Skip the Wine: Here’s What Ina Garten Brings to a Dinner Party Instead

With the holiday season fast approaching, a multitude of festive cocktail parties, Friendsgiving dinners, and Secret Santa exchanges are on the horizon. Now’s the time to stock up on gifts for party hosts, and luckily for all of us, Ina Garten just shared her top tips for picking them out. “I don’t bring something that the hostess or host feels that they need to serve,” the Barefoot Contessa host and cookbook author emphasized in a recent Instagram video. She never brings a host a bottle of wine or charcuterie board; instead, she chooses “something that they’ll enjoy another time.”

Read on for Ina-approved gifts for tea lovers, coffee connoisseurs, and every host in between, starting at just $10.

Ina Garten-Approved Host Gifts

• Graza Grazola, Set of 2, $18 at graza.co
• Bialetti Dolce & Gabbana Blu Mediterraneo Coffee Gift Tin, $20 at williams-sonoma.com
• Nguyen Coffee Supply The Original Vietnamese Coffee Trio, $48 at nguyencoffeesupply.com
• Art of Tea Holiday Treats Bundle, $44 at artoftea.com
• Fran’s Chocolates Smoked Salt Caramels, $20 at surlatable.com
• M&S Luxury Gold Tea Light-Up Tin, $10 at target.com

Graza Grazola, Set of 2

If you don’t have the time to make homemade granola like Ina, this sweet and salty set is the next best thing. From olive oil brand Graza, Grazola is made from perfectly crunchy oats that have been toasted in Graza’s Sizzle olive oil and infused with maple goodness. It’s excellent atop a yogurt parfait or smoothie bowl, and it’s delicious enough to eat by the handful.

Bialetti Dolce & Gabbana Blu Mediterraneo Coffee Gift Tin

One of Ina Garten’s top hosting gift recommendations is “good coffee,” and we think anyone would love to receive this 7-ounce tin of ground arabica and robusta beans. The blue and white coffee tin is a collaboration between Italian brands Bialetti and Dolce & Gabbana, making it the perfect gift for any host with a love for coffee and an eye for design.

Nguyen Coffee Supply The Original Vietnamese Coffee Trio

If you’re buying for a true coffee connoisseur, this 3-pack from Nguyen Coffee Supply is a no-brainer. The coffee beans are shipped directly from Vietnam and roasted fresh every week in Brooklyn. The set includes three 12-ounce bags of whole or ground beans, so your host can sample Ngugen’s classic arabica and robusta roasts: Moxy, Truegrit, and Loyalty. 

Art of Tea Holiday Treats Bundle

Shopping for a dessert lover who’s not into baking? This seasonal loose leaf tea bundle brings the sweet flavors of the holiday season, no oven required. It comes with a 2-ounce tin of Dark Chocolate Peppermint, a rich black tea blend, and a 1-ounce tin of Butterscotch, a sweet white tea blend.

Fran’s Chocolates Smoked Salt Caramels

According to Ina, “everyone likes” Fran’s caramels, and our editors agree. The Seattle-based chocolatier is a favorite among foodies, and these salted caramels are a surefire way for you to become your host's favorite guest. Each box comes with seven pieces of caramel coated in milk chocolate and sprinkled with smoked salt, and right now, they’re 20% off at Sur La Table.

M&S Luxury Gold Tea Light-Up Tin

This light-up tea tin is bound to bring merriment to any event, and it’s only $10 at Target. The  giftable tin from British brand Marks and Spencer comes with 40 bags of delicious black tea. The packaging is designed to look like a home decorated for the holidays; it even has working “string lights.” Just hit the switch on the bottom to turn on the mini LED lights around the house’s windows, door, and roof. 

More Host Gifts to Shop