Thank you to guest blogger Clara Beaufort of gardenergigs.com for sharing her article with us. Check out her gift giving tips just in time for the holidays, Black Friday shopping, and Christmas shopping!
Buying a housewarming gift for a friend or acquaintance is something of an art. Ideally, you’d want to find something that has personal meaning and adds to their new home’s decor. Ultimately, the best bet is to find something that’s useful but aesthetically pleasing, perhaps something you know they’ll need and also enjoy. If you know the new homeowner well, it should be easy enough to figure out what they’d appreciate. If it’s someone you don’t know as well, it might take some inquiring to find out what would strike the proper note. Think about what sort of thing you’d appreciate if you were a new homeowner, bearing in mind that every new home is full of open spaces and possibilities.
Vacuum Cleaner
Vacuum cleaners make good moving-in gifts because many homeowners simply forget to bring one along. But the conventional stand-up vacuum has all the aesthetic appeal of a wrench set. Fortunately, there are several exciting new automatic units that look good and make cleaning a breeze. For instance, the iRobot Roomba 880 vacuum eliminates the need to move heavy couches and tables and makes it easy to reach areas you’d probably miss if you were doing it yourself. And it’s something of a novelty: It’s interesting to watch a little disk zipping around the room doing your work for you.
Smart Home Devices
Technology has gifted us all with countless options for everything from making coffee to home security. A smart home device like Amazon Echo can connect to other smart home products like a sprinkler system, so you can give it commands to turn something on or off. It can also call someone’s phone, send a message, set an alarm, or play music if your gift recipient is an Alexa owner.
Smart Pet Feeder
If your friend has a dog or cat, you can use smart technology to help them keep their pet fed and watered even when they’re not home. A smart pet feeder comes with easy programming that allows you to dole out perfectly-sized food portions for pets. Many brands design the food bowl and container to be easy to clean, and the feeder is sturdy enough that it won’t tip over.
Wi-Fi Enhancer
We’ve all been frustrated by an inadequate Wi-Fi signal, a common problem in especially large homes. In a home that relies on Internet reception to function effectively (try explaining to a teenager why they can’t log onto Facebook!), unreliable Wi-Fi is a curse. You can help by giving a Wi-Fi extender or Wi-Fi repeater, the latter of which can boost a Wi-Fi signal by using a second router.
Outdoor Items
Don’t forget that a housewarming gift needn’t be restricted to the house’s interior. There are plenty of needs on the outside as well. If your friend is an avid gardener, you can give them a book on vegetable gardening, or new equipment such as gardening gloves or a snipping tool. You can also give them a gift that will spruce up their backyard, such as patio string lights or a succulent wall planter.
Vehicle Cover
When it comes to gift ideas, it never hurts to think outside the box. For instance, if your friend owns a motorcycle, maybe you’ve noticed that it doesn’t have a cover. This useful item can keep harsh elements from damaging the vehicle and will protect it from rust. Look for a cover that’s designed to be long-lasting and durable.
Professional Service
If it’s in your budget, you can pay for a professional service to take care of a household task for your friend. For example, if they have an especially large yard to contend with, you can do the new owners a big favor by paying for a lawn service. That generally means hiring a company to mow the lawn on a regular basis (usually weekly), fertilize the grass and possibly even trim the hedges when needed.
Moving into a new home can be a difficult and disorienting time. People are often left scrambling to fill in empty nooks and come up with convenient solutions to daily tasks, especially at the beginning. New homeowners greatly appreciate the help and thoughtfulness of a well-considered gift.
More homeowner tips can be found on the blog at RE/MAX Capitol Properties. If you’re looking to move to another home, contact us at 307-635-0303 so we can help you with selling your house or finding a new home.
Courtesy of Pixabay.com.
