The Best Host Gifts to Give This Holiday Season

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.