The 12 Best Kitchen Gifts For The Best People In Your Life

What's the most popular, most heavily used room in almost every home? That's right, the kitchen. (Granted, we spend more time in the bedroom, but we're asleep, so that doesn't count.) The kitchen is where coffee is sipped in the morning as we scroll on phones, where homework is checked in the afternoons as snacks are served, and, of course, where meals are prepped and eaten and all of our food and cooking tools are kept. So any gift you give someone that will make their time spent in the kitchen a bit more enjoyable is a great gift indeed.

But while we all spend a lot of time in the kitchen, not everyone engages with this nexus of the home in the same way. That's why we have rounded up an eclectic but excellent group of the best kitchen gift ideas for you. There are products here that will thrill those folks who love spending long afternoons cooking away. And there are options for people who need to get dinner on the table in 20 minutes flat before the hungry fam starts revolting. There are gifts for the grill master, the oenophile, the eco-friendly, and for those who value beauty and style.

And don't worry, we chose plenty of affordable kitchen gifts along with a few higher-end "wow factor" selections. But enough talk, let's get cooking on this kitchen gift idea list! (Sorry, we had to.)

The only problem with these handsome cutting boards from Fab Slabs is that since they look so good, your giftee may be loathe to use them for, y'know, cutting. Which would be a shame, as the boards are plenty durable enough to stand up to thousands of slices and chops and dicing and more, and they'll keep on looking great even with some wear and tear caused by use — they merely gain character, rather than losing their visual appeal.

Fab Slab cutting boards are made from single, solid slabs of camphor laurel wood, not from multiple pieces of wood glued together, as is the case with most wooden cutting boards. That solid design helps the boards resist warping and cracking even with heavy use and frequent washings. Also, it means the natural grain and pattern of the wood shows through unbroken. 

when not in use as a cutting board, these stylish slabs make great serving platters for cheese and cracker spreads, charcuterie, veggies, or whatever else is on the menu. They also look pretty great just hanging out there in the kitchen. 

Upgrading to a Williams-Sonoma kitchen towel is like sipping a fine French Champagne when all you've known is Korbel Brut, or biting into a tender ribeye when you've only had top sirloin before: There's just no going back — or rather, you can go back, but you'll forever know what you're missing. With their understated good looks and the availability of so many colors, it's easy to find a set of these towels that will match any kitchen. They can be washed a hundred times and will still look good, so they're hardly mere decorations, but are ready for use on pots and pans, plates and bowls, cutlery and countertops, and on it goes.

What makes these the best kitchen towels you'll find at a decent price point? Pretty simple, really: materials and construction. Williams-Sonoma dish towels are made from 100% Turkish cotton and they are woven into a tough, durable, and absorbent towel that will become a mainstay of the kitchen. And when after long service these kitchen towels finally lose their looks, taking on a bit of a yellow or gray tinge, then not to worry: They can be re-assigned and will become your gift recipient's favorite rags for non-kitchen cleaning duty.

When you give someone the gift of a Dreo Air Fryer Pro Max, fair warning that you may be ending their relationship with some other appliances in their lives, from the oven to the microwave to the toaster and more. This easy-to-use and highly capable air fryer can be set to modes including bake, roast, dehydrate, broil, and, of course, air fry, which yields crispy and delicious foods with no deep vat of cooking oil required. Digital controls on top of the device make it easy to program the desired time and temperature along with allowing for easy control of the aforementioned modes, while a large 6.8-quart fry basket (that, yes, is dishwasher-safe) can cook up enough food for five people at a time.

An air circulation system within the Dreo Pro Max ensures quick and even heating of your foods, while a built-in window lets you take a peak at the cooking process without disturbing the progress. The package also includes a recipe book covering everything from dinners to desserts to sides to homemade yogurt, so even if your giftee has never air fried before, they will be ready to cook with confidence once this unit is unboxed and ready to go.

Setting the perfect holiday table will be a whole lot easier for your gift getter with a set of these gorgeous Social Studies dinner plates — as will setting any fancy table (no holiday required), or just dressing up an everyday dinner, for that matter. The elegantly styled yet durable porcelain plates feature a floral motif over a deep emerald green background. They pair well with all sorts of other colors, from white to red to brown, so they work on a table that's stylish but demure as well as they do amidst a truly lavish tableau. And as fine and delicate as the patterns may be, the plates themselves can be tossed in the dishwasher or microwave.

At 11 inches in diameter, these are full-sized dinner plates that can accommodate the full freight of a feast-sized meal. They are also ideal for stacking with a salad plate, napkin, and flatware, so you can stage a great look before you serve a great meal.

These will probably be the sharpest knives your gift getter will have ever seen, so along with the set of blades, it's probably a good idea to tuck in a little warning label (or at least give an oral warning). That's not meant to be cute, by the way: When brand new, these knives are so sharp that careless handing is a distinct danger. On the other hand, as any good chef will tell you, a very sharp knife is actually much safer than a dull one (when used properly in the kitchen), as the blade will make clean cuts and won't slip out of the food being sliced, diced, chopped, minced, and so on.

While the knives in this Benchmade Table Knife Set are perhaps best used as steak knives — no surprise, as Benchmade products are primarily designed for hunting, fishing, and general adventuring — they can indeed be used for really any cooking task, from chopping veggies to deboning meat to mincing herbs. They could, frankly, be the only knives your chef friend needs. And thanks to the fact that Benchmade offers custom text printed onto the blades, your friend will never forget who gave them such good blades (which is a good thing, as these are hardly inexpensive knives, by the way).

There! In the gift box your friend just unwrapped! Is it a bowl? Is it a work of art? Yes, both! Is it for serving soup? For holding fruit on the kitchen counter? As a catch-all on a console table in the foyer? Again, yes, all of that and so much more!

The Revere Hand-Painted Bowl is a genuine work of art, being hand-painted as the name rather clearly suggests. But it's designed to be used. In fact, the microwave safe bowl is even durable enough to be cleaned in the dishwasher, though the maker does recommend hand washing it so that lovely paint job continues to look great for years.

With its 27-ounce capacity, The Revere bowl — so named as its styling is inspired by a traditional American colonial aesthetic — is perfect for dishes like pho, pasta, and salad. It can also be used as a mid-sized serving bowl or, as noted, on a counter or table. No matter how you use it or where you place it, it's going to look good.

let's be honest, this is probably a gift you're going to end up getting for yourself. The Crate & Barrel Lavender + Eucalyptus 7-Piece Collection is one of those classic "why didn't they think of it before?" situations. Think of it like this: You wouldn't walk into the kitchen — or any room, for that matter — and light a candle with one scent, spray an air freshener with another, and then set up a diffuser with a third, right? No way! The mingling of so many disparate smells would be unpleasant at best, nauseating at worst. So why do we just grin and bear it when our hand soap has one scent, our spray cleaner another, our dish soap yet another, and on it goes?

Well no more, thanks to some clever thinking by the folks at Crate & Barrel. They now offer sets including hand soap, dish soap, countertop spray, hand lotion, sanitizing spray, a diffuser, and a candle all in the same scent. That way you can clean your kitchen (and your hands) and fill your space with lovely aromas that are all fully unified. The effect is relaxing, refreshing, and will be very much appreciated by all in the home — whether it's your home or someone else's.

You can file this one under "not sure how in the world it costs that little," but also under "not to worry," because the Govee Bluetooth Meat Thermometer has well over 4,300 reviews and counting on Amazon and enjoys a solid 4.5-star overall rating. For under $30, this gift, which is perfect for a grill master, can do everything many much higher priced meat thermometer do, and it does them just as well. It can constantly track the interior temperature of a food, monitor for pre-set temperatures and send alerts when they are hit, operate pre-set programs for multiple different types of meat, and, of course, give you an instant read of the temperature (via either of its two probes) sent to your phone or tablet at a range of up to nearly 200 feet.

That means anyone using this smart meat thermometer can be kicking back inside while their food cooks away on the grill, braving the elements only for a quick flip of the steaks or burgers or when that meat has hit the chef's exact desired temperature. Oh yeah, it's a gift alright.

Reusable silicone baking mats are a great example of a product that might seem unnecessary before you start using them, but will be indispensable once you try them out. Much more eco-friendly than going through roll after roll of use and toss parchment paper, these mats will also end up paying for themselves. And as a pair of MMmat Silicone Baking Mats costs less than $20, investing in them will become worthwhile in no time at all.

The mats are made from high-quality food-grade German silicone and are free from BPA and PFOA. They are safe for use in ovens as hot as 500 F and can be cleaned by rinsing in the sink or they can be tossed right in the dishwasher. For the friend or loved one who enjoys baking (and keeping a green kitchen), this is a gift that is sure to offer them sweet relief.  

How about a gift that can yield multiple cups of great coffee, is inexpensive, and won't take up much space? This classic French press checks all of those boxes. It will look as good in a kitchen today as it would have generations back, and surely the French press will still be popular for decades to come — sometimes, you just can't improve on something, so why try?

This Bodum Chambord French Press Coffee Maker can produce an impressive four cups of coffee in all of about four minutes. And that's to say four genuine, full-sized cups, as in eight ounces each, not a little four-ounce serving. On the other hand, there's a reason coffee servings are often measured in four-ounce quantities, and that may well come into play here depending on the coffee you use (Death Wish Coffee, anyone?) and how long you let it brew. That reason? This French press can make one seriously potent cup of coffee.

The elegant Homeries Marble Wine Chiller Bucket is just the right gift for a wine lover, because buying actual wine for an oenophile is always a tricky business and just so easy to get wrong. Solid and heavy yet with a refined style, this looks great in the center of the table or set on a bar, and it can be an everyday part of a home's décor or just brought out for special occasions. The chiller is sized to accommodate standard 750 milliliter bottles and can also fit most Champagne, cava, or prosecco bottles as well. 

Wine chillers like this are also great for beverages that are not meant to be served chilled at all, but merely need to be kept from getting hot. Freeze or refrigerate the chiller for a while and it can then be used to keep a bottle of red wine from heating up when it's set out on a hot summer day, for example. Think dynamically, folks!

Yes, this portable pizza oven costs $500. (Well, $499.) And yes, that is a lot of money for a product that can ostensibly do just one thing. But man does it do that one thing well. The Gozney Roccbox can reach an astounding 950 F, something your home oven could never do. At that great heat, it cooks up a perfect pizza in a matter of minutes — and like two or three minutes, not eight or nine, for the record. The resulting pies will taste like they came out of a professional oven because, for all intents and purposes, they did.

So yes, this is a big gift, in price and physical size, but if you have a pizza-loving friend or family member on your holiday shopping list, you really can't do better than this unless you can fly in a team from Italy to build a brick oven in their backyard. And that won't even be portable.