Cheap, but nice house warming gift?

anniestar · 30 August 2007 at 12:02PM

I agree with the OP's. A nice planter, some nice flowers , the bird feeders sound great. Or why not make her some nice home made muffins or cookies? You could get a pretty tin or perhaps a storage jar(Got a lovely one from IKEA for £1.15 last week). She sounds a nightmare!! Have fun.

Lucy1982_2 · 30 August 2007 at 12:09PM

I'm sure I'll think of something. Planter sounds good, I'll have a look in the sales on Saturday (assuming that they are still running!)

Oh and she is a nightmare!

Badger_Lady · 30 August 2007 at 12:09PM

Are you crafty? (I mean crafty-arty, not crafty-sneaky!)

postingalwaysposting's idea of the plant pot is good, and there are lots of things you could make looks good:

- Papier-mache plant pots (again), decorative bowl / vase, or a pretty plate to put candles on (make sure you fireproof it!!!)
- Sew / embroider a nice cushion or throw
- Paint a canvas (these days, large plain blocks of colour are popular so doesn't have to be a work of art to look expensive). Paint can be emulsion samples.

I had a lovely housewarming present once, which was very simple - a goldfish bowl with glass nuggets and shapes (in this case fish), and co-rdinated floating candles. Filled up with water, it was a bit special and looked great in the bathroom, but couldn't have been more than £8-£10.

It also depends on whether your friend appreciates the personal touch - some people are unduly snobby and think that homemade means cheap... but you don't have to tell her! Peel a £60 price tag off something and pretend you accidentally left it on :-D

Lucy1982_2 · 30 August 2007 at 12:14PM

I am a bit arty but i am not sure she would like it. But really does it matter? she should be grateful she's getting anything.

I bought a friend of ours a bottle of wine, which we sat in the garden drinking a couple of weeks later.

xela_17 · 30 August 2007 at 12:50PM

For my friend's housewarming in July I went to Debenhams and they had some beautiful glasses (the type you might drink vodka+mixer out of or even juice! - she hates wine) on sale down from £6 each to £1.something. I got 4 and then bought a gift box (couple of quid) and put them in it. She loved it, it looked great and was cheap! You could try there - wasn't so long ago.

shop-to-drop · 30 August 2007 at 12:59PM

She does sound a nightmare! Shame you feel obliged to bother.

Was wondering if you have any clubcard vouchers and could get a subscription to "good housekeeping" or someother homes magazine.

Or check out one of the magazine sites as they sometimes have a free gift with subscription too.

Good Luck!

Burlesque_Babe · 30 August 2007 at 1:03PM

How about lots of home made sweets, things like truffles, fudge etc? There are lots of really easy recipes on the Old Style recipe database. You could buy some little clear bags, tie with ribbon and pop them all in a suitably sized basket from somewhere like Wilko's and if you can stretch to it, add a bottle of Cava in the middle.

floss2 · 30 August 2007 at 1:18PM

I've done the bottle of wine gift for housewarmings, alos a B&Q or Gardening voucher for the garden

katelu · 30 August 2007 at 1:29PM

One of the nicest housewarming gifts I ever got was a student friend of mine went round the area we were buying in and picked up all the takeaway menu's, got maps for the nearest cinema's, shops, hairdressers, vets. Found out when the bin day/recycling day was and phone numbers for window cleaners and milkman and put them all in a pretty file for us. She then gave us this tied up in a big ribbon with a little pot plant.
It was just fantastic and so invaluable.

Storm · 30 August 2007 at 2:12PM

Housewarming gifts to me are plants, bottles of wine - nothing over a fiver! The best thing with plants though is that unless she's a keen garden centre visitor she won't have a clue what it cost - a plant for about £3, try charity shops for 2nd hand pots, then nick some gravel from somewhere to put around the top - don't know why they do this, but makes it look more expensive!

For the baby - check out the sales, or what friends of mine did was do a lot of research & bought a bottle of wine to be laid down for the baby - should be worth quite a bit when they reach 18!

Cheap, but nice house warming gift?

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free