Gift guide · 9 ideas
Our first housewarming pick is bread to bake at home for the new kitchen. Most of the eight further ideas also suit a home whose furnishings you have not seen yet. They fall into three groups, for the kitchen and table, for the living room, and for crafting and the balcony. Under each idea you find products with current prices and a tip on what to look out for.
Eight of the nine ideas are new, from the bread baking pack to the ceramics painting kit. Chopping boards were on the old page and now show wooden models. Each idea lists several products, and the sources are at the end of the page.
Created with AI, reviewed by our editors.
If you give only one thing
BROTRAUSCH packs hold several bread baking mixes, depending on the pack with toppings, wooden baking tins or a baking tray. The new residents bake their first loaf in the new kitchen.
What to look for: Check the description for wooden baking tins, since a new kitchen often has no loaf tin yet. For a gift of bread and salt, add a jar of coarse salt.
Each idea groups similar products, often from several brands. We tell you why the idea fits. You pick the product by budget and taste.
We add an idea only when at least three products fit it. We have not tested the products.
Prices load from the retailers' data when you open the page. Prices marked “est.” are guide values from our catalog. Check the price in the shop before you buy.
Spices for the first meals, wooden kitchen tools and a chopping board.
If they like to cook
Gewürzmühle Rosenheim gift sets gather spices for vegetable dishes. Spices get used up rather than ending up as one more ornament.
What to look for: Spices belong in airtight, light-proof containers in a cool place, the German Federal Centre for Nutrition advised in 2026. Above the stove is a poor spot, since cooking steam rises there.
If they season with fresh herbs
The idea covers mortars, scoops and lidded pots made of wood. Most pieces are small enough for a kitchen drawer.
What to look for: Wood does not belong in the dishwasher, the German consumer advice centres wrote in 2026, because it swells there and cracks easily. After washing by hand it needs to dry well.
If the kitchen is still empty
The boards and blocks are made of wood, many of them oak. At the housewarming party a large board doubles as a serving board.
What to look for: For hygiene reasons a separate board for animal products makes sense, the German consumer advice centres wrote in 2026. Wooden boards take a thin coat of linseed oil suitable as an edible oil. Wipe off the excess after about an hour, then let the boards air-dry for several days.
A vase, a throw for the sofa and a table lamp casting light patterns on the wall.
If they like flowers
The vases differ in shape and size. Bring a bouquet to the housewarming and it goes straight into the right vase.
What to look for: If you have not seen the furnishings, choose a vase in a quiet colour.
If they like it cosy
The throws are mostly cotton, some woven, some knitted. A throw sits on a sofa, an armchair or the end of a bed.
What to look for: Pick a muted colour and a calm pattern if you have not seen the furnishings.
If you know their style of furnishing
The handmade metal lamps are perforated, so they cast patterns of light and shadow on the wall. With their oriental design, they set a clear accent in a room.
What to look for: The pattern comes into its own on a free wall nearby, so the lamp suits a sideboard or a side table better than a crowded shelf.
A kit for painting ceramics and a wind chime for the balcony.
If they like painting
Pott'd kits hold ceramics to paint, such as vases, mugs or a teapot, plus paints, brushes and instructions. The residents decorate pieces for their new home themselves.
What to look for: Ask first whether the residents enjoy painting, since the gift is only finished once they have painted it.
If they have a balcony
Wind chimes with aluminium tubes ring whenever a draught moves them. They come for hanging or as stakes for a window box or flower bed.
What to look for: A wind chime rings whenever the wind blows, at night too. If the residents live close to their neighbours, ask first whether it should go on the balcony or indoors by a window.
These gifts are missing from this guide on purpose.
Furniture and large decor. Anything big only works if you know the home and the taste of the people living there.
Plants. Whether a plant gets enough light at the new window is rarely clear in advance.
Vouchers. This guide sticks to gifts to unwrap. If you give a voucher anyway, according to the German consumer advice centres in 2025 it usually becomes time-barred after three years, counted from the end of the year in which it was bought. A shorter printed period may apply.
Buying advice
Something to suit most homes, such as bread to bake, spices for the first meals or a throw for the sofa. If you know the style of the place, a table lamp works too.
Something for the kitchen, such as spices, wooden kitchen tools or a chopping board. They suit most homes without you needing to know the furnishings.
Instead of a fresh loaf, give bread baking mixes and add a jar of coarse salt.
A wind chime for the balcony or a wooden kitchen tool. Current prices are shown under each idea.
The statements in the text are based on these sources. We took general advice from them, not ratings of individual products.
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