Gift Baskets for House Guests

by Jane
(Arizona)

I found myself in a dither as the guest in a lovely European home. The hostess had prepared a basket full of lovely small gifts -- French soap, olive oil with truffles, two kinds of Swiss chocolate, and other delicacies -- for our guest room. When it came time to leave, I wasn't sure whether to take all the gifts as if they were specifically intended for us, or leave them all for the next person, or take some and leave some, risking that our hostess might think that we weren't thrilled with everything she selected. What should we have done? Taking everything seemed a little gauche. Leaving everything seemed high-handed. Picking through the basked seemed tacky. I really am at a loss. Thank you.