I’m right in the thick of holiday parties held by friends and family! My mom taught me never to arrive empty handed, so I’m on the search for frugal hostess gift ideas to bring. Here are my favorite ideas:

5 Frugal Hostess Gift Ideas

1. Personalized Dish Towel

photo from Cottage and Vine

Adding a bit of flair to a plain white dish towel is a great and inexpensive way to give a thoughtful and useful gift.

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2. Homemade spice blend

photo from 5 Dollar Dinners

Spice blends are an easy way to personalize a present, and because they’re blended together the spices you work with don’t need to be top shelf or top dollar.

3. Sriracha Salt

photo from boston.com

Our friend Melissa from Shoestring Magazine recommends making your own sriracha salt as a last minute gift idea. Since we’re pretty big fans of this spicy sauce, we’d have to agree!

4. Sweet and Spicy Nut Mix

photo from Smitten Kitchen

I brought these to a Thanksgiving potluck last month and they were a huge hit. Easy to make, and so pretty in a mason jar. And there’s nothing better than gifts in a jar.

5. Cheap wine

photo from Food & Wine and Cono Sur

Cheap wine has a bad reputation, but there really are plenty of excellent choices priced well under $20 a bottle, sometimes under $10 a bottle.

What do you bring to parties? When you host, what do you like to get? Share your hostess gift ideas in the comments!