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The Best Host Gifts to Give This Holiday Season

Wine is fine, but these gifts are better

by Erin DeJesus

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A black and white photo of a woman holding a tray of food
Don’t greet your host empty handed.
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Erin DeJesus Erin DeJesus is the executive editor of Eater.

Whether you’re attending a holiday dinner party or occupying someone’s guest room for a full wintry week, bringing your host a gift is paramount to thank them for their hospitality. And while something for the home bar is almost always appreciated, there’s a whole world of fun housewares and kitchen gifts that last much longer than the contents of a bottle: Play your cards right, and you might even get to enjoy these items the next time you’re invited over.

Willow Ship cocktail napkins

  • $36

Prices taken at time of publishing.

Cocktail napkins fall into the category of an item I always covet but would never buy for myself — making them, in my opinion, the perfect gift. Willow Ship’s hand-printed linens have subtle but playful cut-paper patterns (they’re shown here in the “Mixta” print); for a more well-rounded gift, pair a set with a bottle of whatever booze your host likes best, or spring for the matching cloth napkins or apron.

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Octaevo Iris wire basket 

  • $60

Prices taken at time of publishing.

Whether it’s gifted alone or filled with fruit (or whatever treat of your choice), Octaevo’s colorful wire baskets sit beautifully on a kitchen counter year-round. This is a particularly thoughtful gift if your host has an overflowing summer garden; they’ll definitely need whatever extra produce storage they can get.

An abstract painted ceramic mug

Ham Council mug

  • $60

Prices taken at time of publishing.

In recent years, hand-thrown ceramics have become de rigueur, with available styles that can match anyone’s aesthetic, from sleekly modern to downright quirky. I’m partial to my speckled stoneware mug from Portland, Oregon, pottery shop Ham Council, which has a satisfying weight and searing pops of hand-painted color. Designs vary, but if you’re looking for something explicitly food-themed, a shrimp pattern is often available.

A wood cutting board

Pottery Barn olive wood rustic edge cheese board

  • $59

Prices taken at time of publishing.

Whether they want to use it for cheese and charcuterie or more on-trend (if questionable) ideas like the butter board, an olive wood board from Pottery Barn can provide the needed surface area. Each board has a unique wood pattern and raw edge, in case Instagramming the final food board is of utmost importance to your host. 

Break knife in a box labeled “From Out Sponsor: made in.”

Made In 9-inch bread knife

  • $99

Prices taken at time of publishing.

Made In’s cookware sets have a strong following, but for something more giftable, its 9-inch bread knife also brings with it some chef cred. Mozza Restaurant Group founder and chef Nancy Silverton designed the perfect bread-cutting angle and serration in this stainless steel knife, which is forged in France using a solid piece of metal hardened with nitrogen.

Wood serving utensils

Williams-Sonoma walnut teak salad servers

  • $45

Prices taken at time of publishing.

A very wise colleague of mine has argued that serving spoons are the best host gift, and as someone who’s always repurposing worn cooking spatulas and plastic ladles as serving implements, I can confirm this take is 100 percent correct. This set of teak salad servers from Williams-Sonoma look sleek and is endlessly functional.

Colorful trays

Kate Blairstone x Gado Gado platter

  • $62

Prices taken at time of publishing.

I’ve long been a fan of textile designer Kate Blairstone (just look at this seafood wallpaper! or this radicchio wrapping paper!). This recent collaboration with Portland restaurant Gado Gado, a 2021 Eater Best New Restaurant, brings Blairstone’s visual style to a series of melamine serving trays inspired by Gado Gado chef Thomas Pisha-Duffy’s Chinese Indonesian dishes. Like the restaurant itself, the trays are slightly unexpected and irresistibly fun; I’m partial to the pinks and greens of this one featuring dragonfruit.

A set of pitchers and cups
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Falcon Enamelware limited-edition set 

  • $62

Prices taken at time of publishing.

Consider this a gift with a dual, possibly selfish, purpose: Falcon’s set of pint jug, tumbler, and mini tumbler would make the perfect nighttime carafe/drinking set in any guest room, with its bright-green pop of color adding some cheerfulness. The British enamelware brand has been constructing its porcelain-on-steel products since the 1920s, marrying tradition with modern-looking designs.

A box of tea

Smith Teamaker holiday collection

  • $36

Prices taken at time of publishing.

Some etiquette expert somewhere has argued that the best host gifts are designed for the host to use later as they unwind after your visit — that must be why bottles of wine are the default. But to avoid doubling up on wine gifts, aim for another meal entirely: I love the idea of Smith Teamaker’s holiday collection tea set gifted along with a locally made granola, tea cake, or maple syrup to gussy up breakfast time when all the guests are gone.

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