You’ve got sports-viewing parties and tailgates, barbecues and brunches, happy hours and birthdays. Sure, fun lies ahead, but first, there comes the stress of what to bring. Regifting that bottle of wine or weird ice cube tray won’t do. Instead, impress your host with any of these stellar gifts. From canned cocktails to top-of-the-line cookware, with some blankets, bags, and BBQ swag thrown in the mix, you’re sure to find the best hosting gifts for every event on your calendar.
The Best Hosting Gifts for Birthdays, Barbecues, and Everything in Between
1. Tip Top Proper Cocktails
Your pitmaster for the evening already spent the whole day prepping the feast. Give ‘em the night off bartending duties with any of these six canned renditions of classic low-ball cocktails. In the “stirred” category, they’ve got the negroni, Manhattan, and old fashioned, while the “shaken” offerings give you mouth-watering takes on the margarita, daiquiri, and Bee’s Knees.
Treat the Chef de Cuisine to an engraved Great Jones best-seller, like the Big Deal Pot or Deep Cut Sauté Pan. You can add their name, monogram, or that signature dish they love making on the lid. When the night’s over, they’ll be glad they can pop these pots and pans in the dishwasher for easy cleanup.
Your buddy loves beer. He loves being a barbecue wizard. Here’s the best of both worlds in one amazing marinade, that also doubles as a sauce. Flavors on offer are Japanese Miso BBQ, Mexican Tres Chiles, and Szechuan Black Vinegar. As the name implies, you simply add your favorite beer when cooking up your next marinade, stir fry, or snack dip. Ingredients like kombu (a type of seaweed), tomatoes, and miso give the condiment depth of flavor. Just Add Beer works just as well on a grilled steak as it does on roasted veggies.
A practical gift that anyone who invites you into their home will surely appreciate, these cozy blankets come in an array of patterns and neutral colors, and all are machine washable to boot. We recommend the Cape and Islands Ocean Blue Blanket ($135), with maps designed on the exterior, to evoke the bliss of summer all year round.
Enhance your host’s cheeseboard spread with these lip-smacking jams that also work atop sandwiches, burgers, or mixed into marinades. The set includes the original Tommy Jam, Hot Tommy (made with fresh habaneros for some heat), and Tommy en Provence (which offers herbaceous notes).
Keep drinks and snacks cold all day long with this best-in-class soft cooler, now available in new fall colors. Or, spring for an MLB hard cooler for the baseball superfan in your life with the logo of their favorite sports team emblazoned on top. Either way, bottoms up to a good, good time with this over-the-top splurge people wouldn’t likely buy for themselves, but will be so happy to own.
For the home-cooking aficionado, this lineup of seven olive oils and vinegar will be their new partner in crime in the kitchen, and a design-forward ode to accouterments they can proudly display. The set also includes a spout made with brush gold and stainless steel for drizzly perfection with each flip of the bottle. For something easier on the wallet, try The Mini Essentials ($70)—a collection of the brand’s best-selling products.
What better way to celebrate the purchase of a new home than with this charming personalized portrait of their digs? We’re also fans of Minted’s custom map art (from $65, framed) to transform a special map of their former stomping grounds or new environs into visually pleasing wall art.
Help anoint your buddy’s new backyard with this beautiful hammock, perfect for post-game power naps or evening reading sessions. What’s more, by purchasing a handwoven hammock through Yellow Leaf, you’re helping Thai craftspeople and their families build a better future for themselves. For $299, you can design your own pattern.
You know sauce is serious business when it was meticulously created by acclaimed chefs Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi. The tomato-based sauce set includes two jars of marinara, and a jar each of Arrabbiata and tomato basil. With sauces made in small batches and featuring a medley of fresh ingredients like Italian-grown tomatoes and whole onions and garlic, expect a quality product that elevates any pasta dish. Bring it to your next family dinner to jazz up Dad’s famous eggplant parm. P.S. A roasted garlic version of the sauce launches soon.
Oenophiles will rejoice in this curated selection of natural wines delivered to their door on a monthly basis (choose a three-, six-, or 12-month membership). Red, white, mixed, rosé, and sparkling wines are up for the choosing, and all vinos are organically grown and independently tested for purity, so you can ensure they live up to the “natural” moniker, meaning they’re made following strict criteria and free of a long list of FDA-approved additives.
Help your host upgrade their tablescape with a delivery of potted plants or flowers. You can either do a one-off order or, if you have a subscription and know you have an event that month, you can have your delivery shipped directly to the recipient. Some current favorites are Monstera Magic ($99), the Farmer’s Market Gift Trio ($114), and Gold Rush ($49).
[From $38 à la carte or memberships from $36; bouqs.com]
This grilling apron was designed for ‘cue enthusiasts to practice their craft with ease, featuring 10 pockets, a carabiner, and five D-ring clips to keep accessories at the ready. It’s made of a durable, washable fabric, and crafted under the guidance of barbecue pitmasters and chefs to ensure it’s the applewood of anyone’s eye.
Speaking of grilling aficionados, up the ante on a BBQ with these chips sourced from 100 percent Minnesota white oak barrels used to age Tattersall Whiskey for more than two years. Flavor-wise, the whiskey-ed white oak provides notes of mild sweetness and vanilla to coax nuanced layers of sapor from every dish on the grill. These suckers are sublime for smoking.
Home team driving the crew crazy or just pull off an epic play? Time for a shot. Gathering to celebrate someone’s birthday? Ditto. Six thick, textured glass shooters arrive in this attractive, mission-style wrought iron stand with a garnish tray for victuals like salt, limes, lemons, and perhaps some electrolyte powder packets for all the damage you’re about to do.
Bring wine or other small items like napkin rings, a framed photo, and the like for a party or birthday in this elegant leather tote, then gift the bag as part of the plunder. Available in brown, black, and olive, every purchase of this bag creates two hours of employment to the brand’s Ethiopian team.
Eat, sip an apéritif, and be merry with this delightful assortment of beverages available in flavors like Lemon Lavender, Grapefruit Jalapeño, Citrus Flower, and more. You can add to spirits and wine (grape brandy and Chardonnay grapes play nice in all the flavor profiles), or imbibe it straight on the rocks, We’re partial to Ginger Yuzu with its namesake ingredients: lemongrass, orange peel, dried cherries, rooibos tea, ginger tea, and organic cane sugar.
Help your pal set the mood with this handsome candle, fragranced with notes of bergamot, vetiver, leather, and spices. Crafted with a soy-coconut wax blend, the candles are hand-poured by refugee women in Western Massachusetts, so you can feel good about empowering these talented makers with every purchase.
Got a beer trade on the horizon? The organizer will be thrilled to be on the receiving end of this trio of two pint glasses and a 64-ounce growler. Choose the colors for each in the bundle, and rest assured the lifetime warranty means these products are engineered for the long haul. For wine clubs, opt for the wine gift set.
20. Claude Dozorme Thiers Mixed Wood Handle Stainless Steel Steak Knife Set
Steak night made better. Made in France, this set includes knives made with wood grips from different trees (ebony, olive, tulip, rose, juniper, and boxwood), all presented in a beechwood box. FYI: They’re easy to re-sharpen and last for years. If you’re in the market for some steak knives, too, go ahead and treat yourself.
Every good get-together deserves a fun card game. Wow your amigos with this quick-to-learn game that lasts for around 30 minutes and works with four to 12+ players. Expect a lot of laughs—and to learn a thing or two about your friends’ creativity.
