What is the best gift to bring to a dinner party?

'Tis the season for dinner parties, and that means figuring out what to bring your host as a gift.

No one wants to look like a regular Ebenezer Scrooge, but how do you know what kind of a gift is appropriate, and when? Is a bottle of wine* still a safe bet, or should we come bearing fine cheeses, fancy olive oil and artisanal pesto, as some online commentators suggest?

Edward Hayden, TV Chef and Cullinary Lectuer at South East Technical University, joined Drivetime to share his advice on the best gifts to bring with you to a dinner party this festive season.

Although he noted that a bottle of wine is always a good choice for a gift, Hayden said: "You never want to look like it's the wine that you bought on offer in the supermarket or in the garage on the way."

The other side of that, he said, is hoping that your host knows you haven't just bought it in the garage, when you've spent maybe €20 on it!

Taste also plays a role when it comes to choosing the right wine for your host, whether they like a Bordeaux or a Chardonnay.

If your host is a true foodie, a good quality olive oil - or Irish rapeseed oil, as Hayden suggested - could be as appreciated as a nice bottle of wine. "It really all depends on the type of person you're going to", he said. "Again, we'd normally take it as fair read that if you're going to someone's house for dinner, they are a culinary enthusiast".

In this case, a good olive oil, an unusual spice or seasoning, or another ingredient could go down a treat.

Even better, Hayden suggested, is a homemade treat like pesto or hummus, wrapped and presented with care. "It's really to demonstrate the effort", he added.

But what if your host insists you take your gift back home with you after the party? "It's done with the best will in the world but it is suggesting, 'Oh, no I don't want it'," Hayden said.

One way to settle that debate, he said, would be "to bring a gift for the person for after the party, so I'm thinking maybe like a hand cream or a body lotion or maybe one of those bags full of seaweed to put over the tap, so you can kind of say to them, well, after all of your work, doing a big dinner party, getting it all ready, they can treat themselves."

As for regifting, Hayden said "we all regift, I don't care who tries to deny it, we all regift".

His advice for a sneaky gift swap? "Take the label off the bag, that's key."

* Drink responsibly