Staying presentable: Garden-In-A-Bag

Tired of showing up to a party with a lame bottle of wine? Wish you had some ideas for host gifts that would get you invited back? You’re in luck. Welcome to Staying presentable, a series of posts we’re running this week, in conjunction with our holiday gift guide. All these gift ideas are under $20 - some under $10 - and work for almost any occasion. Stock up on them now for the holiday party season and you can stop making that last-minute trip to the liquor store. 

Fruit cake used to be the gift that keeps on giving. But show up at a party with one now and everyone will do the "Shut-the-lights-off!" routine and pretend they're not at home when you ring the bell.

This season, toss that tossed-about brick and give the eco-friendly, mini-tomato, Garden-In-A-Bag. All they'll need is a little water and a window sill. The leak-proof bag, contains the soil and seeds that will grow into a dwarf-like tomato plant within 60 days. This may be the next best thing since wine-in-a-box.

Garden-In-A-Bag ($14.99) may be purchased at Shop Earth at the Henry Crown Space Center at the Museum of Science and Industry (57th and Lake Shore Drive, 773-684-1414). (Shop Earth is in a section of the museum that requires a ticket for admission. Interested parties can contact the museum's main gift shop, The Big Idea or purchase Garden-In-A-Bag through Amazon.com.)