Housewarming party

A house-warming party is a party traditionally held soon after moving into a new residence. It is an occasion for the hosts to present their new home to their friends, post-moving, and for friends to give gifts to furnish the new home. House-warming parties are generally informal. Usually there are no planned activities besides a possible tour.

It is considered proper etiquette to invite guests at least a few days, or up to three weeks, in advance.

Gifts are customarily necessary. They usually consist of something for the new house (such as a potted plant, a vase, or a picture frame) or something to be enjoyed during the party (such as a bottle of whiskey, a bouquet of flowers, or a gift basket of foodstuffs). Bluebirds are often given in some countries as they are believed to bless the new house with happiness and good luck. Today it is also customary to provide bluebird-themed paraphernalia such as china. Pineapples and coconuts are also common housewarming gifts and the pineapple and coconuts have served as a symbol of hospitality and warm welcome through the history of the Americas.

In East Lancashire as in parts of Scotland (particularly Ayrshire and Banffshire) a frog is seen as a giver of good luck. A gift of a frog is often made as a wedding or housewarming gift for good luck and fertility.

In Germany, common gifts include gift certificates, for example from a furniture shop. Guests also usually bring something to drink or a homemade dish, such as a salad or a pie.

In Western Culture in modern times housewarming gifts have strayed from the traditional to the more contemporary in an attempt to address the values of Gen X and Y who are stereotypically becoming the primary demographic in the new home owner / first time renting markets in the Americas and Commonwealth Nations.

The term "housewarming" is descended literally from the act of warming a new house, in the days before central heating. Each guest would bring firewood, and build fires in all the available fireplaces, offering firewood as a gift. Aside from warming the house, this was also believed to repel evil spirits by creating a protective atmosphere of warmth. Uninhabited houses were considered targets for vagrant spirits, and therefore used to require a certain level of cleansing before a house was safe to be occupied by young children. The origin is from the medieval times.

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