The best host gifts are useful while people are over and pretty the rest of the time. Glassware, trays, ice and candles all have a job during the party and a spot on the shelf after it. If you are the one hosting this year, your homework is How to set a holiday table without buying a new set.
Colored Cordial Glasses Set
What it is Six stemmed glasses in jewel colors. On an open shelf they look like a row of gemstones, even empty.
Style it Wrap them with a small bottle of something they can pour into them that night. The glasses handle the rest.
Mother-of-Pearl Lacquer Serving Tray
What it is A 12.5-inch lacquered tray with a mother-of-pearl finish. It carries drinks during the party and sits on the coffee table the rest of the year.
Style it A tray is the most underrated host gift because nobody buys one for themselves. When it is off duty, it corrals candles and a small vase.
TrueZoo Quack Ice Duck Ice Cube Tray
What it is An ice cube tray that makes little ducks. Drop them in a clear glass and they float. Everyone asks.
Style it Pair it with the jewel glasses or a bottle of sparkling water. It costs the least of anything here and it will get the most comments.
Rtteri Groovy Glass Candlestick Holders
What it is Three rippled glass candlestick holders with a wavy seventies silhouette. Clear glass, so they work with any table color.
Style it Gift them with a bundle of tapers in the host's color. If you do not know their color, ivory never loses.
TOIVO Ceramic Garlic Keeper
What it is A vented ceramic garlic keeper with a lid. It looks like a small sculpture and keeps the bulbs dry.
Style it For the host who cooks. It lives by the stove, and they will think of you every time they make pasta.
Hazel Quinn x Eduardo Recife Electric Kettle
What it is An electric kettle made with the artist Eduardo Recife, with his illustrated art on the body. Useful every morning and pretty enough to leave out.
Style it For the host who is also the friend making everyone tea at midnight. It is the splurge of the list, so go in on it with someone.
Six gifts that get used before the dishes are done. If the host already owns good glasses, the mismatched colored glasses make a fun second set, and the stacked olive vase is still the funniest thing to bring to a cocktail party. If the host happens to be that friend, gifts for the friend with the weird apartment is the better list. More glassware and trays live in the Energetic & Modern mood and on the accents shelf.