If they were lucky, they received many must-have items from their friends and family in the form of gifts from a registry, but just because they might already have a lot of essentials doesn’t mean you have to show up empty-handed on your first invite to their new home. We’ve gathered 10 ideas of housewarming gifts for newlyweds:
1. Painted portrait You might offer to buy them a portrait commissioned by a favorite local artist. It'd be a fun alternative to just a wedding photo in a frame, and portraits are really growing in popularity in interiors. Be sure to read some tips on how to commission one, first.
2. Extra place setting or two of theirs They probably got a full set of their choosing if they registered for gifts for their wedding, but you could always surprise them with a couple more settings and hint that you'd make a great dinner party guest. They could always hang anything extra on the wall.
3. Salt and pepper shakers We feel like this is something too small to have been included on a gift registry. And it's a fun way to leave them with a piece of your personality for their home! We've got lots of ideas: modern ones, cute and kitschy ones and ones that will make you smile.
4. Stationary/thank you cards They'll probably have a lot of them to write if they had a lot of gifts given to them, and it never hurts to have extra around. Extra points if you have them personalized.
5. Supplies for indoor gardens Unless you know for sure they don't like green things, a setup for an indoor garden would make a great gift for any sized home. And they have so many awesome options these days! Check out our Marketplace page for indoor gardens.
6. Cozy throw blankets It's hard to imagine while in the throes of the hottest summer ever, but at some point we'll want to snuggle up with a cozy blanket next to a fireplace. Give them a head start with a nice one.
7. A coupon for free help hanging art Offer to show up one day with a hammer, level and other tools to help them hang an art collage or just give them a second opinion as to where art should go. They'll love another set of eyes and hands helping. Brush up on your skills before you go: How To: Hang Your Artwork and Not Screw It Up
8. Personalized welcome mat Super cute idea and something you could make yourself. A Warm Welcome (Mat) For Everyone!
9. Dish/tea towels Because no one can really ever have enough. We've rounded up lots in different styles: natural ones, ones with attitude and lovely cotton ones.
Images — 1: Martha Stewart; 2: Rue; 3: Uncommon Goods 4: Twee Cards; 5: Woolly Pockets; 6: Organize.com; 7: Tools for Hanging Artwork; 8: Bethany Nauert and 9: paulehewlett
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How about entitling this post "9 Housewarming Gifts for Couples" instead? I feel that its a bit archaic to assume most couples are only now moving in together once they're married. And let's not forget about folks who cannot legally get married where they live due to bigoted state laws... it's the 21st century man.
Good ideas, except for the first one. I have a rule: never, ever offer art to anyone, in any form, unless they specifically ask for a piece.
It's these kind of gifts that either end up on top of the "junk" and "give away" clutter piles, or are taken along on several moves because a stupid sentimental value. Sentimental value is a great thing to associate with a piece of art; let it be a beautiful piece that the couple loves (and therefore chose), not a 10 dollars gift that will add to their clutter once the portraits are out of fashion.
How about simply asking the couple what they need ? Because you actually can have far too many tea towels or placemats in tiny apartments...
My daughter just bought her first place--a downtown condo. She isn't planning on getting married or having a baby right now...or maybe ever.
Yet she's given showers for the 3 weddings that she's stood up for in just the past year--$$$, and has 2 more this year. And the baby showers...christenings, first birthdays that are piling on.
Yet she hesitates to hold a housewarming because people may think it's asking for gifts.
If a couple has gone through the whole engagement party, shower, wedding, etc, I think a decent bottle of wine may in order, not additional china at $75 a place setting.
A favorite housewarming gift that I received was an address stamper, like the ones from Three Designing Women.
mjs7640: While I agree that a bottle of wine is definitely in order after a wedding, there is almost no money left after paying for it that a few things are always nice.
Though I did include pretty much all of these items in our registry, I'd suggest only going off registry if you know the couple's tastes really well.
Oh, and while I'm on the subject: Happy Anniversary to my lovely husband! One year yesterday. :D
I'm planning a wedding and frankly, I'm a little ashamed to ask for gifts, much less the usual crap couples register for... a $400 lead crystal wine coaster? Come on.
Gone are the days when couples really did need gifts to help set up house. Now it's just gift grubbing, frankly, and looking for upgrades for perfectly good items couples already own.
And now HOUSEWARMING gifts? Fine if the couple actually has a new apartment/house and throws a housewarming party. In which case, I'd bring a good bottle of wine or a plant. It's absurd to duplicate wedding gift-giving traditions for something like a housewarming party.
Not to mention hardly anyone I know entertains in the fashion that would necessitate a lavish gift from a peer. If you put out cocktail wieners and beers, don't expect me to come in with an Le Creuset dutch oven.
@ikguge-
You're right. And how about singles? ;-)
A housewarming is not always "We just got married and are still on the gift-getting train."
For most people, it's about offering the warmth of a new home --and not just a first home--to the people you care about.
Slightly askew from the original post:
If you are totally broke after your wedding, perhaps you spent too much on your wedding.
It should be about the ceremony of becoming a couple, not the party.
My husband and I have been married for 36 years and had 30 friends and family in attendance. It cost us a couple of hundred dollars --yes, it was a long time ago--and we're just as married (probably more so) than couples who spend $30-50K on a one-day event and now can't afford to furnish their first apartment on their own.
My mother used to say, "When bills come in the door, love can fly out the window."
lkguge- you're so right.
Registries are so varied nowadays that you can pick a charity for people to give to or gift cards to the co-op. The biggest trick with being happy about wedding induced consumerism is creating standards that befit you and your lovey, not the gift givers. If your mother-in-law wants to give you a pressed glass punch bowl, she'll do so even if it's not on the registry. Otherwise, a lot of people give what they want to give even tho it may not be for what the couple ever expressed interest... ah, the joys of gettin' married...
Also, if you haven't seen the Sex and the City episode where Carrie has a registry for being single, or whatever, then watch it. It's the best!
zimmerwoman, I was just thinking about that! :D
Most couples live together before marriage. I wouldn't mind giving a house-warming gift to a couple that moved in together. I couldn't give something to a married couple that moved in together just after a wedding and already got everything they needed from the registry. Though I couldn't come to a house-warming party empty handed: a card and a bottle of wine would do.
@ElectricKate-
I didn't mean to sound so snarky. I used "you" when I should have used a more universal "one" or "a couple".
Happy Anniversary. Many more years of happiness to you and your hubby.
ArchDarling - Personally, as a young married couple (we got married when I was 24 and my husband was 23) just out of grad school/college, the gifts really helped! We certainly didn't "need" everything we got, but there were things that we really were missing as a couple/ (for example, my husband loves cooking in a crock pot and an electric skillet but the ones he used in college were his roommate's, or our cheap college non-stick pans that were peeling). We definitely could have gotten by without gifts (especially with some good thrifting and clearance shopping), but it was also so nice to be able to have some "nice" things. Not that we registered for anything expensive (a couple people even bought stuff not on the registry since they didn't see anything they thought was "nice" enough), but it still was wonderful for us. So while I see your point, I don't think your comments are completely valid.
(And we paid for very little of our wedding since my parents wanted to pay for it [if we were paying, we would have ended up with a picnic in the local park or something due to money] so it wasn't an issue of spending all the money on the wedding. It was an issue of being young and trying to get up on our feet in a new state with one one job between us due to the recession.)
We offered our 3 daughters a full-ride through undergrad and a masters program of their choice--or a wedding. They all chose college--a wise choice. (Sorry to all you newlyweds, but your college degree will never cheat on you or tell you you're fat after the 3rd baby, --50% divorce rate, you know.)
Our contribution to the weddings are $1000 towards a dress (they can have the change if they choose one that's less than a grand) and the cake. And OK, we do give them nice housewarming gifts.
mjs7640 - Both my husband's and my college degrees cheated us - he works minimum wage because he can't find a job with his degree, and my grad degree ended up being useless to what I was (luckily) able to find a job doing. So right now my college and my husband are both 1:1, lol!
I got married recently, and what I found out what that some guests really like registries. Some people have no problem showing up empty handed, and some people would rather show up naked than show up empty handed. My husband didn't even want a registry, so the compromise was Target, which was pretty inexpensive and practical, like replacing bed pillows or frames for the wedding photos. The best gift ever was the BBQ grill or maybe the handheld vacuum! =)
Ok, clearly this is going to be off the comments (especially from reading the last few - when did AT become a rant?)... but do you have ideas for housewarming gifts that can be packed to take on a plane with you? Size and weight matters, but I would rather not get them a gift card or a bottle of wine (mostly because wine no longer seems 'special' anymore... we give wine for everything).
Make something yourself! A hand-made/home-made gift is much more personal and the recipients will think of you whenever they see/use the item. A friend recently got married and I crochet some coasters for her. For my upcoming wedding, we're planning to ask our many artist/artsy friends to make artwork and house wares to add to our home.
*crocheted
A couple of issues to consider:
1. Couples who don't live together before marriage are now the exception rather than the rule. Let's face it, these days if you find out that a couple has lived separately right up to the wedding, you think "religious freaks", not "normal for my social group". As such, most couples are unlikely to be moving anywhere new just because they had a wedding.
2. After a wedding couples will have gift fatigue. Armfuls of consumer goods will have lost all meaning.
So if you know some newlyweds who have moved into a new place, give them something small and personal, in contrast to the large and corporate thing you probably gave them for the wedding. The classic bottle of wine, a nice plant, a plate of special cookies*... I'm sure all these would be welcome.
*or, in certain social circles, a plate of "special" brownies. Just what a couple needs after the stress of moving!
Ugh, weddings! I'm so glad mine is over! The registry was one of the low points of planning. Everybody we knew had a very strong and vocal opinion about what we wanted to register for. Between their opinions and ours, we ended up with a set of china we use once a year. That was the least offensive to the group. I cannot even *imagine* asking for or expecting a housewarming gift, too.
FFB4MD, yep! We learned that, too.
Some cute ideas, but don't the happy couple have enough crap from their shower(s) & wedding (gifts)?? Also, we fulfilled our own registry w/ the fulfillment discount & had registered/bought many of the items on the above list already (s & p shakers, thank you cards, etc.)
*Agreed about the "couple thing".*
@ mjs7640 : $ spent on a wedding is personal preference. I don't know if we should judge someone for not shelling out the big dough (As you mentioned, things were done differently 30 years ago -congrats on that, btw!). We didn't go into debt, but we did spend a pretty penny for the best day of our lives w/o a single regret. B/C as you know, you only do it once (if you're lucky)! That being said, I totally agree that you should prob. tone down the wedding if you can't afford to set up house afterward. People do go overboard, but I have been to just as many cheap, tacky (not budget -that's different) weddings w/ couples trying to profit from their gifts as I have over-the-top, extravagant affairs. Whew. What was this post about again?! ;)
This post came right in time! have two weddings this season my goodness. Good ideas
@eileen marie-
You said the magic words:
"We didn't go into debt".
Congratulations on being a reasonable couple.
You're off to a good start.
Why just for newlyweds or couples? I would love all of the above for my new apt, and I'm very single!
This post kind of hits home for me. When my fiance and I moved in together, I received so much pushback from my family that I didn't even want to think about a housewarming...not to mention the fact that I was in my last semester of grad school! Now I kind of wish we had, since that "just moved in together" phenomenon will never happen again.
That being said, I have a suggestion: gift cards to home improvement stores or garden centers! It may sound impersonal, but I spent most of my money after moving in on painting and organizing the apartment. I just can't STAND to live in a white box! Good places might be The Container Store, IKEA, Lowe's, Home Depot, Sherwin-Williams, Garden Ridge, or one of the local garden chain stores.
I knew a couple that got married in their 30´s and had a garage sale to get rid of their old stuff and then registered for the same items on their bridal registry. They were just upgrading.
And no I am not going to get newlyweds yet another present if have already gotten them a wedding present.
Oh and Target is a great place to register.
As a young couple, I know my husband and I would really joy some board games.
We don't have any of our own, and it's cheap to buy! Just something fun for entertaining, and you could break it open at the house warming. a great bottle of booze doesn't hurt, either.
Also, we could use extra cutting boards and bottle openers. we always seem to lose/ruin them, so those are good ideas too.