Looking for housewarming gift ideas? Are you stumped trying to think of the perfect gift to give your new homeowner friend? Well this is not that, but don’t stop reading now. This is a list of the top 10 things not to give as housewarming gifts.
Number 10– Novelty lighting! Whether it’s a lamp, a candle or a night light; Novelty lighting is not a good idea. I was once given a pink flamingo night light. Unfortunately, I’m not kidding. It was horrible, and she had no idea what to do with it. I ended up giving it as a white elephant gift at a Christmas party. If you’re considering giving a lighting piece that will make you laugh, just refrain.
Number 9: Record bad gifts you have received in the past. I know we’ve probably all been guilty of doing this in the past, but it’s really not a good idea. A relifting story is too horrible to tell. A mother-in-law gave her new daughter-in-law a set of kitchen glasses for her new house. Only they weren’t new. In fact, they already belonged to her daughter. Her husband had kept them in her mother’s garage until he and his new wife could move into her new home! The moral of the story: Don’t ever give gifts again, especially if you can’t remember where they came from.
Number 8: Barbie toilet paper doll. She has seen them at garage sales, craft fairs and maybe in the back of her grandmother’s toilet. It’s that slightly creepy Barbie doll whose legs sit inside the toilet paper roll, her usually crocheted skirt concealing the spare TP roll.
Number 7- Memories of sports teams. No matter how big of a Braves fan his friend is, I doubt he, or his wife, would appreciate a blanket with their favorite team’s logo on it or a framed poster of their favorite player. Sounds good, but where would they put it?
Number 6–Novelty glasses or beer coozies. Does anyone really need a complete set of Shrek tumblers from McDonalds? Or fish-faced beer coozies? You know a good rule of thumb is if it has the word novelty in the description, don’t buy it!
Number 5–Taxidermized animal. Now I hope this one speaks for itself, but in case you’re considering buying a joke jackelope or stuffed moose head, DON’T!
Number 4: mounted talking animals. We’ve all seen them in the store or on TV. The hilarious bass that sings and dances. This one falls into the same category as number 5. Have a little more restraint. He sounds funny, but he really isn’t.
Number 3– Live animals. As sweet as a new puppy or kitten may seem; They are not the best housewarming gift. Pets as gifts seem like a great idea, but the logistics of getting a pet turned out to be very complicated. And many times they can wreak havoc in a new home. So stop by the free kitty box outside Walmart, because you might lose your friend over it.
Number 2– An Ashtray for a non-smoker. I would hope no one would do this, but I once heard a story of a mother-in-law who gave her new daughter-in-law an ashtray. Unfortunately, the daughter-in-law didn’t smoke and all he could think about was that her new mother-in-law was plotting her untimely death.
And the #1 bad housewarming gift: cleaning supplies. Now many of you may think that cleaning supplies would be a good gift, and in theory it would be. The problem is the message that these types of gifts send. Something like, “Here’s a vacuum cleaner, because you clearly don’t spend enough time on your household responsibilities. Women especially may be offended by such an offer. So, unless it’s a requested item, skip the cleaning supplies.