The Butler’s Pantry

The gift that arrives before the weekend is the hostess gift. The gift that arrives after it is the harder one. What follows is a pâtissier's notes on the follow-up — the box that lands at your host's door on the Tuesday after they gave you their guest room, their coffee routine, and their Saturday afternoon — how it differs from the arrival gift, when to send it, and why the timing of a thank-you matters more than the size of it.