Anytime someone buys a new home, it’s something worth celebrating. Your friends and family definitely deserve something more interesting than a bottle of leftover wine from your holiday party, but coming up with ideas for special, thoughtful, practical housewarming gifts can be challenging. Will it go with their decor? Is it something they already have? Do they have any use for it? We get it. Practical housewarming gifts are hard. But we’re here to help! We’ve rounded up five of our favorite ways to say “”Happy Housewarming!”” with practical housewarming gifts that are anything but basic.
1. A return address stamp
Chances are, ordering a return address stamp with the new address didn’t make the pre-move list of things to do. Surprising your friends or family with a custom stamp not only shows thoughtfulness, it also shows that you care about their time. We all know how tedious it is to write a new address over and over again on every change-of-address form!
2. A personalized doormat
Old doormats rarely make the move to a new house, but nothing says “welcome to our new home” quite like a spruced up front entry. When it comes to practical housewarming gifts, you can’t go wrong with a touch of personalization. Gifting a doormat with a family name or street number is a small way to make a big statement.
3. A dinner to freeze
Kitchens are arguably the most time-consuming room to unpack, which means cooking dinner on those first few nights in a new home is probably out of the question. But it also doesn’t take long to grow tired of take-out dinners. Bringing over something like lasagna or a casserole for the new homeowner to freeze and pull out when they’re craving a home-cooked meal will make their day — and re-energize them for another night of unpacking.
4. A custom house sketch
Who doesn’t love a deeply personal sketch or painting of their home? This is something the homeowner can keep for years to come as a memory of the home they poured so much love into. You could also give them a sketch of their old house as a reminder of where they came from. Either way, you can’t go wrong with this special gift.
5. A potted house plant
Plants are a simple way to bring life to a new space but are rarely a top priority when getting a new house live-in-ready. Gifting the new home owner a house plant like a fiddle leaf fig, snake plant, or ZZ plant will freshen up the space and serve as a sweet reminder of you every time they water it. (Just be sure to include care instructions if they don’t naturally have a green thumb.)
So there you have it — five simple but practical housewarming gifts to show the new homeowners in your life just how happy you really are for them. Now, go forth and gift with confidence! You’ve got this.