It’s never been more effortless to offer the most beautiful hostess box to your guests–read the story behind the BCP Hostess Box here!
How did the BCP Hostess Box come about? Between all of us, we’ve been asked and assigned the job of “taking care of the hostess package” more than once for family, neighbors, and friends. It’s the one thing on a baal simcha’s list they are happy to delegate because it takes up too much brain space.
What does it entail? There’s the search for the right-sized box, deciding what goes inside, ordering or scouring local stores for mini items…and then making sure it fits.
Each food item needs additional packaging because you can’t just throw nuts and candy into the box, so there’s more measuring and more container buying–does this bag fit, does that container hold enough chocolate? Then the rolling water bottles…we used to glue dot them down, only to find that the glass bottles weighed the box down on one side.
If you’re planning a Shabbos simcha where you will be hosting overnight guests and need a hostess box, it’s much more work to put together than it looks! (And if you’ve been a guest but never hosted…now you know!) It’s the last thing you want to be busy with at the last stretch right before the wedding or bar mitzvah…but it has to get done.
Why is a hostess box so important? It’s the touch that makes your guests feel welcome. When people are traveling, either from out of town or simply from across the neighborhood, they’re leaving the comfort of their homes to celebrate your simcha. It’s nice to provide them with the simple conveniences that they might not have easy access to in their accommodations (look at our photos for ideas!).
It can just be some bottled water and nosh…or be a little more detailed and include the toiletries they may need. Another important aspect of the hostess box (perhaps the most important!) is the itinerary of your simcha–all the times/locations of davening and meals!
The BCP Hostess Box is such a beautiful, warm welcome that greets your guests when they arrive at the location where they’ll be staying.
But how do we make it easier to put together? And cost effective too?
This idea came to Shaindy one Shabbos afternoon–around the time she was helping a sister-in-law with her boxes (why do good ideas come when we’re not supposed to be working?). She tried to suppress the thoughts and save them until motzei Shabbos, when she could now think, “How cool would a pre-sectioned Hostess Box be? It can have the dividers for the water bottle (just the right size so it doesn’t move around!), and smaller dividers for food/toiletries so they don’t need an additional container.”
When she shared her idea with the rest of the BCP team tonight, we started chatting about the details. The BCP Hostess Box would be simple to order, well-priced, and just make the whole process a bit more effortless.
And what about the itinerary? We brainstormed the idea for this double-sided window, so that the itinerary can be inserted, and there’s the logo on one side and the itinerary on the inside. It was brilliant!
Now it just had to happen.
Shaindy made a quick design and reached out to Mr. Link from Hammont Boxes. He loved the idea and worked to make a sample based on our design. We tweaked it a bit, adjusted size to make it more affordable, and after a while, this box was born.
You can choose to simply stick the food items in, or wrap them up–whatever is most convenient for you. There’s special-sized compartments for any item you want to include!
Plus! To make it even easier and even more affordable, we also include these designed templates, so you can insert your own information and print both an itinerary and custom labels without the need to have something designed from scratch.
How beautiful is this?
For now, the BCP Hostess Boxes are available at HammontBoxes.com, but we’ll update you when they arrive at retailers near you as well!
What an incredible idea! Thanks for actualizing it! So excited to make use of this!
It should really be called a Shabbos guest box. A hostess box would be for the person having your guests at their house.
Correct. Here we call them “Welcome boxes” or “Welcome packages”. And no you dont need to spend this much but they sure are beautiful and inspirational. The ones hosting our guests get a “Hostess gift”. Although really, someone who hosts often does not really need another chatchke but that’s another story….
6 for 42$ is cheap???? In which world
I also thought it was very expensive!!
This is another example of raising the communal bar…
I think this is a miss. It’s beautiful but makes me sad that this look/price is being set as the standard. I think so many are struggling and we need to encourage ppl to say “no- this is not a need for my simcha” Articles like this do the opposite.
I’m afraid this is way out of my price range. I recently held a shabbos seva brachas and we had 49 out of town guests. I would have spent almost as much on these as the food for the sheva brachos.!
For those that are looking to do it for cheaper, bags are very in style now, it’s easier to figure out how to fit the stuff in, and I’ve found gorgeous bags at great prices from shein. Bonus if you have a cricut, you can personalize them easier than boxes.
What type of bags?
Wow I was shocked at the price before even adding the goodies inside
Stunning! What a beautiful idea. Thank you for all the amazing content!
This is a great service for lots of people who would like to DIY this kind of project but want a professional looking finished product, and believe that outsourcing it would cost a great deal more. These are the pretty little touches that some hosts enjoy providing, and some guests enjoy receiving, at a simcha, though certainly not a necessity.
So expensive. We are working moms, juggling a lot. Let’s not normalize this idea. Bags are perfect.
Wow very nice but these are really expensive! not in my budget
Hi, Great post. Where do I buy those clear water bottles to put a sticker on. Can you post a link?
Thanks
I really appreciate that you worked hard to make this an easy option for those that are willing to spend the $$$. Maybe you can help us by adding more options of cheaper boxes that aren’t as perfect, for those that are on a tighter budget?
Beautiful! Cant wait to use it!!
As much as I love the look of these boxes, I also see them as a very pricy option. Even though I could afford them, I would think twice about allocating my money that way. Like another commenter, I worry about setting the bar higher for what is considered standard. I hope you will also use your amazing creativity to do article on more price concios options.
Attending a simcha is so special and memorable! There’s nothing like spending a Shabbos simcha with close family and friends. A hostess bag/box is a beautiful way to make your guests feel at home and our family loves getting them, enjoying them and then the box goes straight into the garbage. I’d feel awful throwing out something so beautiful and costly but honestly, it’s not meant to be a keepsake. At my son’s recent bar mitzvah we used gift bags from amazing savings and that works for us and our guests. Yes, the water bottles rolled around and the brownie bars were in their original packaging but that did not detract from our simcha in the least! BCP, keep bringing us these great ideas and keep validating those of us who will never use them 🙂
So happy to see that we are all trying to be happy with not the most luxurious and keep standards where they already are!! It is a challenge to find cheaper boxes but on the other hand, its silly to spend so much money on just that. Another reader mentioned that we aren’t trying to give them a take home gift. It’s really a welcoming package with the schedule (most important) and the tiny emergency details they may have forgotten. I do not think the guest need tylenol, advil, and tums. one of those is fine. stuff like safety pins etc can be helpful and not expensive to provide.
It may be hard to find cheaper boxes and the cheapest option is bags which come in a pack. However, im sure some savvy people that are working in advance can find something really cheap on ali/shein etc.
My sister did tell me that she ordered on ali and it was still 3 per pc/ seude large foldable envelope like packages – which is still not cheap cheap.
Love these Boxes – TY!
Where can I order clear water bottles with white cap to fit inside the boxes?
Brym Drinks Lakewood 732 668 7746
Brym Drink Brooklyn 718 871 3310
They will deliver in Brooklyn or Lakewood 4 cases (each case is 24 bottles)
Otherwise you can pick it up by the case.
We used the 16 oz one that’s 7.5 inches tall.
For lower-priced options, there are various 8 x 8 x 4” and 9 x 6 x 4” gift boxes on Amazon that come in bulk packs (10 pc, 24 pc, etc), at prices in $1 range and lower.