Housewarming gift??

[msdznyduck]

Anyone have any suggestions for a housewarming gift, for a couple who just bought a house, and are getting married in April?
I want to get them something special, but we have the wedding and shower coming up soon also, so don't want to overdo it.
Any one get anything unusual or really great when they moved into their house? We didn't...except plants, and I don't think they are really plant people
Housewarming........could probably use a heater to "warm the house" since it is so freezing..........LOL

 

[caseylouandtyler2]

How about a Home Depot Gift Card?

 

[adamak]

I once bought a bunch of toilet paper. Wrap it in fancy papers, and everyone had a great laugh. Of course, I attached it with a William Sonoma gift cert.

It's very useful by the way.

 

[lynxstch]

my suggestion would be an electric tart burner and some tarts..yankee candle has some great scents..someone gave us one as a housewarming gift when we bought our house..and it's used almost every day!

 

[swea_pea1]

A lot of people (us included) tend to "weddingize" their house right after the wedding (you know what I mean, they hang 10 or 12 pictures of the bride, the groom, the bride and groom, the parents of the bride and groom, etc. to be replaced later by the all the first baby pictures). We received a couple of nice framed prints that we really liked and they broke the monotony of all the wedding pictures. You can get a print fairly reasonably priced at a home or craft store. Framing is pretty expensive, so you could either opt for a less expensive frame or pick a nicer one up at a local Goodwill or Salvation Army store. The folks that gave us art also signed the back with the date and a special message that only we knew was there.

 

[momsal]

For my nephews house warming I did a emergency basket for them.

I put in candles, a couple of candle holders, an oil lamp and oil, matches, a flash light and batteries!!!

It didn't cost alot and most people don't think of having these things on hand until AFTER the first time the electricity goes out!!!

 

[Thumpersmom]

Everyone has great ideas. I know when we bought our house someone brought us a garden hose and sprayer attachment. We also rec. a lot of plants both indoor and out.

For some friends who moved in closer to summertime we bought some of the outdoor furniture chairs that stack. They loved it when people came over they had somewhere for them to sit!

You could also do a BBQ basket or home repair stuff like nails, spackle, extension cords, timer for lights etc.

I'm sure whatever you pick will be a huge hit. I know we could not afford anything for a couple of months after we bought the house and loved when gifts arrived!

 

[TiggersPal]

Hey what great ideas! I personally love the toilet paper with the Williams Sonoma card and the Home Depot. (That's where we registered when we got married!!!) I was 38 - and didn't need dishes and stuff like that but since we bought both our first house, we needed all types of tools, etc. Great ideas.


You guys are soooo

 

[Alice28]

I think the Home Depot card idea is great.

I also think that a set of garden tools is a good idea----often Costco (if you go there) starts bringing out their garden tools, hoses, etc this time of year, along with roses and other hearty plants. Or maybe an engraved little plaque to hang by the door- you know "The Jones Family, established 2004."

Someone gave us a fire extinguisher and a high quality smoke detector at our housewarming party. Good idea I thought----

 

[klmklm]

I like the emergency basket idea
We have also given bird feeders for housewarming gifts:
you can get a simple feeder, seed, and binoculars, or a pretty hand-blown glass hummingbird feeder

 

[RUDisney]

My sister just moved into a new house 2 weeks ago. She and DH have been married 3 years and were moving from one house into another. We got them some nice crystal, Villeroy & Bach candlesticks from Marshall's ($20). We also got them some fancy dog biscuits for Fred and a baby outfit for Caroline who is due to make her first appearance at the beginning of May. I figured that we'd be covering all bases with that stuff.

For Christmas, we bought them a Celtic Cross doormat since I know that they like Irish things. If you know that your friend likes something ethnic, you can do something like that.

When in doubt, when someone moves, you can always buy a rooster bowl for good luck, and make sure to take a loaf of bread with you so they'll never go hungry.

 

[melk]

Someone had made up for us address labels with our name and new address and then cartoon likenesses of the five of us under the address. It was really cute and unique and whenever I send out a card to someone with those labels they always comment on how cute they are.

 

[Mishetta]

I vote for the Home Depot (or Lowe's) gift card. I wish we had gotten one of those when we moved into our house!!

 

[huey duey & luey]

I have actually done 2 different types of gifts. One a basket of kitchen essentials. Salt, pepper different spices , olive oil etc. When doing a first grocery shopping those basic things needed to stock the kitchen can really add up. I have also bought a mop, dust pan and mop bucket and filled it with all different cleaning supplies. You can also get 1 or 2 different gift certificates to the nearest take out restuarants along with the take out menus.
Tara

 

[Poohnatic]

If they haven't had time to do any furnishing, Curtains and curtain rods have always thrown me for a loop! Perhaps a gift certificate to a place to buy these.

I like the take out gift certificate idea, especially if they are still unpacking lots of boxes! The last thing they may want to do is cook after unpacking all day.

Suzanne

 

[barbeml]

You can never go wrong with a Home Depot Gift certificate, but I love creative gifts.

When I bought my house (after years of apartment living), the best gift I received was from my friend Rich: assorted extension cords (indoor & outdoor use), a power strip, and a variety of lightbulbs. With all the electronics we have in our entertainment systems these days, it is unbelievable how many cords and outlets you need. 10 years later and I am still using that stuff.

The best gift I gave to a first-time home buyer was a garden hose and sprayer (a previous poster mentioned this). She said she would never have thought to buy one and her lawn and plantings would have died without it, as we were in the middle of a drought but the outside of the house was the last thing on her mind.

The best gift I gave to friends who were buying their first home AND expecting a baby was a basket full of child safety devices--outlet covers, oven door locks, etc.

Barbe

 

[msdznyduck]

What great ideas........I knew I could count on the DIS.

I like a lot of the ideas.....maybe a fire extinguisher and smoke detector, along with a carbon monoxide detector. The garden tool idea is a good one also, and I can get to Costco this Sat before the party. Maybe they will have some other ideas there also. All the basket ideas are good ones too. Sometimes I just have a brain blip and can't think of anything.

THanks for all your ideas, again.
ELaine