Hostess and Thank You gifts require a bit of gift-giving savvy. It makes us feel good to show our gratitude without having to stress about what to spend or how to make a gift look great. Here are some tips to help you become the most gracious holiday gift-giver you can be.

For the annual holiday cocktail party:

Bring a flowering plant rather than a bouquet of flowers. It lasts much longer and is a constant reminder of your thoughtfulness.

Have a coworker that loves the spa?

Fill a basket with luxurious goodies like lotions, body washes and face masks to give her that pampered feeling without breaking the bank. Or give her a gift certificate for a manicure and pedicure along with some of her favorite nail polish colors.

For the babysitter:

Give him/her a few movies passes to the local movie theater or rental vouchers at the video store along with a cool tote bag or tin filled with fun movie treats like popcorn and candy.

For everyone:

We all love to indulge during the holidays, yet there never seems to be enough time to cook for ourselves – much less for others. So take an afternoon time-out to bake up multiple batches of cookies and small loaves of your favorite tasty breads and voila! You've got gifts!

Stack up a variety of different types of cookies and tie with decorative twine. Then place your stacks in a parchment lined box and you have a delectable gourmet gift at a fraction of the cost of a gourmet bake shop.

For the dinner party hosts:

Fill a picnic basket with your freshly baked cookies wrapped in multi-colored cellophane. Add a loaf of just-baked wrapped in a fancy linen napkin, tied with a ribbon and its own recipe card. Include seasonal fruit jam, freshly roasted coffee beans or other gourmet goodies of your choice. You can even throw in a few holiday cookie cutters or your favorite tools for cooking and baking. Your hosts will be ever so grateful to enjoy this homemade brunch-in-a-basket the next morning.

It's always a nice touch to bring a simple gift like a bottle of wine to a party. But it's even nicer when you bring two. Share one bottle with the party guests. Gift the other bottle to the hosts to enjoy on their own time. If you have several parties to attend or lots of small gifts to give then buy a case of wine. You'll get a discount and you can have fun creating personalized labels with festive messages to attach to the bottles.

Frame your holiday memories

If you made a pact with your gift recipient to not spend a bundle on each other, go snap some pictures of your pal and his or her family. Then transform those shots into a photo charm made into a keychain, necklace or bracelet. One of my favorite photo charm designers is Haley M (www.haleym.com). Buy a few great frames that match your hosts' décor and gift them with a note that says you'll be the official party photographer. Take tons of photos and send the prints to your friends within a week of the party to fill the frames.