• 80 ideas

What Should I Bring to a Dinner Party

Host gifts, dishes and drinks, sorted by situation: a new host, a close friend, a house with children.

What Should I Bring to a Dinner Party

Show all 16
  1. Small serving bowl or cutting boardIt comes out again at the host's next dinner.
  2. Tin of loose-leaf teaA safe choice when you do not know what the host drinks.
  3. Pot of herbs for the windowsillBasil, mint or rosemary goes on being useful long after the party.
  4. Set of cloth napkinsA step up from paper, and it folds flat in your bag.
  5. Flowers already in a vaseIt goes straight onto a table, with no hunt for a vase while the pans are on.

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All 80 ideas

A host you do not know well 16

  • Bag of coffee from a local roaster Choose ground unless you know the host owns a grinder.
  • Bottle of balsamic vinegar Bring it with the olive oil if you want to hand over a pair.
  • Bottle of good olive oil A cook uses it up, so it never gathers dust on a shelf.
  • Flowers already in a vase It goes straight onto a table, with no hunt for a vase while the pans are on.
  • Handwritten card Two lines of thanks, on its own or tucked in with any gift on this list.
  • Jar of flaky sea salt A cook's treat that few people buy for themselves.
  • Jar of jam from a small maker Look on a market stall for a flavor the supermarket does not stock.
  • Jar of local honey Small, easy to carry and welcome in nearly any kitchen.
  • Pair of unscented taper candles They can burn on the table tonight without fighting the smell of the food.
  • Pot of herbs for the windowsill Basil, mint or rosemary goes on being useful long after the party.
  • Set of cloth napkins A step up from paper, and it folds flat in your bag.
  • Small box of chocolates Say it is for later, so the host need not fit it into tonight's dessert.
  • Small potted plant Pick one that needs little care, and peel off the price sticker.
  • Small serving bowl or cutting board It comes out again at the host's next dinner.
  • Tin of loose-leaf tea A safe choice when you do not know what the host drinks.
  • Tin of shortbread It keeps in the cupboard, so nobody has to open it tonight.

A close friend 14

  • A dessert you both agreed on Text the day before, so there are not two cakes on one table.
  • An extra pair of hands, an hour early Offer first. Some cooks love company in the kitchen and some want it to themselves.
  • Book you have just finished Write a line inside the cover about why it made you think of them.
  • Breakfast for tomorrow, in one bag Bread, butter, jam and juice, handed over with the words: this is for the morning.
  • Card game for after the plates are cleared Bring one you can explain in a minute.
  • Containers for sending leftovers home The host fills them at the end and has less to store.
  • Cookie dough for the freezer Rolled into balls and frozen, so they can bake a few whenever they like.
  • Cutting from one of your plants Potted up, from the plant they admired at your place.
  • Flowers cut from your garden Tie them with string, and bring a jar they can keep.
  • Offer to wash the dishes Make it when you arrive and keep it when the plates come off.
  • Playlist made for the evening Send it ahead, and let the host decide whether it goes on.
  • Printed photo of the two of you In a small frame that fits on a shelf.
  • The snack they always talk about The one from their home town or their childhood that they never buy.
  • Something homemade in a jar Chutney, pickles, granola or a spice mix, with the date written on the lid.

When you are asked to bring a dish 14

  • After-dinner mints or chocolate squares For the coffee at the end, when nobody has room for cake.
  • Apple pie, still in its dish Bring it ready to slice, and collect the dish another day.
  • Bowl of berries and whipped cream The dessert for a table that is already full.
  • Brownies, cut small They sit beside the host's dessert without competing with it.
  • Cheese board, wrapped and ready Cut the first few pieces at home, so nobody is shy about starting.
  • Chocolate cake, baked the day before It cuts into thin slices, so one cake goes around a long table.
  • Cold starter on its own platter Dips, marinated olives or sliced tomatoes take no room on the host's stove.
  • Fruit tart from a bakery Carry it flat on your lap, not on the car seat.
  • Green salad, with the dressing in a jar Toss it at the table and the leaves stay crisp.
  • Lemon bars Sharp and small, after a rich main course.
  • Loaf of crusty bread and good butter Ask whether bread is covered. If it is not, this needs no cooking at all.
  • Roasted vegetables, served at room temperature They wait on the counter while the main dish finishes.
  • Serving spoon for your own dish Then the host does not have to find one in the middle of dinner.
  • Tub of vanilla ice cream Ask about freezer space first, and carry it in a cool bag.

Drinks with no alcohol 12

  • Bag of ice Text from the shop to ask. A host who is short of ice will say yes at once.
  • Bottle of elderflower cordial One bottle makes several jugs. The host only adds water.
  • Decaf coffee for after dinner Hosts forget it, and late guests ask for it.
  • Ginger ale and a few limes A drink with some bite for the guests who are driving.
  • Homemade lemonade in a sealed bottle Make it sharp. People can sweeten a glass, not the jug.
  • Hot chocolate mix and marshmallows Ask a parent first. They know what is allowed this close to bedtime.
  • Jug of fresh-pressed apple cider The cloudy kind with no alcohol. In fall, ask whether there is a pot to warm it in.
  • Jug of iced tea Brew it the night before and bring lemon slices in a tub.
  • Lemons, limes and a bunch of mint They dress every glass on the table, whatever is in it.
  • Sparkling apple juice It pours into the same glasses as everything else on the table.
  • Sparkling grape juice Chill it before you leave, so it is ready to open.
  • Sparkling water, two big bottles The first thing a dinner table runs out of.

For the host's next morning 10

  • Bagels and a tub of cream cheese Enough for the household, with no cooking and one knife.
  • Basket of fruit in season Peaches in summer, pears in fall, clementines in winter.
  • Bottle of fresh orange juice It goes in the fridge door and is gone by ten.
  • Box of croissants or pastries Buy them late in the day, so they are still good at breakfast.
  • Good butter and a jar of marmalade They turn plain toast into a breakfast.
  • Half a dozen eggs from a farm stand For a host who likes to cook a proper breakfast.
  • Jar of granola Homemade if you have an hour, with a ribbon around the lid.
  • Loaf of bakery bread for tomorrow's toast Say it is for breakfast, so it is not sliced for the table tonight.
  • Muffins, baked this afternoon Wrap them well and they are still soft at breakfast.
  • Pancake mix and maple syrup Breakfast with no thinking, on the morning after a late night.

A house with children 9

  • Bottle of bubbles For the yard before dinner. Hand it to a parent, not to the child.
  • Box of sidewalk chalk For the driveway while the food cooks.
  • Card game the whole family can play Pick one with rules a six-year-old can follow.
  • Colored pencils and a pad of paper Something for the children to do at the table while the adults talk.
  • Fruit ice pops for dessert They go in the freezer when you arrive and come out when the plates are cleared.
  • Picture book Write the child's name and the date inside the cover.
  • Plain cookies and icing to decorate them The children decorate while dinner is finished. Bring a tray to catch the sprinkles.
  • Small jigsaw puzzle One that can be finished before bedtime.
  • Sticker book Quiet, flat and easy to share between two children.

Last minute, from a shop 5

  • Bag of clementines They sit in a bowl on the counter and are gone within the week.
  • Box of plain crackers They go with whatever cheese the host has.
  • Bunch of grapes and a wedge of cheese On a plate it is a course. Left in the bag it is a gift for later.
  • Large bar of good chocolate It breaks into squares to pass around with the coffee.
  • Supermarket flowers, wrapper off Trim the stems and tie them with string before you ring the bell.

How it works

What should I bring to a dinner party? Something small that the host can put down and enjoy later. These 80 ideas start with a host you do not know well, and none of them is alcohol.

Read the full guide

Start with how well you know the host

On a first visit, bring something small that asks nothing of the host tonight: flowers already in a vase, chocolates or a jar of something good. Close friends who eat together often can skip the gift and bring help, a game or tomorrow's breakfast.

Bringing food for the table

Ask before you bring a dish, and ask what is on the menu. Choose something finished at home that needs no oven and no stove.

  • Spend within your means. Small and chosen with care is the whole idea of a host gift.

Questions and answers

Should I bring something to a dinner party?

It is a custom, not a rule. The Emily Post Institute says guests do not have to bring a gift to dinner, that a casual dinner especially does not call for one, and that gifts are not usually taken to large, formal dinners.

What should I bring to a dinner party instead of wine?

Flowers already in a vase, a small box of chocolates, good olive oil, local honey or a tin of tea. For the table, sparkling water or sparkling apple juice pours into the same glasses.

What should I bring to a dinner party at the last minute?

One stop at a shop covers it: a box of chocolates, a pot of herbs, a loaf from the bakery counter or two big bottles of sparkling water. Take the wrapper off supermarket flowers and tie the stems with string.

Does the host have to serve what I bring?

No. The Emily Post Institute's advice is not to expect it: the host decides. The meal was planned before you arrived, so say your chocolates or your loaf are for later and nobody has to change the menu.

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