Housewarming gifts from the heart:
"Bread - So you never go hungry.
Bottle Wine Cooler
Wine - So your life is all the time sweet.
Housewarming Gifts, Traditions, and Ideas - Tips for the Holidays
Salt - So there is all the time spice in your life.
And a Candle - So you all the time have light."
The above poem is rumored to be of European or Russian origin, enduring the passage of time, and still widely referred to today. Recently, I went to a housewarming party, bringing with me a loaf of raisin bran bread, granulate sea salt, and a bottle of Riesling. I had forgotten the candle, but luckily there were more than enough candles as someone was also celebrating a birthday.
Although my housewarming gifts were a hit (no doubt due in part to the fact that I was one of the only population who brought anything), I couldn't help but think there could be more depth to the gifts. After all, most new homeowners already have bread, wine, salt and candles, in the traditional sense. It occurred to me that the way to uphold this great tradition, while spicing it up with some creativity, is to find other things that could be carefully bread, wine, salt, or candles. This is what I came up with:
Bread
Being such a uncomplicated food, it easily pays to get creative when choosing what kind of bread to bring. Forego a boring loaf of sourdough or baguette and go for something with flavor, like cinnamon raisin bread, banana bread, or one of my personal favorites, pumpernickel.
Other ideas that can be a creative stretch comprise biscuits, cornbreads, or even bread pudding.
Wine
I am no wine connoisseur, but my suggestion for this is to bring something that can be consumed at the very party you're attending. At the housewarming I went to, my bottle of Riesling perfectly substituted the empty bottle on the dining table. It helps if you know what types of wine the hosts enjoy. If you want to take it a step further, you could even bring a wine rack or cooler to help yield the new house.
Salt
This one is as uncomplicated or as captivating as you want it to be. Go with iodized salt, sea salt, garlic salt, etc., if you want to be traditional. If you want to be the life of the party, bring soy sauce or bath salt. Also, if you know they have a small pet like a hamster, you could bring a salt lick / salt block for it. While you're at it, you might as well bring a fish tank for saltwater fish. It's usually frowned upon to bring a pet as a housewarming gift, but hey, there's all the time eBay if they don't want it.
Candle
Pass on the vital aromatherapy candle from Bath and Body, and bring a ceramic table lamp (1,2) that your new homeowner friends could easily use. After all, this is the 21st century.
So remember, the next time you have to buy a housewarming gift, bring a 21st century twist to a 16th century tradition.
Housewarming Gifts, Traditions, and Ideas - Tips for the Holidays