Hostess Gifts

I feel naked if I go to a party or someone's home without a hostess gift. My mother trained me in that custom early on; I have not been successful in passing that on to my daughter, though she loves being on the receiving end. I store up little gifts in the house to use for those occasions, but, of course, cannot find them when I do need them.
When my husband and I were engaged, we had a myriad of parties. Each of the 25 or so events required a hostess gift, sometimes with multiple gifts at one party with multiple hostesses. Bath cubes were a novelty at that time and were a big hit as a hostess gift. Yesterday, an article in the paper yesterday suggested some last minute hostess gift ideas for Easter dinner invites, no doubt reinforcing the theme of spring. The ideas were cute and simple -
- fill a leftover basket with spring vegetables from your garden or the grocery store;
--have the kids get on iTunes and make a disc of spring-themed songs for the hostess to play at the party (suggestions were Vivaldi's The Four Seasons to Under the Boardwalk, It Might As Well Be Spring and April in Paris). Cute idea, however, I think this idea violates copyright laws?;
--bundle three packets of seeds togheter with some twine, and give it with a flower from your yard and a cute note.
I love the creativity of these ideas and hope this polite custom does not die in the next generation. Thank you notes, handwritten ones sent in the mail, seem to quickly be going by the wayside. Except, from my house, my daughter knows they are expected and has gotten to be pretty good at getting them done with minimal badgering and procrastination.