# What's a good housewarming gift ... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 26, 2005, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-housewarming-gift/301222 "2005-04-26T19:40:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2005, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-housewarming-gift/301222/21 "2005-04-27T14:35:21Z")
When my sister moved into her new house, I gave her a nice decorative doormat for her front porch. It adds a nice touch to the house, but a lot of people don’t think to buy one for themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2005, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-housewarming-gift/301222/22 "2005-04-27T14:47:16Z")
I’m a single woman in my 30s who will most likely be in my mid-40s before I buy my first house, and I give another vote for a Home Depot gift card. Or even Sears: no matter how much stuff I move with, I always wind up wanting to buy something “special” for the new place … I imagine I’ll want that even more when it’s my first house! If she’s anything like me, she could always use new sheets, towels, etc. > [@Kalhoun](#): > > Also, a small toolbox will be invaluable to a new homeowner. Any woman worth her salt (and bread) who has lived on her own for more than a year already owns a toolbox. 🙂 I’ve been a renter for 11 years, and one of the first things I asked for when I moved into my first apartment was a toolbox – a nice, sturdy, metal Craftsman toolbox, not one of those pink plastic thingies. With all of the basics, plus a simple cordless drill. I still love my toolbox! ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2005, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-housewarming-gift/301222/23 "2005-04-27T15:29:07Z")
These are great ideas, folks. The logical part of me agrees that a gift card to Home Depot or similar would be a excellent idea, though the emotional part of me thinks it’s not individual/personal enough so that’s something I need to work out. While I’d really like to get her something decorative, I know that’s pretty much out since our tastes our different - for instance, she spent 5 years working in South Africa and has a lot of African artifacts she brought back with her. I’d have no idea how to choose something that would fit in with that. I **could** get her an outdoor greyhound statue, which would be her equivalent of the gnome idea :). I like the bread and salt idea - maybe a nice gift basket with those items and a gift card tucked in there too! ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2005, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-housewarming-gift/301222/24 "2005-04-27T16:11:07Z")
Maybe buy an especially pretty basket, that could be used for decorating, or as a centerpiece on her dining table? There are some really pretty baskets out there, that can fit in with almost any theme, including African artifacts. Here are some [woven African baskets](http://www.africanbaskets.com/) FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-housewarming-gift/301222/25 "2005-04-27T16:14:43Z")
How many stories is her home? I bet she doesn’t have a sturdy, full-sized ladder already. Or, you can offer your services for cleaning and/or the labor on replacing gutters. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-housewarming-gift/301222/26 "2005-04-27T18:09:31Z")
**Zabali** , those baskets are lovely! Though a little pricey. I’ll have to look around and see if I can find something. Maybe a nice basket or tote with some nice locally made bread, fancy salt, some gourmet dog biscuits and a gift card might work … **Scrivener** , her home is a single-story ranch. I could buy her a ladder, but there’s no way _I’m_ getting up there (afraid of heights)! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-housewarming-gift/301222/27 "2005-04-27T18:35:14Z")
I really like the idea of a nice gift-basket _and_ the gift card for Home Depot. That’s a nice combination of something pretty and impractical plus something not very personal but very useful. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-housewarming-gift/301222/28 "2005-04-27T18:53:21Z")
Yeah, I thought the baskets were rather expensive myself, but beautiful. I’ve seen very similar baskets for less in stores though, and now you know what African baskets look like. 😉 You can probably find baskets close enough to fit in with her decor, that are still of decent quality for less. There are some inexpensive, pretty ones at [Pier One](http://www.pier1.com/store/multiproducts.asp?catalog%5Fname=Pier1&category%5Fname=CLASS+61701+Baskets&strStoreNavDept=DEPT+65286+Storage+and+Organization&strStoreNavClass=CLASS+61701+Baskets), but they aren’t as close proximations as I’ve seen in other places. (If you don’t mind shopping there, I just did an online search, I haven’t looked through that store’s stock in quite some time, because I don’t have the money for things like that right now.) I wish I could remember where I’ve seen baskets like the ones on the previous site I linked. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2005, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-housewarming-gift/301222/29 "2005-04-27T19:45:26Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > I really like the idea of a nice gift-basket _and_ the gift card for Home Depot. That’s a nice combination of something pretty and impractical plus something not very personal but very useful. Well, I think this is what I’m going to do - I just called a gift basket company near where she lives and they said I could send them the specific stuff I want to use (except for the bread - they’ll go to a bakery nearby and get that fresh) and they’d put the basket together for me and deliver it. They’ll supply the basket as well - they have one that is dark brown and wheat colored, woven in a diamond pattern, which should work well. They’ll only charge me $30 for the basket and other supplies, the bread, and hand-delivery to her home the same day they put it together. Wow. That was easier than I thought - and mostly thanks to y’all! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-housewarming-gift/301222.md?page=1)