Holiday Gift Guide 2014: For the Entertainer

Nippon Turquoise Napkin, $8 each from unisonhome.com A set of napkins is a fail-safe gift for an entertainer. Dark colors ensure maximum longevity, so stick with those. Unison also offers sets of stylish cocktail-size pieces.

Decanters by Terroir, $340–365 from terroirlife.com The borosilicate glass carafes and decanters are hand-blown and snugly wrapped in leather with brass fittings. Pour your Two Buck Chuck into these vessels and guests will be none the wiser.

The 901 Tea Trolley by Artek, $2,230 from store.dwell.com For the ultimate entertainer, you could do no better than the classic Alvar Aalto–designed 901 trolley. Stock it with liquor and spirits for cocktail station, use as a tea and coffee service at the end of a meal, or as a dessert cart—the possibilities are endless. At 22 inches tall, it can slide under most dining-height tables when not in use. Plus, the design pedigree that comes with this piece is unparalleled—historic designer and manufacturer? Check.

Leather Coasters by Commune, $30 for six from communedesign.com If buying furniture overextends your gifting budget, consider a product that will protect your recipient's existing collection. Coasters say, "I know you have a nice house and when you invite me over, I won't leave condensation on your prized Danish teak sideboard or etch a ring into your Carrara marble countertop." Commune, the Los Angeles–based design studio, makes these leather pieces. Pairing them with a monograph on the collective's work is an extra-nice touch.

Alphabet Wine and Water pitcher and tumblers by Formafantasma for Lobmeyr, $540 for the pitcher and $400 per two-piece glass set from larcobaleno.com The Viennese crystal manufacturer Lobmeyr is steeped in history. It opened in 1823 and has continually worked with a roster top-flight designers ever since—from legendary practitioners like Adolf Loos (mentioned in our Fruit Bowl Manifesto and Josef Hoffman to contemporary heavyweights like Stefan Sagmeister and Michael Anastassiades. This year, the company collaborated with Italian designers Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin of Amsterdam-based Studio Formafantasma on a line of glassware that celebrates the act of drinking. Each set of tumblers features a wine glass that nests within a water glass. The paper-thin, lead-free crystal is engraved with 12 different patterns that reference graphics from the Lobmeyr archive.

CVZ Playing Cards by Hay, $15 from store.dwell.com Graphic designer Clara von Zweigbergk lent her flair for color and cometic shapes to this deck of cards—a good thing to have on hand for parties (plus it's a wallet-friendly gift item).

Corvi Concrete Wine Cooler, $75 from intoconcrete.com Keep whites and roses chilled in this sculptural wine bottle holder made from concrete.

Basketweave Placemats by Chilewich, $14 each from chilewich.com What's not to love about Chilewich's mix and matchable, washable, durable, and sleek tabletop textiles? For frequent party throwers who want their spread to wow, but don't want to worry about spilling wine on an heirloom tablecloth, these items are a must. The Carbon Basketweave placemat is shown above, but we spied a place setting at the company's first retail outpost in NYC (set to open on November 20) that paired the Spun placemats and runners in black and white for a minimalist yet incredibly tactile look. Or exercise your inner Albers and layer blocks of color.

Cheese Knife Set, $125 from momastore.org With stainless-steel blades and olive-wood handles, the set of three cheese knives by Andrea Girolami is both handsome and handy. Each is specifically shaped to tackle soft, medium, and hard cheeses so that when you carve off a hunk of parmesan nary a smear of brie or fragrant blue will commingle.

Play by Sonos, $199–699 from sonos.com The sound system that shows up in most of our house stories in Sonos, hands down. Its app is easy to use (if only Spotify radio was compatible with the system!) and you can sync music to multiple speakers in different rooms so the party vibe is felt throughout the house (and ensure that awkward silences are banished).

Cylinda Ice Bucket by Arne Jacobsen for Stelton, Cocktail Shaker by Nick Munro, Cocktail Collection by Royal Doulton, O Martini Glass by Riedel, Aspen Whisky Tumbler by Nachtmann

We'll be curating guides to suit all your gifting needs from now until the holidays; check back for more selections from our editors over the next month! And for now, peruse selections for the Mini Modernist, Art Aficionado, Student, and Chef.