As I reach the home stretch of my 30s, I’ve noticed that some people develop their own trademark housewarming gifts. My mother — famous in the family for her salad dressings — inevitably gives a bottle of her favorite balsamic vinegar and a mini whisk. One good friend of mine always shows up at housewarmings with a top-of-the-line first aid kit — a gift that always seemed a bit grim before fires ravaged Los Angeles and it took on an air of good-neighbor poignancy. (The only housewarming gift we’ve been able to agree on as a society is, I believe, one of the worst gift choices there is. Why we feel so comfortable giving living plants as gifts confounds me. At that point, why not just gift a box of puppies, you maniac?)
That being said, a food-, beverage-, or kitchen-centered gift is a surefire way to warm a new home, whether a tried-and-true cookbook or a chic addition to a dinner party tablescape. Here’s a list of reliably excellent housewarming gifts; as a frequent entertainer and dinner-party-thrower, I’ve collected them over the years from memories of what I’ve both given to others (to great success) and received (to great delight). There’s something here for every price point and to suit all manner of giver and receiver, as long as they have taste as good as yours.
Everyone Loves a Timeless, Well-Written Cookbook
There are certain books every home should have, many of which are food-focused. The best cookbooks to give as housewarming gifts may vary depending on the appetite of your recipient, but I’ll share a couple of my personal favorites.
Roast Chicken and Other Stories by Simon Hopkinson and Lindsey Bareham and An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace by Tamar Adler are classics. Both are beautifully written and contain an impressive array of recipes for simple but deeply satisfying home cooking. More than that, both present philosophies around preparing food, feeding ourselves, and feeding each other that go to the heart of what makes a house a home.
And if the new homeowner is a cheese fan? They need a Cheese Primer by Steven Jenkins — the beloved cheese tome among cheesemongers for a reason.
Extremely Fancy Fruit
Specialty fruit — hand-reared, intricately wrapped, painstakingly manicured, and quivering with sweet juices — is the housewarming or host gift of choice in many Asian countries. But fruit makes a great gift wherever you live, and I’d argue some of the best fruit has been from right here in America all along.
For stone fruit, I am forever loyal to Frog Hollow Farm in California, offering everything from perfect avocados to sweet, juicy mangoes.
And for the best pineapple of your life, order from the Maui Pineapple Store in Hawaii.
Make Their House Smell Like an Expensive Hotel Lobby
A new house is, olfactorily speaking, a clean slate, and, as such, scented gifts can make great housewarming presents. Still, this year’s “hottest candle” will leave your abode smelling dated within a season. I much prefer gifting the trademark smells of fancy hotels. Hotel scents are timeless, luxe, and transportive by definition — and an entire industry has sprung up producing dupes for their lobby smells. Find out where your friends had their honeymoon and buy a room diffuser for that smell or buy one for the hotel that they’ve always wanted to visit and can’t afford.
I’ve been a Shangri-La man since an extended stay in Hong Kong (the diffuser below is directly inspired by its signature scent, with notes of lemon, ginger, vanilla, and jasmine), but now that spring is coming I’m considering a switch to Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc.
Now my living room and dining room are crowded with candlesticks and candelabras and sconces. Even a Tuesday dinner for one now feels like a scene from Beauty and the Beast.
Decadence in a Tiny Tin
Yes, tinned seafood is trendy at the moment, but I would argue that it also makes a perfect housewarming gift. Tinned seafood is shelf-stable, requires no valuable fridge real estate, looks beautiful — the packaging these days, my god! — and is both affordable and luxuriant in equal measure.
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ABC+ Trout Aglio e Olio
Prices taken at time of publishing.
ABC+, a subsidiary of Portuguese conserva brand Jose Gourmet, is a luxury line of fine seafood preserved in sauce. This pick, one of its first offerings, is a beauty. The trout — from the Rio Coura in Northern Portugal — is bathed in a creamy, garlicky emulsion. Try it on toast with peas for a soulful breakfast.
A Bottle of Special Booze
Yes, one of the most frequently gifted items at any housewarming party is a good old bottle of wine; it is a tried and true (read: boring) choice.
If you know your new homeowner would especially appreciate a particular bottle of wine, go for something special. If your budget extends to it, a bottle of excellent Champagne is a safe bet. But I always try to think a bit further outside the box (but within the home bar), and find the bottle of booze that I know they would love but haven’t tried or would never buy for themselves.
These days that invariably means a bottle of Red Breast 12 Year Irish whiskey. This stuff is magic — everyone who tries it immediately falls in love with it. It sits in that perfect sweet spot between whiskey styles and even converted a lifelong bourbon drinker like me. At under $60, it’s relatively affordable within its category.
A Good Old-Fashioned Radio
There is something so soothing, so kitchen-table cozy about listening to the radio in the morning. And in this current hellscape where the demands of staying sane and responsibly informed can be impossible to balance, I’ve found limiting my news to the radio while I make my coffee perfectly hits that sweet spot between totally disengaged and suicidal.
Aside from filling your home with music, gentle voices, and knowledge, radios are also beautiful objects. I keep this dapper, retro-cool fellow on my desk in my office but would love to receive something a bit more grand like this for the living room where I can listen to NPR while I do my crossword. Some models also offer Bluetooth integration for old-school appeal combined with modern practicality.
Wine Glasses That Give ‘Memorable Dinner in London’
My go-to housewarming gift used to be a set of the wine glasses used and sold by St. John, the London-based and arguably perfect restaurant: solid, squat, restrained, and precisely designed for drinking more wine than you probably should. Sadly, they no longer sell them.
Still, there are great options for glasses that embody that St. John ethos: quietly decadent and reassuring in a way that doesn’t distract from the pleasure of what you’re trying to consume. Even though they have a totally different look, these tumble-style wine glasses somehow still exude St. John to me and would make a very practical gift.
I also love, and use at home, these hand-blown Moroccan glasses from one of my favorite homeware stores, Pure Atlas in Palm Springs.
A Lazy Susan for Your Refrigerator
Condiments are something of a problem for me. My addiction reached its peak during the pandemic when I actually ordered a separate mini fridge to handle the overflow of sauces, dips, and condiments. Instead of enabling such madness, may I recommend the three-word magical solution that changed my life: the refrigerator lazy Susan.
Having a whole ham leg at home changes you. You cook everything in ham fat; parties take on a deranged, frenzied tenor; your house starts to smell of a rustic country inn; your hands crisscross with tiny cuts from the razor-sharp ham knife. It’s a wonderful way to live!
Ice Cream on Tap
I always say that if you love someone, you should empower them to eat ice cream every day. The Ninja CREAMi promises just that: professional quality ice cream made easily and on your very own countertop. Honestly I was dubious of the entire endeavor, and TikTok’s breathless fawning seemed overly confident. But I was so wrong. The Ninja CREAMi is a wonder and fully delivers on its promise. I’ve turned the lemons in my garden into flawless lemon lavender sorbet, and the leftover protein shakes in my fridge into creamy indulgent peanut butter chocolate ice cream (gains!). The CREAMi has helped me realize my dream of a daily ice cream sundae enjoyed in the bath. Perfect for the entertainer and the homebody — name a better housewarming gift!
