Housewarming Gift Ideas for Kids

Moving to a new home is stressful for anybody, but children in particular experience anxiety when having to adjust to a new living environment. You can give housewarming gifts to children that will lessen their anxiety about moving and help make their new home a positive change.

Items to Decorate a Kid's Bedroom

A new home means a new bedroom, and kids can get excited about making it their own 1. A personalized sign with their name on it, posters, pictures, throw pillows and even some fun lightswitch covers can help a child transform a new bedroom into one that starts to feel like home for them. Add in a decorative nightlight for a child who is still getting used to his new surroundings.

Scrapbooking and Photo Album Supplies

For children who are moving out of town, leaving friends is always difficult. Create memory books for children to remember the good times they had with old friends. Give the child scrapbooking supplies or photo albums to hold pictures of these friends. She will enjoy looking at the books and remembering her good friends even while she is making new friends in the new neighborhood.

Give Music as a Housewarming Gift

Because moving is one of the most stressful events in a person's life, finding ways to deal with it is beneficial for not only adults, but children as well. According to Kids Health, 44 percent of kids cope by listening to music 2. A gift basket with some new CDs may be just the thing to lift a child's spirits and deal with the additional stress.

Gift Card to Visit a Local Store or Destination

When a child moves to a new town, it's helpful to point out places of interest to children. Stores where a child can paint pottery, take a cooking lesson or make a stuffed animal may not have been available at the last home he lived in, but the chance to check these new places out will help a child adjust to life in a different town, so give him a gift card to go explore one of these destinations.
Take the child with you on an excursion to a favorite local ice cream parlor, amusement park or movie theater as a welcome gift. He will enjoy spending time with you as he learns about his new community.

Personalize a Gift Basket for a Child

Consider the child who is moving to a new home and create a basket full of things that she will be able to use to create memories in the new house. A basket of microwave popcorn, boxes of candy and a newly released DVD will provide a fun movie night for the child. A child who likes to bake might like some child-sized oven mitts and baking mixes in a basket. Children who excel at sports might like a new basketball or soccer ball to use at the new house along with a shirt that has a local team's logo on it.

Warm the House with a New Pet

Children sometimes feel very alone in a new home, so providing a new stuffed friend that they can hug and talk to when they are feeling lonely would be appreciated. If you get permission from parents, a new, easy-to-care-for pet, such as a hermit crab or beta fish, could also brighten up a child's outlook on a new home.