The best gourmet grocery gifts for holiday hosts and food lovers

Etiquette expert Lizzie Post recommends host gifts for first-time visits, holiday parties, or overnight stays.

1. Big Spoon Roasters Holiday Trio, $53

The trio comes from Big Spoon Roasters, a North Carolina maker that has been making handcrafted nut butters and snack bars from scratch in Hillsborough since 2011, with more than 5,000 five-star reviews and a small-batch, palm-oil-free process. Give this to the brunch host who always has good bread on the counter and will absolutely open it before you leave.

2. Bonne Maman Peanut Chocolate Spread, $7

At seven bucks, this is the cheapest gift here and maybe the smartest. It is the kind of stocking stuffer or office-exchange save that looks modest but lands with real pleasure, especially for anyone who likes the idea of dessert at breakfast without committing to a full box of chocolates. Bonne Maman's spread is made with simple ingredients, comes in a glass jar, and is palm-oil free, non-GMO Project Verified, kosher, gluten free, and free of artificial flavors.

3. Coro x Dalkin & Co Chimichurri Salami, $13

This is the one for the host who treats a cheese board like a personality test. Bright chimichurri cuts through the richness of the salami, so it works on a holiday spread, on a sandwich the next day, or eaten straight off the board while people are still hanging coats. At $13, it is an easy add-on gift that feels far more polished than the price suggests, and it is especially good when you want something savory instead of another sweet package.

4. Compartés Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Knafeh Cups, $44.95

This is the showstopper for the friend or relative who wants a dessert gift that feels a little dramatic in the best way. The cups are made by hand daily in Los Angeles and packed as a gift box with a message option, wrap, and ribbon, which makes them especially easy when you want the packaging to do some of the work for you. They were named one of Oprah’s Favorite Things this year.

5. The Ultimate French Butter Trio, $85

The Ultimate French Butter Trio, $85, is the present for the person who knows butter is not background noise. Yes, $85 for butter is a splurge, but that is the point: it is the kind of gift you bring to the ultimate brunch host, or to anyone who gets genuinely excited by a crusty loaf and a good slab of something cold and salted.

6. Essence Variety by Spring & Mulberry, $51

For the chocolate person who is tired of sugar bombs, this is the neatest pantry gift on the list. Spring & Mulberry’s Essence Variety leans into date-sweetened dark chocolate infused with pure essential oils, with flavors like Pure Dark, Sea Salt, Mint Leaf, Coffee, Blood Orange, and Earl Grey, so it tastes adult in the right way without becoming precious. At $51, it sits in that sweet spot between everyday candy and full-on confectionary splurge.

7. Big Sur Bakery Caramel Corn, $70

This is the gift for the movie-night host, the snack grazer, or the family that will demolish a tin before the playlist is over. The caramel corn gets extra personality from pecans and hits of candied orange zest, which keeps it from reading like standard holiday popcorn and gives it more of a bakery-dessert feel. At $70, it is the priciest snack on the list, but it is also the one most likely to disappear the fastest.