if you need clarification then you haven't had a glass of it!! yuck!!!

Nope, I'm lucky.. just didn't get the joke part... but I'm getting there. Slow day for the brain...

I once tried making sushi at home. I had the rolling bamboo mat thingy and everything. It was labour intensive and a big, messy (sticky rice anyone?) PITA.

My swedish neighbor made sushi on a regular basis when I lived in Belfast...it was rather tasty but she was unusually talented at cooking.

Most people tend to bring my parents gift cards to restaurants for parties/events. My mum and dad aren't fancy people, but now that the nest is empty, they can go out and have a date once in a while, and they appreciate the help with that.

Haha, seriously. Most of the time I've brought wine, hopefully I haven't dredged up some deep dark secret in the process.

Just to clarify the bringing food suggestion by some people..

A "hostess gift" is supposed to be something that she can enjoy after you leave. It is not meant to be served at the dinner or luncheon you're attending. Rather, it is meant to be a "thank you" for her fussing.. and for her to enjoy (not for the guests). So yes, can make an appropriate hostess gift if it is something like a box of chocolates or a gourmet pasta basket, rather than a dessert which she'll feel obligated to serve.

Sushi isn't hard to make. The key is using the correct rice. If you try to make it with Minute Rice.. forget it! You need to buy the traditional Japanese sticky rice.

A trick is to put plastic on the bamboo mat when you're pressing the rice on it to keep it from sticking to the mat.

Ok, I know I'm being petty, but Taualumna, can you go back and spell "appropriate" right for the thread title? I've been looking at it for 3 days, and it's driving me crazy.:)

Wow. I didn't notice until you said something, and I'm the grammar snob.

Yes, but Jewish hostesses are a whole other ballgame. Trust me.

Do they enjoy reading? Get them a nice coffee table book.

Most people don't like sushi, though; they don't want to eat it when someone else makes it, let alone trying to make it themselves.

I'd still go with wine and flowers, but hey if you can be more creative than that, more power to you.

No.. I didn't say to make sushi as a gift! I had suggested a sushi set as a hostess gift. Someone else had mentioned that they had trouble making sushi.. so the thread drifted a bit.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled suggestions on hostess gifts!

I love sushi much more than the average person does. It's pretty much the only food that I could eat for the rest of my life and not get sick of. However, if someone were to give me a sushi set as a gift, I would have no use for it whatsoever.

That's why it's important to find out, as stated above, what your hostess likes. If they have a brown thumb, for instance, a gardening book probably wouldn't be appropriate. This was just one suggestion among others.