Gifts for People Who Entertain, $30 to $150

A host is always short of small bowls. These hold 2 ounces each, which is right for flaky salt at each end of the table, a spoonful of mustard with the charcuterie, lemon wedges at the bar or the olive pits nobody knows where to put.

They are Le Creuset's high-fired stoneware with a glaze that resists chips, stains and flavors. Le Creuset rates them from minus 9 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit and safe in the freezer, oven, microwave and dishwasher, so they also work as prep bowls in the kitchen on the nights nobody is coming.

White goes with everything. Skip them for a host whose kitchen is already full of Le Creuset in a single color, and buy them in that color instead.

The catch. They are small enough to disappear into the back of a cupboard, so they need a home near the table.

Ann Wärff designed the Snowball for Kosta Boda in 1973, and it has stayed in production since. It is a heavy, lead-free crystal votive about 3.7 inches across, with folds and bumps in the glass that throw the light of a single tealight in every direction.

One on a side table is a small, pretty thing. Three or four down the middle of a dinner table give far more light than their size suggests, without the height that blocks guests' view of each other. Unscented tealights are the right fuel, since a scent competes with the food.

It is a single votive, so a proper gift is two or three. Skip it for a host whose style is spare and modern; the Snowball is frankly decorative.

The catch. Wax collects in the folds of the glass; freezing it for an hour makes old wax pop out.

The Boston shaker, two tins that fit one inside the other, is what bartenders use because it is fast, does not jam and makes enough for two drinks at once. This one is from Crafthouse, the barware line Fortessa makes with Charles Joly, a world champion bartender. It is heavy-gauge polished stainless steel with a footed base that gives the hand somewhere to hold.

There are measure marks at 2, 4 and 6 ounces inside, it seals tightly without spilling, and it goes in the dishwasher. For a host who makes a round of drinks when people arrive, it is the tool that turns that into a small performance.

A Boston shaker needs a separate strainer. Anyone who makes only the occasional drink might prefer a three-piece cobbler shaker with the strainer built in.

The catch. No strainer included, and new tins take a firm tap to separate until the owner learns the knack.

Most ice buckets are either plain steel pails or party tubs. Wei Young's Scoop for Nambé is a low, wide stainless steel bowl, 9 inches across and 5.7 inches high, with a solid acacia wood lid and a matching scoop that is part of the design rather than an afterthought.

The wide mouth makes it easy to fill a glass quickly, and the lid keeps the ice from melting as fast on a long evening. It is the kind of object a host leaves out on the bar cart between parties, which is the best sign of a good gift.

Skip it for someone who serves wine more than cocktails; a wine bucket suits them better.

The catch. The wooden lid should be hand washed and oiled occasionally so it does not dry out and crack.

Juliska's Puro glass has a hammered, rippled surface that catches light and scatters it. The 7 inch hurricane is 9 inches tall and 5.5 inches across, mouth-blown by hand and individually signed, and it takes a pillar candle, which it shields from drafts on a terrace or near an open door.

A pair on a long table, or one on a sideboard beside the bar, does more for an evening than any amount of overhead lighting. Juliska says each piece varies slightly in bubbles, color and size, which is the mark of handmade glass.

It is not a vase for hot contents or the freezer. Juliska says it can go in the dishwasher on a warm, gentle cycle, but a candle-smoked hurricane cleans easily enough by hand.

The catch. The highest-priced gift here for a single candle holder, and a pair is the better gift.