The 46 Best Housewarming Gifts for People Who Love to Cook and Eat
- Versatile dinner napkins
- Buffalo Check Table Napkins
- Baking dishes
- Le Creuset Stoneware Shallow Square Covered Baker
- Techy new kitchen gear
- Breville Joule Sous Vide
- A personal blender
- Zwilling Enfinigy Personal Blender
- Vitamix 5200 Blender
- A piece of classic cookware
- Victoria 12-Inch Cast-Iron Skillet
- Always Pan
- A stunning new flatware set
- Sabre Tortoise Flatware in Brushed Stainless Steel
- Stylish salt and pepper grinders
- Pepper Mill & Salt Shaker Set
- A classic salad bowl
- Wooden Salad Bowl
- A wooden cutting board
- Acacia Wood Cutting Board
- Taper candles
- Taper Candles by Dusen Dusen
- Fancy hand soap
- D.S. & Durga Hand Soap Big Sur After Rain
- Mess-proof placemats
- Capsule Sand Placemat
- Dish towels
- MEEMA Kitchen Towels (4-Pack)
- Frank Lloyd Wright Tea Towel
- Blue Cotton Dish Towels, Set of 5
- Silicone bags
- Stasher Reusable Storage Bag, Sandwich
- Silicone Stand-Up Stasher Bag
- A newfangled lighter
- USB Candle Lighter & Flashlight
- An emergency kit
- Judy Emergency Bag
- A stunning serving platter
- Sway Platter
- A serving tray
- Deco Wood & Brass Handle Tray
- A cheese board—and cheese to go with it
- Iveta Abolina Birch Wood Cutting Board
- The Best of France Cheese Sampler
- A fancy bottle of olive oil
- Brightland Awake Olive Oil
- A durable mat for their kitchen
- Bistro Tile Vinyl Floor Runner
- A better set of coasters
- Graf Lantz Felt Coasters (Set of 4)
- A small army of scented candles (and other ways to freshen a room)
- Public Goods Cedar & Suede Soy Candle
- Homesick New Home Candle
- Volupsa Eucalyptus & White Sage Luxe Candle
- Vitruvi Stone Diffuser
- Bergamot Essential Oil
- Saje Tranquility Diffuser Blend
- A dried flower arrangement
- The Claire Dried Bouquet
- A set of wine glasses
- Glasvin Expression Wine Glasses, Set of 6
- Monopol Westmark Germany Steel Two-Prong Cork Puller
- A stand mixer
- KitchenAid 5-Quart Stand Mixer
- A coffee maker
- Technivorm Moccamaster Coffee Maker
- Chemex 8-Cup Glass Pour-Over Coffee Maker
- SterlingPro French Press Coffee Maker
- Electric kettle
- Hamilton Beach Glass Electric Kettle
- A wine rack
- Square Brass Wine Rack
- Hold Everything Metal Powder Coat Wine Rack
- Ice cream dishes
- Mini Matte Latte Bowls, set of 6
- Tulip Ice Cream Dish
Know someone who’s moving to a new home? Great. That’s a perfect reason to be really nice and buy the best housewarming gifts—and, more importantly, use said gifts as an excuse to drop by and scope out the new place. Sending a dependable cast-iron skillet or a powerful blender will make you a part of your friend’s new home and the meals they cook in it, even when you’re not invited to dinner. (But fingers crossed you get invited to dinner a lot.) We’ve curated a list of fun-yet-useful kitchen and tabletop housewarming gift ideas that will add life to any new space—whether your loved one is setting up a kitchen in their first home, or an old pro who will get excited about a fancy new set of cutlery.
Versatile dinner napkins
This classic-but-versatile pattern feels at home on the table for any occasion, from summer barbecues to the winter holidays. The black-and-white color palette goes as well with bright, multicolored melamine plates, but also a romantic, candlelit wintry tablescape.
Buffalo Check Table Napkins
$19.00, Amazon
Baking dishes
Give a classic and homey piece of cookware from a trusted brand—but at a lower price than the classic Dutch oven. This baking dish from luxury cookware brand Le Creuset comes in over 12 colors and it can be used for Thanksgiving sides, breakfast casseroles, and even one-pot oven dinners.
Le Creuset Stoneware Shallow Square Covered Baker
$90.00, Williams Sonoma
Techy new kitchen gear
The Joule sous vide may seem like the best housewarming gift for your more experienced culinary comrades, but it’s so simple to use that it can easily elevate even the most novice cook’s main dishes and vegetable sides. This sleek gadget is perfect for cooking buttery salmon filets and breaking down tough cuts of meat such as a pork shoulder.
Breville Joule Sous Vide
$364.00, Amazon
A personal blender
There’s power in the basics—especially if you’re giving a housewarming gift to someone moving into their first solo space or friends who are brand new homeowners. Everyone needs a blender, and these two options are some of the best. The Vitamix 5200 came out on top in our blender testing, but the Zwilling is a good option for those looking for a personal blender for morning smoothie making.
Zwilling Enfinigy Personal Blender
$170.00, Amazon
Vitamix 5200 Blender
$550.00, Amazon
A piece of classic cookware
A cast-iron skillet is perhaps the essential kitchen tool—it’s the one we’d take to a desert island. And Victoria’s is one of the hardiest on the market: It’s virtually indestructible and boasts both even heat distribution as well as heat retention, making it optimal for searing. Give this great gift and you’ll see it out on your friend’s stovetop every time you come over, whether they’re sautéing, frying, searing, baking, braising, broiling, or roasting. If your friend is a DTC cookware hypebeast, they’d probably like the ultra-trendy and colorful Always Pan from Our Place—it’ll quickly become a stovetop and tabletop accent piece, and it’s a versatile piece of cookware. Just know it won’t have the staying power of the less-chic cast-iron skillet.
Victoria 12-Inch Cast-Iron Skillet
$24.00, Amazon
Always Pan
$145.00, Our Place
A stunning new flatware set
Is flatware a utilitarian gift? Yes. Is it a little weird to choose somebody’s flatware for them? Maybe! But this showstopping cutlery set from New York-based shop Coming Soon is anything but bland—and chances are your friends will be grateful for that every time they set the table.
Sabre Tortoise Flatware in Brushed Stainless Steel
$17.00, Coming Soon
Stylish salt and pepper grinders
Salt and pepper grinders are a must in any kitchen. This stylish set is made from acacia wood, heavy-duty ceramic, and stainless steel. The grinders are easy to refill and the grind size is easy to adjust.
Pepper Mill & Salt Shaker Set
$25.00, Public Goods
A classic salad bowl
This wave-shaped bowl is generously sized, which is essential for optimal salad tossing. It can be used to spruce up presentation of any kind of salad, or to serve as a centerpiece for a diverse assortment of fruit.
Wooden Salad Bowl
$23.00, Amazon
A wooden cutting board
This classic and sturdy cutting board is truly multifunctional. It’s reversible, so you can go from prepping fruits and veggies to serving an aesthetically pleasing charcuterie board simply by flipping it over. The deep groove around the edge is also ideal for catching juices when you’re carving meat dishes.
Acacia Wood Cutting Board
$60.00, Amazon
Taper candles
Taper candles are a go-to housewarming gift because they don’t take up a lot of space, they look nice, and your host will eventually find an occasion to use them. The whimsical colors and funky textures of these Dusen Dusen tapers make them a great way to add cheer to any new space.
Taper Candles by Dusen Dusen
$18.00, Coming Soon
Fancy hand soap
The best types of host gifts are fancy versions of everyday things—it’s hard to justify buying $35 hand soap for yourself, but you’d be so excited to receive it as a gift. Cult scent house DS & Durga makes a hand soap version of their Big Sur After Rain scent, which evokes “rainy on the Pacific coast” vibes.
D.S. & Durga Hand Soap Big Sur After Rain
$35.00, Amazon
Mess-proof placemats
Once you start using rubber placemats—which can actually look quite beautiful—you may never use cloth ones again. Even the messiest of guests will find it challenging to soil these things; they become sparkly and new again with a little soap and water.
Capsule Sand Placemat
$35.00, Design Milk
Dish towels
The perfect housewarming gift because you can never have enough of them—and a few might have gotten lost along with the bath towels in the move. Pro tip: Don’t opt for a dish towel that’s so pretty it can’t actually be used. The options below have it all: style and function.
MEEMA Kitchen Towels (4-Pack)
$22.00, Amazon
Frank Lloyd Wright Tea Towel
$15.00, Uncommon Goods
Blue Cotton Dish Towels, Set of 5
$12.00, Amazon
Silicone bags
Everybody loves these reusable bags. Even if the new resident in question already has a few, there’s a good chance they’d love to have a couple more on hand in their new house. Stasher bags are reusable, dishwasher-safe, and come in handy for storing leftovers and packing lunches and snacks. Plus, they come in a whole bunch of fun colors.
Stasher Reusable Storage Bag, Sandwich
$13.00, Amazon
Silicone Stand-Up Stasher Bag
$18.00, Amazon
A newfangled lighter
Everybody needs a lighter for something at some point, and electric lighters are sleek-looking and easy to use. They recharge via USB port, and last far longer than butane lighters that require refills. (Let’s be honest most people just throw them away and buy new ones.) Waste less with a rechargeable lighter!
USB Candle Lighter & Flashlight
$45.00, Anthropologie
An emergency kit
A lot of people don’t keep emergency essentials on hand when they should, especially in areas prone to natural disasters. It may sound like a bit of a downer gift, but should your host find themselves in a situation where they need to make use of it (let’s hope they don’t) they will be thankful that you showed up as the kooky prepper with the emergency kit at their housewarming party.
Judy Emergency Bag
$195.00, Judy
A stunning serving platter
A serving platter is one of the enduring housewarming gifts for a reason. The swirls and curves on this West Elm platter have a minimalist appeal, but they still bring an element of fun to any dinner party spread.
Sway Platter
$42.00, West Elm
A serving tray
May your best friend’s new digs be filled with many breakfasts in bed, dinners in the living room in front of the TV, and parties featuring elegant trays full of cocktails. All of that is possible for their new home with a great serving tray like the one below.
Deco Wood & Brass Handle Tray
$80.00, West Elm
A cheese board—and cheese to go with it
Here’s the move: Arrive at your friend’s new home with a stunning cheese board gift, and the cheese to serve on top of it. Then subtly suggest that you’d be happy to put that cheese out right now for consumption. Thoughtful housewarming gift, or act of pure selfishness? Maybe it can be both!
Iveta Abolina Birch Wood Cutting Board
$35.00, Nordstrom
The Best of France Cheese Sampler
$85.00, Murray’s Cheese
A fancy bottle of olive oil
This olive oil is tasty—it was highly ranked in our staff olive oil taste test—and the bottle is pretty enough that it feels like a home decor gift as well.
Brightland Awake Olive Oil
$37.00, Brightland
A durable mat for their kitchen
Doormats are predictable as a housewarming gifts, but a vinyl floor mat for their kitchen? Inspired! This one is durable, easy-to-clean, and it looks like vintage tile work, so it can add a touch of classic New York apartment to your home—no matter where it is.
Bistro Tile Vinyl Floor Runner
$126.00, Food52
A better set of coasters
Coasters are another thing you can never have too many of, but that people don’t tend to buy for themselves. This felt coaster set is durable, and doesn’t stick to the bottom of your glass before slowly becoming unstuck and clattering back down to the coffee table.
Graf Lantz Felt Coasters (Set of 4)
$24.00, Food52
A small army of scented candles (and other ways to freshen a room)
When in doubt, get a candle. And when a candle doesn’t feel right, get a diffuser. No one can have too many ways to make their home smell nice.
Public Goods Cedar & Suede Soy Candle
$8.00, Public Goods
Homesick New Home Candle
$38.00, Homesick
Volupsa Eucalyptus & White Sage Luxe Candle
$60.00, Nordstrom
Vitruvi Stone Diffuser
$123.00, Amazon
Bergamot Essential Oil
$16.00, Vitruvi
Saje Tranquility Diffuser Blend
$18.00, Saje
A dried flower arrangement
Of course, houseplants are a great classic housewarming gift. But, if the new apartment dweller or homeowner in question doesn’t have a green thumb, a dried flower arrangement is a great option. It will last much, much longer than fresh flowers, but add just as much (if not more) beauty to the table.
The Claire Dried Bouquet
$90.00, UrbanStems
A set of wine glasses
Every new home needs more wine glasses, in case any broke or were lost in the move. And, they may just be the best housewarming gift to deliver to the new homeowners after a hard day of moving and unpacking. If the wine glasses are packed, you’ll arrive with just the right thing. Throw a bottle opener and a bottle of wine in there as well to make it a fun housewarming gift box.
Glasvin Expression Wine Glasses, Set of 6
$168.00, Verishop (4 pack)
Monopol Westmark Germany Steel Two-Prong Cork Puller
$22.00, Amazon
A stand mixer
Give this “token of domesticity” as we called it in our testing in 2020. If you’re looking for something ultra-special to give a sibling or friend for their new house, you can’t beat a stand mixer. We found that its reputation is well earned: This KitchenAid mixer was the absolute best in our testing.
KitchenAid 5-Quart Stand Mixer
$460.00, Amazon
A coffee maker
Obviously, a house only becomes a home once it has a coffee maker. Find a few of our favorites below, and select the best housewarming option for your loved one based on their coffee preferences and skill level.
Technivorm Moccamaster Coffee Maker
$240.00, Williams Sonoma
Chemex 8-Cup Glass Pour-Over Coffee Maker
$46.68.00, Amazon
SterlingPro French Press Coffee Maker
$37.00, Amazon
Electric kettle
And if the person whose home you’re warming is a tea drinker rather than a coffee-lover, then opt for a new electric kettle—another kitchen staple—to warm up their mornings.
Hamilton Beach Glass Electric Kettle
$50.00, Amazon
A wine rack
Square Brass Wine Rack
$77.00, West Elm
Hold Everything Metal Powder Coat Wine Rack
$69.00, Williams-Sonoma
Ice cream dishes
Here’s another one for the category of things you don’t buy for yourself, but love receiving as a gift. Cute dessert dishes are great for entertaining—and for elevating that nightly solo bowl of ice cream in your first apartment.
Mini Matte Latte Bowls, set of 6
$24.00, Anthropologie
Tulip Ice Cream Dish
$2.00, Crate & Barrel
Looking for more of the best gifts? Check out more gift guides below:
32 Best Gifts for Plant Lovers
Stylish planters, beautiful watering cans—and yes, plenty of actual plants.
The Best Subscription Boxes for Couples Who Love to Cook
Give the gift of food, month after month.
19 Beautiful Ceramic Gifts for the Kitchen
Think beyond the mug.
The Best Chocolate Gifts for Any Occasion
There is no gift greater than the gift of good chocolate.