Christmas Host Gifts: What to Bring That Won't Be Regifted

Someone has opened their home, cooked for a table of twelve and found room for everyone's dietary requirements. You arrive with a bottle of wine, which is opened and finished by the guests, or a scented candle, which joins the three others in the linen cupboard waiting to be passed on next year.

A good host gift does something different. It is for the host, not the party. It is used after everyone has gone home. And it says you noticed the effort.

What makes a good host gift

• It is for her, not for the table. Something she will use herself, rather than serve to everyone else.
• It is used up, not kept. Nobody needs another object to find a shelf for. A beautiful consumable is always welcome.
• It does not depend on taste you can't know. Art, décor and fragrance are personal. Basin essentials are not.
• It arrives ready. Presented well enough that it needs no apology and no extra wrapping.

The basin gift: wash and lotion

The bathroom basin is the most-used surface in a home and usually the least considered. Huxter's Limited Edition Wash & Lotion Gift Set fixes it in one go: a 500ml hand and body wash and a 500ml moisture-rich lotion, presented on a custom-designed white silicone tray and scented with pink pepper, vanilla bean and gentle woods.

It is the gift we would choose for the host who has everything, for a practical reason. Putting the lotion beside the wash means the second step happens without thinking, every time she washes her hands. Two 500ml bottles also last; this is not a gift that is finished by February.

The guest bathroom: soap and hand balm

For a smaller gesture, or a second home, the Soap & Hand Balm Gift Set pairs a soap with a nourishing hand balm in the same pink pepper and vanilla scent. Washing takes oil away; a balm puts it back. Matching the scent makes it feel like a finished ritual rather than two separate things, and it looks considered on a guest-bathroom basin.

For the host who does everything: something just for her

Some hosts would never put themselves first, which is exactly why they deserve a gift that is not for the household. Huxter's Shower Oil is a 200ml cleansing oil, enriched with sweet almond and grape seed oils, that turns into a soft, milky lather on contact with water and leaves skin feeling clean and soft rather than tight. It comes boxed, and it is a small daily upgrade that is hers alone.

For the host who has been on her feet all day

Anyone who has hosted Christmas lunch knows where it is felt by evening. PAUME's Hand & Foot Recovery Set is an overnight ritual in a box: the Overnight Hand & Foot Hydration Mask, which deeply hydrates and softens dry hands and feet while you sleep, organic cotton gloves and cotton socks to keep it on the skin until morning, and a Probiotic Hand Balm for the days after. It is the gift that says you noticed how hard she worked, and it is meant to be used the night everyone goes home.

For more than one host

December often means several invitations in a fortnight. The Hand Cream Trio brings three 35ml hand creams together and divides neatly between three hosts, or between a host, a neighbour and a colleague. Huxter's hanging hand creams and PAUME's mini duo in its ornament box also work well tied to the neck of a bottle, if you do bring wine: the wine is for the table, the hand cream is for her.

A few notes on etiquette

• Hand it over on arrival, quietly, and don't expect it to be opened that evening. A host gift is for later.
• Add a short card. Two lines of thanks are worth more than the gift itself, and they are what she will remember.
• Don't bring something that needs looking after mid-party: flowers that need a vase, or food that needs plating.

Order early

Huxter's Adorned Christmas Collection is a limited run and is available to pre-order now. Orders that include a pre-order piece are dispatched together once the collection arrives with us, so order well ahead of your first invitation. PAUME's holiday kits are limited too.

See the full Christmas edit, or for smaller gifts, read our guide to stocking fillers she'll actually use.