How to gift in style at a house warming party

Feb 11, 2011

Your best friends, third-cousins (twice removed), or parents are buying a house this year. Chances are, take it from us, they’ll get three new toasters.

Gifting for housewarming parties is like gifting for weddings. You have to make sure you stand out from the crowd to receive all the glory…or just use the gift registry.

Unfortunately, housewarming parties are meant to be humble invitations to show that a home is welcome and open to visitors. So starting a gift registry for your house warming party might seem a little conceded, to say the least.

On the other hand, it’s that unspoken of rule that all guests invited to a housewarming party should bring a gift for the new home (because the painful move involved getting rid of 2/3 of the junk in the garage at the old house. Hint: the new garage needs new junk!)

Don’t be a junk giver. Give something the new homeowners will love, will use and will gloat about when other people come over.

Here are some ideas:

Ready to play gifts. A Seventh Heaven 7 games in one chest is a good gift for the more mature household, carrying all but Hasbro-type, Jenga-noise and “Sorry” screaming games. Chess, checkers, backgammon, dominoes, cribbage, poker dice, and a deck of cards are all included. Real wood is better than iPhone screens and will bring homeowners back to their off-line roots.

Games that they will love.

Ready for out-of-towners gifts. What could we mean by this? Coffee table books. Tourists not from BC love looking at photos of mountains, lakes and forests that we so often take for granted in our beautiful province. Any household type can use one of these, but first make sure the new home has a guest room – a sure sign that visitors will come around.

Ready to flavor gifts. Food is a great gift for the new mother who needs frozen casseroles to throw in the oven, and herbs and spices are a great gift for new kitchens with neat cooking inspirations. If the new kitchen is fabulous (hint, stainless steel and convection ovens qualify), opt for a Tuscan Herb planter that can keep growing fresh edible plants indoors all year round – and make the kitchen smell nice too!

Ready for the fire gifts. If the new home has a fireplace and the old house didn’t, the best gift is one that will keep the family cozy. Try a luxury throw, such as the Velva Suede Throw, the Buffalo Throw or the Vintage Throw. Extra blankets are always handy, especially for the family with the spare bedroom.

While vases, flowers and toasters can do, don’t believe they are the only last-minute options. Gift specialists can have orders done in a jiffy, when you need it.

Finally, don’t forget to consider the house, the family, and the new features that the family will want to enjoy most (like the fireplace and the convection oven), to help guide your gift decision-making!