Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.
When traveling to see friends or family, I like to bring a little present as a thank you for hosting me. But sometimes, I struggle to find the perfect gift that also fits in my carry-on bag. No one wants to check luggage at the airport to bring a gift. These hostess gifts are crowd-pleasers and will fit in your carry-on. It’s a win-win!
Here is My List of Awesome
Hostess Gifts You Can Fit in Your Carry-On Bag
I love my Cheese Board Deck and could hardly wait for its release! These innovative cheese board ideas elevate your cheese and dessert platters. Each of the cards comes with a list of ingredients and tips on recreating the pictured board. The Cheese Board Deck is a terrific hostess gift for anyone that enjoys entertaining!
An Olive & June nail kit or products make a thoughtful and practical hostess gift. With everything needed for an easy at-home manicure or a quick touch-up, it’s a fun way to help your host relax and enjoy a little self-care after the party.
Or if you prefer a smaller gift, try the Olive & June gel top coat or the regular top coat ( I am a big fan) and a nail polish and cuticle serum to round out the gift.
The YETI Rambler Colster is a vacuum insulated, stainless steel beer or soda can holder that keeps your 12-ounce beverage colder longer. The good-looking Load-and-Lock Gasket design comes with double-wall vacuum insulation. The No Sweat Design helps prevent frostbitten hands and keeps the can cool and dry. These make great hostess gifts for men and women and come in a large variety of colors!
Poppy & Pout’s lip balm set is 100% natural and filled with beeswax, vitamin E, and organic coconut oil. Flavors such as Sweet Mint, Island Coconut, Pink Grapefruit, and Pomegranate Beach are designed to be hydrating and are petroleum-free. Plus, this set made Oprah’s list of favorite things!
I love my Addison Ross picture frame and have one on my mantel! The Addison Ross picture frames are pretty and come in so many fun colors and sizes. A great hostess gift would be a memory you shared in one of these picture frames!
This two-pack of Harry & David Moose Munch gourmet popcorn will be sure to impress your friends or family. The milk and dark chocolate popcorn is a great gift for those who love to snack. And let’s face it, don’t we all! The Moose Munch popcorn makes a yummy hostess gift!
This gift also makes an excellent stocking stuffer.
Help your friends and family be environmentally conscious with these fun reusable S’well bottles. The vacuum insulated bottles keep beverages cold for over 30 hours or hot for up to 12 hours. We used our S’well bottle to keep water hot on a long cold hike! Your friends and family can keep their S’well bottle clean with this brush specifically designed to clean the nooks of your S’well bottle.
These Kate Spade journals make a terrific gift that your friends and family can use as a diary, journal, or a place to keep fun new ideas or even things to do. The lightweight notebooks come with 168 pages of lined paper, a built-in bookmark, and an elastic band closure to keep the notebook closed.
Are you bringing your kids to see your parents? The Grandma & Me in the Kitchen activity kit is an excellent way for your mom to bond with your child. Help them create memorable moments with a child-size apron, a keepsake potholder ready to be personalized, a storybook, and an activity journal with recipe pages!
And, as a bonus, while they are playing together, you might have a chance to relax and unwind. After all, parents need some time for themselves too. So, this hostess gift doubles as a gift for yourself!
These sleek wine stoppers make a terrific hostess gift. They will help you keep your host’s wine fresh for up to 10 days! These wine stoppers are suitable for most 750 ml red and white wine bottles.
These triple-milled plant-based soap bars come in lovely packaging for a luxurious hostess gift. The ethically sourced premium quality ingredients are a real crowd-pleaser. Sustainable ingredients such as palm oil, organic shea butter, and vitamin- E are sure to nourish the skin and hydrate the body.
Do your friends or relatives take their cocktails seriously? Then, opt for these ice cube trays with fun sphere and cube molds. You can even infuse the ice cubes with mint for a perfect Mojito, strawberries for your lemonade, or coffee for your favorite coffee cocktail. The cocktail ice cube spheres and cubes are a hostess gift you might even get to use during your visit!
These beautifully crafted and elegant Payprus note cards make a wonderful hostess gift. Cards are an old-world tradition that everyone appreciates. Pass along this tradition with the gift of paper!
Pamper your friend or family member with this thoughtful travel spa kit. These kits for men and women are great for repairing cracked skin and rehydrating the skin. And, you can travel with them because each container is 3 ounces or less!
If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the following:
The Best Last Minute Gifts for the Travel Lover
17 Travel Essentials Every Traveler Needs
35 Road Trip Essentials for a Successful Vacation
The Best Stocking Stuffers for $25 or Less
You can shop more with The Trav Nav by visiting my shop page!
I’d love for you to subscribe to The Trav Nav!
To subscribe, just fill out your first name and email address below.
Pin to Pinterest
This is SUCH a great list. Thank you so much for sharing. The bath bomb kit looks fun.
Thank you! I hope you get to try one or two gifts for yourself too.
Great list of ideas – I need this right now. That cheese board deck would be perfect for my sister!
Yay! I am happy to hear you enjoyed my list of hostess gifts.
We have played Cards Against Humanity with our older kids but had to “sanitize” the deck a bit before starting. A few “oops” cards slipped through, so huge laughs there!
Ha, yes, “sanitizing” is the right word when playing the game with your kids. Sounds like your family had a few good laughs!
This is an amazing list! I would love to get the cheese board deck or the cards against humanity deck! I will definitely think about these for hosts in the future
I have both and highly recommend them. One super cool thing about the Cheese Board Deck is you can take the card to the market so it makes shopping for your cheeseboard ingredients a little easier.
These are lovely ideas to say thank you for hosting you. We normally go with foods from where we live (we’re in Canada, so salmon and maple syrup are always popular.) But We have given everyone in our family plenty of that now…so we could use some new ideas! 😀
I like your idea too! Who doesn’t like Candian maple syrup?
These are great ideas for hostess gifts! I especially love the Cheese Board Deck…I might treat myself to one of those! Thanks for the great guide!
Yes! The cheese board deck is a must!
This is a fantastic idea! I love the soap set, so cute! I will have to get some of these for our next trip back home, these are such thoughtful ideas! 🙂
I hope you enjoy the soap set!
So many good ideas, I’d be happy to get any of these as a hostess gift! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome!
This is such a helpful post! I love the cheese spread cards and the popcorn set. We’re planning a trip to stay with my husband’s aunt this fall, so we’ll have to keep these in mind. Thanks for sharing!
I hope you have a wonderful trip. I love the cheese board cards. I take them to the market to help me do my shopping and use them for inspiration when creating a cheese board. They make a great gift too!
These ideas are great! I would love tp get that popcorn set ? I love to buy lovely natural soaps to my friends.
Thank you! I hope you find an occasion to give these fun hostess gifts!
Really enjoyed reading your list! I would definitely like to try the pop corn gift box! Yum!
what a lovely idea, this is so thoughtful of you! Thanks for sharing
The wireless charging station is a must!
I love these ideas!! It’s always hard to know what to give a hostess, and these are perfect! If the host is in a different country than me I like to bring something small and unique to my country (like maple syrup LOL). I LOVE the The Cheese Board Deck idea!!! I’ve always tried to make them, but definitely need the help to think of ideas and what to put on them!
Love your unique and creative gift ideas! Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks, Betty! I hope you have great Thanksgiving! 🙂
I absolutely love these gift ideas! The Heirloom popcorn and Cheeseboard deck are so cool! I might have to get some for myself, too. 🙂
That’s awesome! I am super excited you like the gift ideas so much that you might buy one or two for yourself!
Yes, Please bring ALL of the hostess gifts PLUS the famous Tesalate towel to Thanksgiving! (Joking). Love, Dad
Ha! You’re too funny, especially since you’re not hosting Thanksgiving this year. 🙂
This is such a great idea! And I love the gift ideas, small and lightweight, but they say alot and show your appreciation. I love the QI-Certified fast charging wireless pad and may just have to get one, I always welcome anything that will help me stay organized.
Me too! I hope you get the QI-Certified fast-sharing wireless pad!
Some great ideas. If you like games then another really great one is Gutterhead. Having spend years playing Cards Against Humanity we have moved on to that one and love it!
Thanks for the suggestion! I’m going to check out Gutterhead.
Great ideas. It would be fun to give and receive a lot of these.