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Our favorite holiday gifts for hosts in 2025
Dear Readers,
It always seems to happen the same way: One minute it’s summer, and the next, darkness falls before dinner and the invites start rolling in. ’Tis the season of dinner parties, tree-trimmings, candle-lightings … and that means it's also time to find sustainable gifts for the hosts around whose tables you’ll be making merry.
This year, thank the host with the most by being the guest with the best (gift, that is). The items below are designed to elevate mundane tasks and make spirits bright. At $16.99 to $46, everything costs about as much as a bottle of wine or spirits, but is arguably more interesting. My other favorite gift is always free: coming early to prep and staying late to help clean up.
Happy hosting and happy shopping!
– Elizabeth Weinstein, Marketplace Editor
Gorgeous Candles and More
♫ A Present From a Fir Tree
Juniper Ridge’s Christmas Fir collection captures the cozy, nostalgic scent of pine needles, woodsmoke, and freshly cut trees. Even better, it’s sustainably made — the California brand upcycles Christmas trees each year to create candles, room spray, incense, and bath and body products that smell just like Christmas.
Beautiful Tools for Every Cook
Montana-based Earlywood handcrafts kitchen tools that effortlessly marry form and function. The Trifecta includes a trio of slender, multipurpose tools that sautés, stirs, scrambles, spreads, and serves and is available in a variety of gorgeous, sustainable woods. This hardworking, space-saving set is destined to become a favorite.
Plants With a Promise
Modern Sprout, a family-owned company based in Chicago, makes it easy to garden wherever you are. These cleverly designed hydroponic herb kits are guaranteed to grow, so even folks who are less botanically inclined can enjoy fresh herbs all year long. Choose lavender, basil, parsley, mint, rosemary, or cilantro, or get more than one!
Exceptional Vinegar
Made from surplus California persimmons, Figure Ate’s subtly sweet, amber-colored vinegar brightens everything from marinades to cocktails. With bitter greens, pomegranate arils, and warmed nuts and chèvre and you’ve got a fête-worthy salad. As part of the nonprofit White Buffalo Land Trust, Figure Ate helps expand regenerative agriculture and restore ecosystems for generations to come.
Dishwashing Dominance
The last time my mother-in-law was in town, she made my day by asking me how I keep my water glasses so clear and spotless. The secret is Dirty Labs’ Bio Enzyme Dishwasher Detergent. Last month, I accidentally let myself run out and bought some Cascade Platinum Pods. I was honestly shocked by how poorly the pods performed in comparison. Dish detergent may not seem like a sexy gift, but anything that gets the dishes cleaner is a winner in my book.
Better Brushes
Who says cleaning tools can’t be beautiful? This Zero Waste Dish Brush set replaces disposable sponges and plastic brushes with these hardy yet elegant wood and plant fiber tools. The kit includes a long-handled brush, a pot-and-pan scrubber, a dish scrubber, a bottle brush, and a produce brush, all of which look great next to the sink.
A Cooler Gift Bag
Bringing a special bottle to a party? Instead of a single-use gift bag, try packing the bottle in this reusable, insulated wine and spirits tote. Made from leather-like, FSC-Certified Supernatural Paper, the attractive lightweight bag is the coolest way we know to carry wine. Like Bluedot Living, Out of the Woods is a 1% for the Planet member company. Last year, the brand donated 1% of its profits to the National Forest Foundation.
