan baked goodies and bought me assorted baking dishes . . . with lids!  So unexpected whenever anyone leaves anything - and yet so thoughtful! 

[Victoria567]

Apart from my lovely drawing given to me by Myriam from Holland, I have had some unexpected wonderful appreciations of thanks from several of my guests.

This season a fabulous bottle of very fine malt whisky from a lovely young Canadian couple.

A beautiful orchid and a super thank you card from a great older couple of Germans.

Previously I’ve had bottle of maple syrup from a couple of Canadian youngsters.

A set of hand crocheted maple leaf mats from another couple of friendly Canadians.

A bottle of fine Talisker Malt whisky from a couple of surgeons from the Deep South, in America....we cracked it open and had a great evening together.

A little porcelain bell from a couple of Berman bikers.

Postcards from various German guests.

Regular Postcards and emails from a fabulous American chap who travels the world over as a freelance cameraman for Fox and CNN.

Note books and pens from our young Australian guests

Continuing correspondence via email from the talented Dutch Miriam.

Regular emails from a lovely American couple of retirees keeping me up to date on their exciting adventures.

Really fancy packet of ground coffee from a young couple from America.

Emails and continuing correspondence from a Japanese guest who stayed this season.

Emails and continuing correspondence from a lovely older couple from New Zealand.

Emails and continuing correspondence with Myriam in Holland.

Emails and continuing correspondence with a lovely Dad and son who are businessmen from Holland.

Yes having a higher price and being really picky about my guests, ensures that I do my best to weed out the cheapskates but unfortunately some of the entitled ones I had this August, managed to slip through the net......must have been a full moon this August😉

[Huma0]

The gifts I've most commonly received are flowers or wine, tea, cake and souvenirs from the guest's country.

The most generous gift was from a lovely gentleman who bought me the most beautiful Korean tea set. You could tell just by the packaging that it was something really special. I was a bit overwhelmed. The really cute thing was that the colour exactly matched my kitchen decor. I wondered if he had referred to the listing photos when choosing it.

The most useful gift I received was a very pretty guest book, which is used frequently.

The strangest gift was some tea from South America, which the guest told me contained real cocaine. I don't think it does (not sure how he would have got it through customs), but I haven't had the nerve to try it yet, so can't say for sure!

[Ange2]

@Huma  That tea brings back memories of my many trips across the Andes. If the tea is Mate de Coca it is made from the the leaves of the coca plant.   It is legal in some S.American countries to grow one Coca plant in your own garden for personal use, it's a sacred plant, used ritually and medicinally by many people.  The tea is also served at all restaurant stops on the way up and over the Andes. I have drunk it when going over the Andes – it had no noticeable effect on me past I didn't suffer from altitude sickness. When I didn't drink it, as an experiment, I had a terrible headache.  It's as common a sight in grocery stores as English Breakfast and Earl Grey is in the UK.

[Sally359]

I have been hosting for for approximately 5 months. So far, I have been left a $7 tip (college students), a jar of honey, a $25 tip, and a potted Calla Lily. 🙂 Always an unexpected treat to have extra thoughtful guests go out of their way to show gratitude. 🙂