A housewarming gift list that stops the sixth bottle of wine
Everyone who comes to see the new place wants to bring something, and left to guess they all bring the same thing. A list tells them what the flat is actually missing, and the reserve step is what keeps it to one of each.
Anna & Tom's wedding list
8 gift ideas ·Wedding ·in 245 days ·1 already reserved
Cast-iron pan, 28 cm
The heavy kind that outlives us both.
Linen napkins, set of 8
Espresso machine
Big one — very happy for people to club together.
Picnic blanket
Six bottles of wine and three sets of bath towels
A housewarming has a duplicate problem that no other occasion quite matches. Nobody knows what you own, everyone wants to bring something useful, and "useful for a new home" narrows to the same five ideas: wine, towels, a plant, a candle, a chopping board. By the end of the evening you have a cupboard of towels and a doormat you did not need.
The list fixes this in two moves. You write down what the place is genuinely missing, from the drill to the big saucepan, and each guest reserves the one thing they will bring. Everyone else who opens the link sees that it is taken and picks something else. That reserve step, not the list itself, is what stops the sixth bottle of wine.
It works for the three moves people actually make. The first flat, where the kitchen has one pan and no corkscrew. The flat two people move into together, where there are two toasters and no decent knife. And the house of people who already have everything, where the list is short, a step nicer than what they own, and mostly plants for the garden.
What to put on a housewarming list, room by room
Walk through the place with your phone and write down what you reach for and do not find. Put the quantity and the latitude into the wish itself, "bath towels, four, any colour but white", because that line is what a guest reads in the shop. Twenty to thirty wishes across a range of prices let a colleague and your parents both find something that feels right.
| Room | Wishes that work | Typical range | How to word it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchen | A large saucepan, a sharp knife, a cast-iron pan, oven dishes, a decent set of glasses, a bread knife, tea towels | €10 to €120 | "Everyday glasses, six, dishwasher-safe" |
| Bathroom | Bath towels, a bath mat, a laundry basket, a mirror, a shower caddy, a good hand soap | €10 to €80 | "Bath towels, four, any colour but white" |
| Bedroom | Bed linen in the right size, a second set, pillows, a bedside lamp, blackout curtains, hangers | €15 to €150 | "Duvet cover, 200 × 200, plain, two sets welcome" |
| Living room | Cushions, a throw, a floor lamp, a plant with its pot, a rug, picture hooks and frames | €15 to €200 | "Floor lamp, warm light, any style that is not chrome" |
| Balcony and garden | Two folding chairs, a watering can, herbs in pots, a string of lights, a parasol, compost and seeds | €10 to €150 | "Herbs for the kitchen window, any three" |
| The boring essentials | A drill, extension leads, a fire blanket and a smoke alarm, a toolbox, a stepladder, a first-aid kit, a torch | €10 to €100 | "Extension leads, three, with switches" |
Nobody wants to buy the fire blanket, and everyone is glad once somebody did. The boring row is the one guests thank you for, because it is the part of a move they remember being caught without. Put the drill on there.
The example list on this page is a wedding list, but look at what is on it: a cast-iron pan, linen napkins, bed linen, an espresso machine that is open to a group. A housewarming list is the same household wishes without the dress.
Secondhand, "any brand" and "surprise me within this"
Half of a good housewarming list is not products at all. A new flat does not need a new sideboard; it needs a sideboard, and the one a friend finds at a flea market or has in the garage is a better story than a boxed one. Say so in the wish, and the people who love hunting for things have a job.
The same goes for brand. A guest who reads "a kettle" will spend twenty minutes comparing kettles and still worry. "A kettle, any brand, not plastic, under €40" takes them two minutes. Write the wish as the brief you would give a friend, and leave the choosing to them.
- Secondhand welcome. Say it on the wish, and on the furniture especially: "a bookshelf, secondhand very welcome, up to 90 cm wide". A photo of the gap it has to fit shows the size better than numbers do.
- Any brand, these conditions. Material, size, a colour to avoid, a ceiling on price. The guest reads the conditions, meets them, and does not have to text you.
- Surprise me within this. One or two open wishes, "a plant you think will survive me" or "something for the kitchen under €25", give the person who hates lists a way in.
The one big thing people club together for
Every move has one thing that costs more than any single guest would spend: a sofa, a decent mattress, the coffee machine, a washing machine for the flat that came without one. Put it on the list anyway, with a note saying that people are welcome to go in together.
One person reserves it, and the first name on the reservation tells the others who to talk to; the money changes hands however your friends already pay each other back. The site handles none of it, which is also why nothing here costs anything, and the group gift page walks through how that usually goes.
If what you want is a contribution rather than an object, "towards the sofa, any amount", the guide to asking for money instead of gifts has the wording for it, so that it reads as an offer rather than an invoice.
Listing the party itself: bring a plant, bring a dish
A housewarming is a party before it is anything else, and the list can carry the party. "A dish for the table, serves six" is a wish; so is "a plant for the balcony", "ice", "a playlist for the evening" and "the folding chairs we will need for one night and never again". Guests reserve those exactly as they reserve a lamp, and you find out what is coming by the sound of the doorbell.
The list is not a ticket. Say so when you send it, in one line: "come as you are, the list is for anyone who has asked what we need". Most people will bring a bottle whether or not they opened the link, and that is fine. The guide to wishlist etiquette covers the rest of the manners, including how to answer the aunt who thinks lists are rude.
- A dish to share. Say how many it should feed and whether the oven will be free. Five dishes, reserved one each, is a buffet; five unreserved is five pasta salads.
- Something living. A plant for a named spot, "the sunny windowsill in the kitchen", so that you do not receive four ferns for the one dark corner.
- Things to lend, not give. Chairs, a speaker, a cool box. Write "to borrow for the night" and the wish costs the guest nothing.
When to send a housewarming list
A housewarming list has a longer life than most, because people visit a new home for months. Three moments cover it:
- With the invitation. Send the party invitation and the list in the same message, so that nobody has to ask. The link unfurls into a card that says how many wishes are still free.
- The week before. Add what the first fortnight in the place has taught you. The list is live, so nobody needs a second link; the people who open it late see the current version.
- A month after the move. Keep it open. The friends who could not make the party come for dinner in week five and still want to bring something, and the list is still the right answer.
Give the list the date of the party and the page shows a countdown. A housewarming is a one-off, so it does not roll to next year the way a birthday list does; once the date passes it simply stops counting, and the list stays up for the late visitors for as long as you like.
You do not see who is bringing what
The one rule the whole site rests on: the person who owns the list never sees which wishes are reserved, only how many. The server strips every reservation out of your own view before the page is built, so opening the list to add a corkscrew on the morning of the party cannot spoil what is coming through the door that evening.
Guests see the opposite. Anyone with the link can see which wishes are taken and the first name of whoever took them, because that is what stops the duplicates. So share the link with the people who are coming, keep it off anything public, and let the surprise survive until the doorbell.
The first flat, the shared flat and moving in together
A first flat often arrives in the same summer as a degree, and the two lists overlap almost completely: the pan, the bedding, the drill, the one good knife. If the move is the graduation present, make one list and call it whichever the family will recognise; the graduation gift list page has the detail on asking relatives for the boring, expensive start-of-life things.
Two people moving in together have the opposite problem: two of everything cheap and none of anything good. Their list is shorter and a step up, the knife that replaces both knives. If there is a wedding in the next year or two, the wedding gift list is the same list a season later, so start it now and let it grow.
Students in a shared flat can keep one list per person under one profile, or one list for the whole flat with the kitchen things on it. Either way, nobody needs more than the one link.
Is a housewarming gift list free?
Yes. Creating the list, adding wishes and sharing the link cost nothing, there are no ads or affiliate links, and nothing on the site asks your guests to pay or install anything.
Do guests need an account to reserve something?
No. They open the link, press "I’ll get this" on a wish and type a first name. Only the person who owns the list has an account.
Will I see who is bringing what?
No, and that is deliberate. Your own view hides every reservation; you see only how many wishes are taken. Everyone else with the link sees which are taken and by whom, which is what prevents the duplicates.
How do I ask for four towels and not one?
Put the number in the wish text: "bath towels, four, any colour but white". One guest reserves the wish and brings the four. If you would rather split them, add the wish twice: "two bath towels" and "two bath towels".
Can I ask for secondhand things?
Yes. Type the wish instead of pasting a shop link, and say secondhand is welcome. A photo of the space it has to fit helps more than a brand.
Can several friends club together for the sofa?
Yes. Put the sofa on the list with a note that people are welcome to go in together. One person reserves it and the others join them; the money passes between you directly, because the site handles no payments. The group gift page explains the usual way round it.
Is it rude to send a list with a housewarming invitation?
Not if you say the list is optional and lead with the invitation. Most guests are relieved to be told what you need. The etiquette guide has wording you can copy.
How long should the list stay open?
At least a month after the move. People visit a new home late, and the ones who missed the party still want to bring something. The link does not change, and the list stays up until you take it down.
Can I put the party itself on the list?
Yes. "A dish for six", "a plant for the balcony", "chairs to borrow for the night" are all wishes, and guests reserve them like anything else, so you get one of each.
