Ideas for · 2 min read · updated

Housewarming gift ideas

You're going to the party anyway. Bring something about the move itself: the boxes, the first-night pizza, the text that said they got it.

The short answer

Bring something about their first weeks in the place: a flag for the household's made-up nation, the takeout they ate on the floor as a giant pillow, or the text that said they got the keys as a fridge magnet. If you can get a photo of the front, a pillow shaped like the house itself.

The picks

  1. A navy, teal and yellow flag with a star on a flagpole, made with Flag Foundry
    Puzzles & flags

    Flag Foundry

    A flag for the household's made-up nation, as a 12 x 17 in garden flag with the name on it, for the first thing visitors see.

    Makes: Flag

  2. A hot dog shaped pillow with a white edge, made with Big Snack
    Pillows

    Big Snack

    The takeout they ate on the floor on night one, as one giant pillow for the couch that just arrived. A slice of pizza cut along the crust, a burrito, whatever it was.

    Makes: Shaped pillow, stickers, magnets

  3. A blue text bubble pillow that says "you up?" with a read receipt, made with Left On Read
    Pillows

    Left On Read

    The text that said we got the keys, as a die-cut magnet for a fridge with nothing on it yet.

    Makes: Shaped pillow, stickers, magnets

  4. A pillow cut in the shape of a yellow Victorian house with teal trim, made with Home Sweet Pillow
    Pillows

    Home Sweet Pillow

    If you can get a photo of the front with nobody in it, the house itself as a pillow cut along its roofline.

    Makes: Shaped pillow

  5. A pillow cut along the Teton ridge seen from Jackson Hole, with the peaks named, made with The Skyline
    Pillows

    The Skyline

    For a new place with a view, a pillow whose top edge is the ridgeline you can see from the porch.

    Makes: Shaped pillow

The moments worth a gift

Moving is mostly a blur, but a few moments stick: the text that said the offer went through, the first meal eaten off a cardboard box, the argument about which room is the office. Ask one question at the party and you'll hear all of them. Any one of those makes a better gift than a candle.

Found the household

The silliest one is also the most fun to give. On Flag Foundry, make up a nation for the new place (the Republic of the Back Bedroom, the Duchy of Unit 3) and design its flag. A built-in critic scores it out of 100 and is rude about it. The garden flag is the one version that prints the nation's name, and it hangs off a little pole by the front door.

Questions people ask

What's a good housewarming gift for someone who has everything?

Something about the move, since nobody owned it before. Their first-night takeout as a pillow or a flag for the new household both work.

What if they don't have a view of mountains?

Skip The Skyline and go for the house pillow, the flag or the takeout pillow. The Skyline also works on the coast, where the horizon is the sea.

Is there a gift for the people who just closed on the house?

Yes, see closing gifts for new homeowners. That page covers sending a gift straight to the buyers with a note.