What should I get for some people I barely know that let someone they barely know sleep in their house?

October 18, 2008 1:16 AM

What's a good gift for my host?

I'm volunteering in Indiana for three weeks, and I'm staying with a family that is putting me up for free. Besides being nice enough to share their home, they're very nice and were very understanding when I lost a set of their keys.

I want to thank them for their generosity at the end of my stay with a gift. They're a mom in her mid-thirties and a kid who's about 5-8. I don't know a ton about them, but I do know that the kid has a guitar, and the mom has a lot of vinyl and seems to like '50s "bad girl" imagery. I rarely get to their house while they're still awake, so I don't know how deeply they are into any of this stuff.

I'm looking to stay in the under $30 range.

posted by ignignokt to shopping (9 comments total)

Flowers are always nice, if generic.
posted by sondrialiac at 3:54 AM on October 18, 2008

Maybe some nice guitar picks for the child?
posted by mdonley at 5:14 AM on October 18, 2008

Do you think you'll know them any better in two weeks? You could wait until then to decide if you want to buy them something really personal.

Snooping in your profile, it appears you're working for Obama. If she's letting a stranger stay in her house to campaign for Obama, she's obviously an Obama supporter, too, so she might like a memento of the campaign, like one of the posters or t-shirts from the web site.
posted by MegoSteve at 6:18 AM on October 18, 2008

You could take them out for a nice dinner, or give them a gift card to a nice restaurant.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 6:48 AM on October 18, 2008

Obama keychains to go with their new set of keys?
posted by Houstonian at 8:21 AM on October 18, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

What about something that will remind them of you and where you're from? Your profile says Evanston, IL. Maybe T-shirts/mugs from Northwestern University or something like that?
posted by trip and a half at 8:23 AM on October 18, 2008

How about a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant? Thank you balloons? A thank you cookie or fruit basket? Bottle of wine? Something they can remember you by? Something about your experience there? Gas card!!! Even though, gas has gone down, that could be useful for anyone.
posted by rglass at 8:47 AM on October 18, 2008

Vinyl Record Bowl
For the kid: picks, a capo, or a pitch pipe. Maybe some nice emery boards if the kid plays fingerstyle.

And don't worry about how deeply they are into this stuff, the fact that you notice something beyond the generic will be apparent to them. Given the distance between Evanston and Indiana I'm not very inclined towards being able to gift them based on a cultural difference, but if there's anything uniquely Evanston (or Chicago, natch) that they might like it could be something to think about. Good luck!
posted by rhizome at 10:29 AM on October 18, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Thanks, guys. I ended up getting them chocolates from Vosages in Chicago (actually Metroid Baby got them), which they liked. I did also get them a yard sign at some point during my stay there.
posted by ignignokt at 12:47 AM on November 18, 2008