The best holiday gifts are specific to the giftee. Everyone feels special when the people they love take the time to think about useful, timely, and appropriate gifts. Very few people need thoughtful gifts more than the new homeowner. If someone you love just bought a house, here’s how to make their holiday season brighter.
- Ensure they’re getting fast internet access. You don’t need to pay for it indefinitely, but covering the initial cost can certainly help as your loved one settles in. Plus, they will appreciate the ability to unwind with uninterrupted streaming and gaming.
- Pay for their lawn care. A new homeowner is constantly juggling a dozen or so ongoing projects, and lawn care usually falls to the bottom of that list. If you want to make a new homeowner truly happy, make it so that they don’t have to worry about bringing out the lawnmower or pruning shears for a few months.
- A personal assistant like Google Home or Amazon Echo will continue this time-saving theme. These assistants can sync up with a variety of apps to play music, set reminders, and even order groceries.
- Get them a book of common repair guides. Most homeowners will run into the leaky faucet, clogged up drain, or flickering light within the first few weeks. Not everyone has the inherent knowledge of how to tackle common household problems. Gift them a book that explains it all, like 100 Things Every Homeowner Must Know or The Home Owner’s Manual. This is a particularly good gift idea for a first-time homeowner.
- How about a new set of tools? Once they read their handyman book they will fast realize that it’s hard to be a handyman around the house without the proper set of tools. Every homeowner knows that breaking out the toolbox is a weekly activity, so you might as well give them one. Any of these basic tool kits will cover common home repairs.
- A shop vac. New homeowners quickly find out that your traditional home vacuum just doesn’t cut it. A wet/dry shop vac will allow them to suck up any byproduct of the early stage home repairs and renovations and will be a piece of equipment that they use regularly for the rest of their home-owning days.
- A case of adhesive. Homeowners go through multi-purpose adhesive pretty fast – it’s just so useful for so many household tasks. Think a Costco-sized supply of duct tape or Gorilla glue.
- New towels. It may seem basic, but when you buy a new home, towels somehow get lost in the shuffle. Whether you are moving into your first home and are unaware of just how many kitchen/bathroom/hand towels you will really need or they get lost during the move, towels are always a welcome addition. We like these unique dish towels.
- A home store gift card. Is giving a gift card as a holiday present kind of lazy? Most of the time. Is a gift card to Lowe’s or Home Depot a great idea? Absolutely. You see, home improvement stores are one of the few exceptions where gift cards are excellent gifts. Any new homeowner will basically make a second home at these stores, so there is no way that a gift card will languish forgotten in a drawer somewhere. This gift is somehow easy, low-effort, and awesome.
Remember, a new homeowner is stressed out and overworked. It’s like being a new parent, except you get marginally more sleep. You’re looking to gift them with anything that can make their life easier. That’s the main goal.
Written By Suzie Wilson; suzie@happierhome.net