Whether you’re looking to splurge on a loved one or need something small but thoughtful for that friend or coworker who always throws the best parties. Here are some crowd-pleasing ideas for the avid entertainer.

Wooden Board

A generously sized wooden board can hold cheese, fruit, charcuterie and appetizers of all sorts. The fact that cutting boards are easy to stack and store and always come in handy makes this a welcome gift for just about anyone who loves to entertain.

Wireless Speakers

Help your favorite party people bring the music wherever they go with a pair of wireless Bluetooth speakers. Even if someone already has a good sound system, portable speakers can come in handy for outdoor gatherings and can easily get tossed in a suitcase for traveling.

Bar Accessories

Think about what sort of drinks the entertainer on your list loves to serve: wine, beer, fancy cocktails or mocktails or cozy drinks like hot cocoa? Narrowing down the field to a specific type of beverage will help you choose just the right gift. If you’re feeling unsure, consider coasters or carafes, which work for all sorts of drinks.

Candlesticks

New candlesticks, large or small, can change the look and feel of a tabletop. Pair them with a set of quality taper candles and a pretty box of matches so the giftee will have everything needed to enjoy a candlelit dinner.

Elevated Basics

Most folks already have a pepper grinder and cheese grater, but holiday gifting doesn’t have to be about pure practicality. Look for a fun set of salt and pepper shakers or a grater pretty enough to use at the table.

Oven-to-Table Cookware

If you’re shopping for someone who loves to cook as much as entertain, consider giving a Dutch oven or pretty casserole dish that can transition from oven to table with ease. Add a trivet or serving utensils to make a set.

Table Linens

Colorful cloth napkins, a runner or a new tablecloth makes a thoughtful gift for a host of frequent dinner parties. Try to find out the dimensions of your gift recipient’s table before shopping. If you’re not sure, consider napkins or placemats as a safe bet.

Dessert Dishes

Help gatherings end on a sweet note by giving a set of ice cream bowls or a dessert stand. Bonus points if you pair this gift with a homemade or tasty store-bought treat.

Coffee Station Upgrade

Whether you choose a simple pour-over setup for coffee purists, a fast-boiling electric kettle for tea lovers or a quick and easy pod-style coffee maker, outfitting your favorite host with the best gear is always a good idea. Just be sure to do a little reconnaissance to find out what the person’s current coffee setup is before you shop.

Game-Night Game

For the people who love to host game nights, consider a gussied-up version of a favorite game like backgammon, poker or Scrabble — or a new game that has potential to be a favorite. To take this gift to the next level, bundle it with an assortment of yummy party snacks, like popcorn, roasted nuts, gourmet dips, salsas and chocolates.

Hot chocolate, blankets, twinkle lights. Are you’re ready to indulge in the best goodies and experiences the winter holiday season has to offer?

Pull Out Your Favorite Board Games on a Cold Night

Ditching Netflix for a round of Scrabble or Harry Potter Clue can make even an ordinary Tuesday feel like something special. Clear the coffee table or dining room table, grab a stack of your favorite board games, pour some hot drinks and get playing.

Make Hot Chocolate

Speaking of hot drinks, a warming mug of hot chocolate is right for any winter’s day. Keep it classic or add a splash of something stronger and top with whipped cream or marshmallows. Enjoy your treat indoors, or fill a thermos and bundle up to enjoy your cocoa on a winter walk or sitting around the backyard fire pit.

Read More Good Books

When the weather outside is frightful, console yourself by finally tackling some of the good books you’ve been meaning to read. Or curl up with an old favorite that feels just right around the holidays. If you have little ones at home, pile up seasonal books in a basket and pick one each night to read together.

Bundle Up in a Throw

A soft throw brings instant holiday cheer wherever it lands. Put one on your favorite armchair, drape it across the foot of your bed or curl up in it and carry it with you from room to room.

Hang a Fresh Wreath

The front door is the obvious choice for a wreath but why not adorn the inside of your home with green beauties too? Hung with ribbon over the front of bookcases or a mirror, wreaths are a wonderful way to make your home feel festive for the holidays and beyond.

Make Your House Smell Amazing With a Simmer Pot

Whether you’re hosting a gathering or enjoying a lazy Saturday at home, adding a delicious scent to the air can help set a festive mood. Simmer berries, oranges and cinnamon in a heavy pot with water to release their scent, or set out a tray of potpourri.

Set Out a Bowl of Nuts in the Shell

Having an interactive appetizer is fun, and whole nuts in the shell are especially welcome this time of year. Set out a pretty bowl filled with whole almonds, walnuts or pecans, along with a nutcracker and an empty bowl or dish to collect shells.

Light Wintry Candles

Adding the scent of a forest or softly falling snow in the form of a candle can be a lovely way to add ambiance to your home around the holidays. Just remember, a little goes a long way when it comes to scented candles — and unscented is always best at the dinner table.

Hold a Family Movie Night

If you have old family movies hidden away in storage, consider pulling them out for a screening. If you’re planning to have a family movie night showing of classic holiday movies anyway, consider playing a few old family videos before the main event. Pop some popcorn, turn down the lights and snuggle in to share memories and make some new ones.

Savor Afternoon Teatime

Sitting down with a friend to share a pot of tea and a tray of treats is a lovely way to slow down during what can be a stressful time of year. Your tea can be as fancy, or as unfussy, as you want it to be. For a simple tea break, set out an assortment of store-bought cookies and brew up individual mugs of tea. If you want to make it more of an occasion, bake some scones and serve them warm with good jam and a pot of the tea of your choice.

Display Festively Wrapped Gifts

One benefit of getting your gift wrapping done early? Those pretty presents can double as holiday decor. Get your gift-wrapping supplies organized and make the experience a festive event in itself by playing holiday music and sipping a warm drink while you cut, tape and tie bows.

Add a Special Touch to the Dinner Table

Having something a little different at the table can create a magical mood, even if it’s for a simple family dinner. Place a sprig of greenery on each plate, use a wood slice as a charger or set out new cloth napkins.

Savor a Simmered Dish in the Kitchen

Winter is the perfect time to enjoy slow-cooked stews, braises and chili. Let your choice simmer all afternoon, then gather in the kitchen for a casual dinner. If you can’t stick around to keep an eye on the pot, pull out your slow cooker or multicooker and let it do the work for you.

Exchange and Display Holiday Cards

In the digital age, giving or receiving an actual paper card in the mail is something to treasure. Put your cards on display by clipping them to a length of twine or pinning them to a bulletin board.

Deck the Halls With Greenery

Garlands of greenery can give banisters, mantels and dining tables a festive flair. For extra oomph, entwine your garland with a strand of twinkle lights.

Decorate Holiday Cookies

Whether you’re baking up enough to bring to a cookie exchange or you simply want to have a tray of your favorite kind, holiday cookie decorating is a tradition for many. If you’re hosting a group or if little ones will be involved, consider baking the cookies in advance so the group can get right to the fun part: decorating—and eating!

Force Some Bulbs

When the flowers have long faded from the garden and spring blooms are still months away, forcing bulbs can bring welcome color and cheer. Bulbs like hyacinths and paperwhites can be forced in winter by planting in glass jars or vases. Forced bulbs look lovely lining windowsills or atop shelves and counters. And if you have a few extras on hand, you can use them as host gifts.

Make Up a Cozy Bed

Getting into a toasty bed on a cold winter’s night is one of life’s little pleasures. Make your bed up to the task with flannel sheets and plenty of warm blankets. To keep that warm, fuzzy feeling when you get up in the morning, consider treating yourself to a new pair of fluffy slippers and a soft robe.

Soak in a Bath

Add a few drops of a relaxing essential oil, like lavender, to your tub for a soothing experience. Love to linger in the tub? Consider adding a tub caddy to hold your book and tea while you soak.

Boost Ambiance With Hurricane Lanterns

Fill big hurricane lanterns with chunky candles to light the path to your front door on the eve of a holiday party — or anytime you want extra ambiance. If you’re concerned about leaving flames unattended, look for flameless candles with a realistic flicker.

Cozy Up Your Porch With Blankets

A plush faux-fur throw on the porch can make this frosty spot look more welcoming. And if any party guests brave the great outdoors, they can use it to warm their laps.

Look at Holiday Lights in Your Neighbourhood

Checking out the holiday lights will increase your holiday cheer. If the weather is mild enough, bundle up and do your tour on foot. If it’s too frosty for walking, hop in the car. Either way, take along a thermos of hot cocoa or cider to keep you warm.

Sit by the Twinkle Lights

One of my favorite holiday tradition is simply sitting in the living room by the light of the Christmas tree with candles lit. 

Artificial trees may have increased in popularity, but for some, only a real tree will do. No matter how realistic it looks, an artificial tree can’t compete with the scent and feel of a real evergreen. It’s a living part of nature that, for a short time, we give a place of honor in our homes.

And no matter which kind of tree it is — spruce, fir, pine or cypress — once it’s indoors, the goal is to keep the tree fresh and green. This means keeping the needles pliable and on the tree until the holidays are over. And the only thing that does that is water, lots of it, every day.

Get the Tree in Water Immediately

Once you get your tree home, put it into water as soon as possible, within eight hours. If the trunk wasn’t freshly cut at the place where you bought the tree, then saw an inch or two off the bottom of the trunk and put it in a tree stand filled with fresh water. If you’re not ready to set it up, put it in a bucket of water in a cool place. The water temperature doesn’t matter.

Use the Right Stand

It should comfortably fit the diameter of the trunk. Whittling the trunk down will only dry the tree out faster. The National Christmas Tree Association recommends that a tree stand should provide 1 quart of water per inch of stem diameter. Be sure the tree stand you choose has a large water reservoir. A tree can take up a gallon of water in its first few hours in the stand.

Water, Water, Water

Big trees mean lots of water. Watch that the cut part of the trunk stays below the waterline. Adding aspirin, lemon soda or other concoctions to the water won’t extend the tree’s life, but it might sicken pets or children if they drink out of the water reservoir.

Once indoors, a live tree’s branches will relax and open. Allow enough space when siting the tree for the lowest branches to fall open and not get in the way of foot traffic.

Keep the Tree Cool

To an evergreen that spent years growing in a field, your house is as dry as the Sahara Desert. Position the tree out of the sun and away from heat sources. Keep the temperature in the room as low as is practical.

As magical as it seems to come home to a sparkling tree, don’t leave the tree’s lights on overnight or when no one’s in the house.

Even with daily watering, cut trees will eventually dry out. When needles drop when you touch them, and branches droop so low that ornaments are hitting the floor, it’s time to take off the lights and decorations, wrap the tree in an old sheet, and take it outside.

You can saw off some of the tree’s branches and cover garden beds with them to protect plants, or turn them into mulch with a chipper or shredder. If you have the acreage, drag the tree to an out-of-the-way spot for birds and animals to use as cover. Most communities now collect spent Christmas trees and make mulch or compost from them, which they offer back to residents. The saddest end for a tree is for it to be hauled off to a landfill, instead of being turned back into soil — allowed to decompose and feed living creatures, the way nature intended.