I once got a salt and pepper shaker as a housewarming present. I had to feign my surprise and act as if it was a great idea, when in reality, I hated it. Awkward. Awkward for both me and the person giving me the gift. So to keep yourself out of these horrible situations, take a look at our list below. Make sure you take note of what your friends already have: if they’re moving into their first student home, it’s unlikely they’ll have any kitchenware – or anything else for that matter. But if they’re moving from an existing house into a new one, find out how much space they have, or what they need. Make your gift worthwhile by checking out our list of best housewarming gifts and ideas.
Before we begin, let me say that this list is aimed at those aged around 18- 35.
The mystical Umbra Conceal Bookshelf – £10.50
Check it out here.
This awesome bookshelf is great for people that are into fantasy, magic or simply entertaining things. A firm fixture can be placed onto the wall and then designed to be concealed by the bottom book, making it look like the books are floating. This gives a great atmospheric touch to a living room or study and will undoubtedly send all guests into a state of amazement and wonder as they try to figure out how the books float. Each shelf can hold around six books, or for exact stats – 6.8kg and up to 41cm max height. At £10.50, it’s a bargain, so get a few for your buddy to enjoy!
A do it yourself Cubic Clock – £42
Check out this cubic clock here.
How about this multi coloured cubic clock? Last time I checked, pretty much everyone has a rather standard and boring clock in their house. And if you have friends like mine, the battery probably doesn’t work either! Make your friends proud of their clock by giving them this very cool DIY clock. It comes with 13 coloured blocks which can be placed in whatever shape or form you please, so there’s no way they won’t enjoy their own masterpiece.
The original UNT mug – £9.99*
Check out the UNT mug right here
Nothing says “I love you” more than this UNT mug with a C shaped handle. Especially perfect for a current housemate that is moving out to live with their significant other, or is simply ditching you for greener grass. Made from high quality glazed ceramic, you can be sure your friend will enjoy this mug for years to come. Also features the same lettering on the back, so it works for left handers too. What could be better?
* Please accept our apologies if this offends you!
A London Skyline Wall Sticker – £31
Check out the full range here.
If you’re not into offending your friends, how about a wall sticker of the London Skyline? This sticker measures 130 cm x 35 cm and is made from micron matte vinyl. It doesn’t ruin the wall either, as it can be easily removed without removing the paint underneath by using a hairdryer or simply peeling it off. This wall sticker comes in a range of colours: black, white, grey, silver, red, dark red, orange, pink, blue and green, so you can get it to match just about any colour of paint! You can buy this at Red Candy, who also stock a range of other skylines and other designs, if London isn’t the place to be.
Umbra Photo Art Display – £67
Check out the Umbra frame here
My cousin and his wife had a baby almost two years ago, and post photos constantly on Facebook of his development: him playing, him smiling, him climbing up slides. I’ve looked through hundreds of pictures of my little nephew for the past year. So last Christmas, I decided to print out a few pictures of him I took from Facebook and put them into a frame. They were so incredibly happy, and absolutely loved it. They told me that despite having so many digital pictures of him, they hadn’t ever had any printed. That’s one of the problems of living in this digital world: a lot of our kids won’t have the same experience of flicking through photobooks of childhood photos. So why not get a few printed online (you can do this at Photobox, who have great offers on all the time). Get a frame as well and give your friend(s) one of the most personal gifts you can. And as long as you don’t choose ugly photos of them, they’ll be pleased, we promise!
Yale Digital Door Viewer – Records for Security – £159.99
Check it out from here
If your friends are moving somewhere a little dodgy, or are just the jumpy type in general, why not get them one of these bad boys by our trusty locksmith friends at Yale. The Yale Digital Recording Door Viewer lets you see who’s waiting at your door. All visitors show up on the 3.5″ screen, and the device records everything that goes on on it’s included 512mb Micro SD card. The connected camera has an infra-red camera, so it works even at night. Never again will they have to get scared about who’s ringing the doorbell as they watch a scary movie!
The Molecular Gastronomy Starter Kit – £49.99
Get this kit now from If your friend is a budding Heston, or someone who always wants to watch Masterchef, this is the perfect gift for them. This kit is the ultimate starter kit for the beginner molecular chef, and the best part is, you can make them try out the recipes on you! It comes with a DVD that includes 50 step-by-step recipes, including chocolate spaghetti, tzatziki spheres, mint caviar beads and luxurious lemon foam. Also included in the kit are 50 sachets of 5 types of food additives, 5 pipettes, a slotted spoon, a set of measuring spoons, a food grade syringe and 3 silicone tubes. This is the perfect alternative to traditional recipe books!
An incredible Ice Cream Ball – £24.99
For more information on how to make your own ice cream with this genius creation – go here
Before you say it – no, it isn’t a hamster ball. It’s much more delicious – it’s an ice cream ball! Yes ladies and gentlemen, you have heard right. This awesome ice cream ball requires absolutely no electricity to create your own flavours of ice cream. The ice cream is formed simply by rolling, shaking or throwing the ball around. All you need to do is put your ice cream ingredients into one end of the ball, and pop a load of ice and rock salt into the other end – don’t worry – the rock salt never actually goes into the ice cream, it simply plays a part in the thermodynamic reaction! How Breaking Bad of you! This means the lovely Ice Cream Ball is perfect for picnics. It’ll make 1 pint of ice cream in about 20 minutes: not too bad eh? Just make sure you never actually kick or drop the ball, as this will hurt it.
Red Rubber Washing Up Bowl – £54
Fancy buying this washing up bowl? Go here to have a look
Have you ever known someone with a stylish washing up bowl? We certainly haven’t. And while we can’t guarantee it’ll make dishes fun, it’ll certainly add a load of style to the process. This beauty was designed by Normann Copenhagen and is made from rubber, which allows you to mould its shape to fit awkward or oversized items and allow them to soak properly. It also comes with the rather stylish wooden brush made with natural bristles. This washing up bowl comes in a range of colours: red, purple, grey, green, blue or black. It also comes with 100% positive reviews: not bad for a washing up bowl!
Veuve Clicquot Brut NV – £45 (or buy 6 and save £60)
Order online and get it delivered by Majesticwine here
And last but not least – a bottle of champagne. You can’t have a proper housewarming without! This bottle is our favourite- reasonably priced and delicious. It came third in the Decanter World Wine Awards and won Silver in the International Wine Challenge – says a lot! Veuve Clicquot age their non-vintage champagne for almost twice the required time, which is what gives it it’s incredible taste.
And there you have it – a list of excellent housewarming gifts, or at least some ideas for you to work with! If you think we’ve missed something out, or want to ask us any questions, feel free to leave a comment below.
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