This post about the best practical gift ideas for new homeowners is sponsored by The Home Depot as part of the ProSpective Program.
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Buying a house is an exciting, stressful, and overwhelming experience. Buying your FIRST house is all of those same things…only on a much larger scale haha. (This was us in front of our first house–many many moons ago!)
In our almost ten years of marriage, we’ve bought and sold two houses, bought land and built one…and also rented two places in between. So I’ve got a little insight into homeownership.
So I wanted to share from my own experience the most PRACTICAL must haves and gift ideas for first time homeowners. These are the things I wish someone had given us when we embarked on our homeownership journey with nothing in hand but a couple boxes of dishes and a lamp or two.
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Keep in mind, I’m a very practical person. So these may not be the most glamorous house warming gift ideas, but they’re the most useful π Trust me, they will thank you for that when it comes time to hang a picture or fix an outlet.
New Homeowners Gift Idea #1: Measuring Tape
A measuring tape is a must have for any household. It’s helpful in measuring the square footage of a room, helping determine if and how your furniture will fit, and measuring for new appliances.
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I’ve gone through several tape measures in my shop that I’ve liked, but this Milwaukee tape is pretty indestructible with it’s EXO360 rip and tear resistant technology and a case body that can withstand an 80 ft drop.
New Homeowners Must Have #2: Drill
A drill is also a staple in a new (or old) homeowner’s tool box. A good general purpose drill/driver can be used to tighten up a loose door handle, swap out cabinet pulls, drill holes to install new house numbers, and drill holes in the wall to place wall anchors for hanging decor.
This Milwaukee M12 drill/driver is reasonably priced, compact and lightweight and comes with two batteries to get a new homeowner started on a battery platform they can easily add onto later.
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Check out other drill kits available at the Home Depot here.
New Homeowners Gift Idea #3: Drill Bits
While every new homeowner needs a good drill, it’s pretty much useless without drill bits. If they’re using a drill/driver, it’s helpful to include a set or two of some drill bits for drilling holes, but also some driving bits to help drive general purpose fasteners like small screws.
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A good drill bit set with various sizes is a must-have. There are a ton of options for this. These Milwaukee Cobalt drill bits are a little pricier, but will last up to ten times longer than the cheaper black oxide bits and are great for drilling into all materials from drywall and wood, all the way up to stainless steel.
For driving bits, it’s handy to get one that includes various size Phillips head bits, flat head bits, square and star head bits as well. Homeowners will encounter several style fasteners throughout the house and need to have a good variety of bits to fit whatever they run into.
New Homeowners Must Have #4: Screwdriver/Ratchet Kit
While a drill and drill bits have their place, there are other cases that may be a little more delicate and need a hand held screwdriver or ratchet. Things like tightening screws on outlet covers, taking covers off light fixtures to swap out bulbs, tightening hinges on cabinet doors, etc may require hand held tools to prevent excess force from a power tool from damaging anything.
In this case, just like with driving bits, it’s handy to have an assortment of sizes and styles. This Husky screwdriver and ratchet kit comes with a variety of screwdriver bits and sockets to pick from and are a great starter kit for a new homeowner.
New Homeowners Gift Idea #5: Plier Set
When I worked in a factory, I could repair almost anything with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers. Pliers are an overlooked tool that can do SO many useful things. Need a faucet tightened? Pliers. Need a nut on a P-trap loosened? Pliers.
I love this pair of pliers that I used to carry around in my back pocket at the factory. I’ve used these at home to make small plumbing repairs, tighten a shower faucet, and even tighten the nuts on the concrete anchors we used when putting up the walls inside our garage apartment. But for more variety, there are lots of kits you can find with various sizes as well.
Gift Idea #6: Work Gloves
Gloves are handy for anything from cleaning out the gutters to digging a hole, to working in the garden or loading up the moving trailer.
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There are a million types and styles of gloves, but a couple good pair of general purpose work gloves are great to keep handy. Here are some good light duty work gloves for light demo work, moving, or work in the garden. But, for something a little tougher, these Milwaukee winter performance gloves are great for heavy duty work, not only in the winter, but also year round.
Since they are water and windproof, they’re great for cleaning out gutters, pressure washing, and shoveling snow.
Homeowner Must Have #7: Hammer
A medium weight general purpose hammer is a great gift idea for a new homeowner. They are the perfect tool for driving nails or anchors to hang new pictures and wall art. They’re also great for opening and closing paint cans and pulling old nails out of the wall where previous owners hung their photos, etc.
It’s also great for nailing decorative tacks into upholstery and DIY shutters *wink wink* A hammer is one of those things that you don’t realize how much you need it until you don’t have one.
Gift Idea #8: Flashlight
If the house has an attic or a crawl space…or electricity…I can guarantee at some point a flashlight or a headlamp…or both…will come in handy.
Flashlights are handy to have anywhere, but especially if you’re trying to check your breakers in the dark or checking for plumbing leaks under the house. Even tightening a faucet under a cabinet would be a nice time to have a headlamp or a flashlight. I’m currently loving this rechargeable 850 lumen flashlight kit and this rechargeable adjustable headlamp.
Homeowner Must Have #9: Stud Finder
When it comes time to hang shelves, cabinets, wall art, heavy wall clocks, etc. it’s nice to have a stud finder handy to avoid making unnecessary holes in the wall looking for your closest wall stud. This particular stud finder is nice because it can also detect AC wires in the wall so you can avoid nicking one when drilling wall anchor holes, or driving screws.
Gift Idea #10: Ladder
A good ladder is a must have for a homeowner. It’s good for painting walls, changing out light bulbs, accessing the highest cabinets in the kitchen to change out the cabinet pulls π This 10 ft podium ladder is great for taller ceilings or for extended periods of standing.
But, this lightweight ladder has been super handy for our standard 8 ft ceilings, especially when we were building our home.
Other gift ideas for new homeowners that could have made the list:
I had so many good gift ideas for new homeowners to list out in this post, but I narrowed it down to these ten. However, here are a few others that would be handy as well.
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- Wall putty repair kit–to repair small holes in the wall
- Sandpaper–to smooth putty repairs
- Utility knife–for general cutting
- Level–helpful for hanging shelves, art, etc.
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Buying a new home is an exciting time. It’s easy to focus on the “fun” stuff, but these gift ideas will prepare new homeowners for what’s to come and help them maintain and upkeep their investment.
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I hope this has helped give you some great gift ideas π If you enjoyed this post, check out my other tool guides and reviews here. And, don’t forget to pin this for later!
Until next time, happy building π