The Ultimate Guide to Party Host Gifts That Aren’t Wine

Times they are a changin’, and so is the boring and common afterthought of just grabbing a bottle of wine to bring as a host gift to a party. Whether your hosts are known to be drinkers or not, trends are showing that more and more people are jumping on the sober curious and NoLo movement as well as ditching alcohol when they’re training or doing a challenge such as Sober October or Dry January. The last thing people need is a gift dump of wine bottles sitting around after they host a party.

The bottom line is: wine is not a good gift for your hosts because it is too risky, too boring, and too presumptuous. Yes, it’s nice to give people something they can use (rather than assuming they want something that will be left sitting around (no tchotchkes please!) And yes, it’s nice to give something on-theme with a party such as a celebratory beverage option. But be original and inclusive! Bring something fun that everyone will be excited to learn about and that your hosts will actually be eager to try - regardless of their relationship with alcohol. With so many great non-alcoholic drink options out there - and such a great assortment of decorative bottles and celebrities making investments in non alcoholic drinks - it’s a fun, unique and thoughtful gift. Plus it’s a great conversation starter and shows your consideration around how much thought you put into your gift.

Not sure where to start? There are gobs of options. We boiled it down to some of our favorites.

(Some below are affiliate links, which means if you click & purchase the item we may receive a small token of commission at no extra cost to you. That said, all opinions and recommendations are our own.)

Forget the Wine: These Gifts Will Make You the Best Guest Ever

Think about what you know about your guests and what non-alcoholic type of drink they may like. Here are some ideas that make great gifts, that will spark conversation and are sure to be unique and thoughtful.

• A variety of non alcoholic beer

  If you know your hosts like to keep a refrigerator stocked with beer, give them a taste of something new with variety pack of non-alcoholic beer such as Athletic Brewing craft non alcoholic beer variety pack or the KIT non-alcoholic craft brew starter pack.

• An Italian spritz

  Still want to show up with a lovely bottle with a bow? Try this Lyre’s Italian Spritz non-alcoholic bitter orange for drinking with tonic or soda as a refreshing alcohol free cocktail. Fun party trick if they have Alexa - tell them to just ask "Alexa, Show Me How To Make A Nonalcoholic Cocktail."

• A celebrity backed calming CBD beverage with a magical name

  If your hosts are more adventurous with their drinks (and you’re sure they don’t have any objections to CBD), then our favorite is Unicorn Tears from Mad Tasty. It is a sparkling drink that is an exotic and mysterious blend of natural fruit flavors - think of a very subtle Skittles flavor in the background - but with no added sugar or sweeteners and no hemp flavor needing to be masked. MAD TASTY was founded by Ryan Tedder, lead singer of OneRepublic, songwriter and producer, when he wanted the ultimate functional beverage to help him maximize his performance on stage, at the gym and in his writing. Plus, with the Mad Tasty hemp-forward formulation, Unicorn Tears contains 20 MG broad-spectrum hemp extract, including CBD - that is restorative, hydrating, and refreshing for the brain.

• A bubbly aperatif from a celebrity backed company

  Another conversation starter is De Soi Champignon Dreams. A non alcoholic beverage company by Katy Perry, De Soi offers a number of adaptogenic drinks and sparkling beverages containing natural botanicals such as this Champignon Dreams which contains Reishi mushroom. This ready to drink bottle is a bubbly and delicious drink akin to an aperol spritz, without the hangover of course.

• A starter pack of alcohol free cocktails

  Are your hosts current or previous cocktail drinkers with varied palates? Maybe they’ve heard about ready to go non alcoholic cocktails but never ventured to purchase. Here’s your chance to bring something unique that will appeal to a variety of cocktail drinkers - the Free AF Variety Pack. This starter pack of non-alcoholic sparkling cocktails contains four non-alcoholic cocktails in one pack - with Apero Spritz, Cuba Libre, Vodka Spritz and Paloma drinks. Let your hosts try the alcohol free wave without the hangover.

• An alcohol free spirits pack

  Looking for a more decadent gift for someone who likes gin or whiskey? Get them the MONDAY Zero Alcohol Gin + Whiskey Variety Pack so they can add these two beautiful deco bottles to their bar cart and have something alcohol free to explore. Both Monday Gin and Monday Whiskey are made using a small-batch process and bottled at the Monday distillery in Los Angeles, California.

• Dealcoholized wine for when old habits die hard

  We know old habits can be hard to break. So, if you must go for a bottle of wine then at least be unique about it and get them something they’ve likely never tried before. We recommend you go for a dealcoholized wine such as a 4-pack of Buzzkill Wines non alcoholic sauvignon blanc, an alcohol-free California dry white wine. If you really want to bring a bottle - bring two - and show up with the dealcoholized Surely non alcoholic sparkling Brut and Rosé combo of non-alcohol California wines. These are not just sparkling grape juices or an imitation but actual wines made in partnership with award-winning winemakers in California that have then been dealcoholized.

Photo: Happy Films

These are just some examples of non-alcoholic gift ideas that you can bring to your hosts instead of wine. Of course, you can also get creative and personalize your gift according to what you know about your hosts’ drink interests or hobbies. For example, if you know they are a margarita drinker, try bringing them a zero proof tequila for when they’re taking a night off drinking or to prep for Dry January. You just may be the one to introduce them to a whole new world they’ve yet to explore.

So next time you’re invited to a dinner party, ditch the wine and bring something else. Your hosts will thank you for it and you’ll feel like a more gracious guest.