Home Entertaining Ideas - Toast Your Hosts With Personalized Gifts

Bringing a bottle of wine to a dinner party is fine. Bringing a bottle of wine with a personalized message printed on the label? Divine.

A monogrammed gift, which incorporates the recipient's name, initials or an individualized message, is the perfect marriage of the traditional and the unexpected. Such a present offers a new spin on classic gifts, helping to make any get-together much more memorable. The following tips promise to guarantee a warm reception.

• Wine is appropriate for almost any occasion, and Australian winery Jacob's Creek has introduced a unique gift label customization program that allows you to create individualized messages to be printed on the wine label. Memorable and original, a bottle with a personalized label can be a perfect gift for birthdays, holidays and other celebrations.

• Add some spice to an afternoon barbecue by presenting your host with a customized accessory that is both useful and unique. A carving board engraved with the family crest, a set of monogrammed mugs, or even a fun personalized apron are all gifts that express genuine appreciation.

• Arriving at a dinner party with a floral bouquet contributes a note of beauty to any gathering. Save your host the trouble of finding a vase by creating your own at a local paint-your-own-pottery studio. Your original creation will be appreciated long after the floral arrangement has faded.

• Weekend guests who arrive bearing tailor-made home accessories will be unlikely to overstay their welcome. Gifts that promise to be well received include embossed soap or candles, a customized canvas tote filled with gourmet edibles or a personalized stationery set.

• For weddings or other formal occasions, try pairing a bottle of Sparkling Ros? with an engraved silver wine stopper, custom-designed wine charms or monogrammed stemless wineglasses.

Personalized gifts can add a memorable touch to any occasion.

For more information, visit www.yourgiftlabel.com. While Web sites such as www.yourgiftlabel.com offer personalization services for free, remember that it is necessary to allow extra time for your present to be prepared and shipped. An order from www.yourgiftlabel.com normally takes 15 business days to arrive. Place your personalized order early in preparation for all upcoming occasions.