Great Gift Ideas: Celebrating A New Home

A housewarming gift for a friend who has recently moved into a new home is such a kind way to share in your friend's joy.  Moving into a new home is an exciting and busy time, and I feel like it is an important occasion to be celebrated between friends.  I don't think that the gesture needs to be monumental, just something to show that someone has been thought of kindly.  That is all anyone really wants, isn't it?  To know that their friends and loved ones have them in mind and care about what is going on in their life.

A dear friend of mine recently moved into a beautiful historic home.  As a former owner of a historic home myself, I know all too well the the deep love that historic district residents hold for their cherished houses, but also the endless amounts of work that love requires.  This friend and I kind of have a running dialogue about how she feels a bit like Cinderella when cleaning her home.  So, I figured, what better housewarming gift for Cinderella than some fun (and wonderfully scented) cleaning products.

I found some dish soap, hand soap, and counter cleaner at World Market along with an adorable aqua metal cleaning caddy.  I added some turkish hand towels in a lovely dove grey color.  A trip to the fabric store netted some raw sisal fiber (for the filler), burlap ribbon, and red-pink raffia to dress up my little gift.  As I was putting it together, I decided that it needed a little something more, so I added some buttons I had around the house.   I keep all my extra buttons in a jar, because I use them for all kinds of things!  The gift tag was a Target find.

What are your favorite ideas for housewarming gifts?