apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

That's sweet! I'm going to have to remember that the next time someone I know moves to a new home.

I thought this was a great suggestion from Amy Sedaris....postage stamps. Especially useful when you are half unpacked in a new house, and you can't find all your stuff. Once I heard of a funny but useful housewarming gift...a whole bunch of Dove soap. It lasted the person a couple years, but how nice to never run out of soap!

Reminds me of that scene in "It's a Wonderful Life" when the Bailey's are welcoming the Martini Family into their new home...
:-)

its a tradition in our family (I think many Korean families do this as well), to present soap (my Grandma even gives detergent!) as a symbol of a fresh and pleasant start

A tub of spackle. Seriously. I bought one early on when I moved into my home and it's been even more useful than my hammer.

I like the tradition and meaning behind some of the gifts in the article. Some other ideas are potted plant or flowers, a meal or dessert since they may not be up to cooking yet, organic soap, beeswax candles, a bottle of local wine or local chocolates (if you are from the area of course).

I'd love to receive something like these as HOMEwarming gift:

http://shop.seventhgeneration.com/livinghomestarterkit.aspx

http://www.shaklee.com/50444.html

I have often thought of giving one of these beautiful colored brooms as a housewarming gift:

http://sweepdreams.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=206

not sure everyone would appreciate a broom as a gift, though.

I like to give my friends a small piece of original art.
A cool framed photo or gel medium transfer is pretty fast and easy- plus (hopefully) it is something they will keep for a very long time.

I love to give the traditional housewarming gift of bread, salt and sugar. Of course, you can put a spin on it:

I usually make muffins (great as breakfast, since new homeowners don't usually have anything unpacked to make meals), sea salt or fleur de sel (a luxury that people may not buy for themselves), and maple syrup or honeycomb (because it is just so tasty!). The gifts are always a hit.