A new house is full of boxes and bad decisions about where the sofa goes. What it is short of is personality, because personality is the last thing to arrive — it accumulates from small objects nobody planned for, and a housewarming gift is a chance to install one on day one.
Doormats are the category leader here, and they are also the only thing on this list worth going over budget for: a doormat is read by every single person who comes to the door, for years. Below that, coasters, candles and small kitchen gadgets do the job for under fifteen dollars.
Personality is the last thing to arrive in a new house. A doormat installs some on day one.
The short list
- Googly Eye Plant Magnets · $7.99
- Retro Vinyl Record Coasters with Player Holder · $11.99
- Sheep Toilet Roll Holder · $12.99
- Funny Housewarming Candle · $12.99
- OTOTO Gnome Dish Brush · $14.95
- Funny Sarcastic Coasters · $15.99
- BigMouth Wine Bottle Glass · $20.09
- "Welcome to the Shitshow" Doormat · $25.95
- "Come Back With a Warrant" Doormat · $25.95
- "Dogs Welcome, People Tolerated" Doormat · $25.95
The best under $10
Where this list is strongest. Nothing here costs more than a sandwich and several of them are the funniest things on the page.
One
Plants, under $10
Googly Eye Plant Magnets
Magnetic eyes and mouths that turn houseplants into silly little monsters. Great for new plant parents and fridges. Your fern now has feelings.
Buy on Amazon UK$10 to $15
The sweet spot: cheap enough to be a casual gift, solid enough not to look like one.
Two
Coasters, under $15
Retro Vinyl Record Coasters with Player Holder
Six record-shaped coasters that sit in a tiny turntable holder. Retro fun for music lovers and new living rooms. A conversation piece that also protects the furniture.
Buy on Amazon UKThree
Bathroom, under $15
Sheep Toilet Roll Holder
A free-standing sheep that keeps spare toilet paper on hand and adds woolly whimsy to the bathroom. Silly, useful and a great talking point. Baa-throom humor at its finest.
Buy on AmazonFour
Candles, under $15
Funny Housewarming Candle
A scented candle with a funny new-home message for the new homeowners. It makes the house smell nice and makes guests laugh. A safe-bet housewarming gift.
Buy on Amazon UKFive
Kitchen, under $15
OTOTO Gnome Dish Brush
A garden gnome dish brush whose beard does the scrubbing. It makes washing up just a little more magical. A charming, practical housewarming gift.
Buy on Amazon UK$15 to $20
The top of the budget, where the objects start being things people keep.
Six
Under $20, coasters
Funny Sarcastic Coasters
A set of snarky coasters that protect the new coffee table and roast the guests at the same time. A bestselling gag gift with a real use. Furniture saved, feelings not.
Buy on AmazonWorth going over $20
These are above the budget in the headline. They are here because they are the best things in the category, and it felt dishonest to leave them out just to keep a round number tidy.
Seven
Wine, under $25
BigMouth Wine Bottle Glass
A giant wine glass that holds an entire bottle, for when one glass is all you have time for. Perfect for unpacking night. Party gift legend status.
Buy on Amazon UKEight
Doormats
"Welcome to the Shitshow" Doormat
The most honest welcome mat ever made. It sets expectations before guests even ring the bell. A housewarming classic for chaotic households.
Buy on Amazon UKNine
Doormats
"Come Back With a Warrant" Doormat
A doormat for new homeowners who value their privacy and their sense of humor. It sends solicitors back down the driveway. Funny, firm and very weatherproof.
Buy on Amazon UKTen
Doormats, for pet lovers
"Dogs Welcome, People Tolerated" Doormat
A doormat for the new home where the dog is really in charge. Pet lovers will laugh, and guests will know their place. Very good boy energy.
Buy on Amazon UKHow to choose
Doormats are the highest-impact gift here. Three appear below at around twenty-six dollars, above this guide’s cap, and they are still the pick if you can stretch. Every visitor reads it, which is more reach than any other object in a house.
Small and self-contained beats large. They are unpacking. Nothing that needs a shelf decided for it, a wall drilled or a cupboard found. Coasters and a dish brush have somewhere obvious to go on the first night.
Match the joke to the household. ‘Come Back With a Warrant’ and ‘Dogs Welcome, People Tolerated’ are very different statements about who lives there. These are read by neighbours before they are read by friends.
Questions people ask
What is a good funny housewarming gift under $20?
The funny sarcastic coasters at around sixteen dollars, or the gnome dish brush at around fifteen. Both are small, immediately useful, and need no decision about where they live.
What is the best funny doormat?
‘Welcome to the Shitshow’ for a household that describes itself that way, ‘Come Back With a Warrant’ for the more deadpan option, and ‘Dogs Welcome, People Tolerated’ where there is a dog. All around twenty-six dollars, which is over this guide’s cap and still worth it.
How much should you spend on a housewarming gift?
Fifteen to thirty dollars is normal. A doormat or a good set of coasters sits comfortably in that range, and a bottle of something alongside covers the evening itself.