Never give chrysanthemums as a gift, full stop, they’re reserved for graves and funerals, not warm occasions. If you’re buying flowers, tell the florist what the occasion is, a decent Italian florist won’t sell you a funeral flower for a dinner invitation anyway, but it’s worth being explicit.
Choose an odd number of stems, and skip yellow flowers too (associated with jealousy) unless you know the recipient won’t read into it. Avoid black or purple gift wrap, and don’t give knives or scissors even as a practical kitchen gift.
- Wine is a genuinely safe, well-liked default gift — buy it from an actual wine shop with staff who can recommend something, rather than grabbing a bottle at the supermarket, the source matters to how the gift reads.
- Remove or cover the price sticker on anything you give — visibly showing what something cost is considered poor taste, the opposite of a thoughtful gift.