10 Weird Housewarming Gifts — That’ll Make You Go ‘Huh?’
It’s always nice when, after moving into a new house, a neighbor brings you something to welcome you to the neighborhood. Well, almost always. We know deep down that it’s the thought that counts. But sometimes you have to ask: What the hell were they thinking?
Behold this list of housewarming gifts that’ll make you scratch your head and feel relieved you haven’t received them yourself. (Or have you?)
1. A deer head
“When my wife and I moved to southern Ohio, some neighbors came over to introduce themselves right when we moved in. Most people brought food and wine as housewarming gifts, but one guy brought us a deer head. A trophy mounted, taxidermy deer head. He said something like, ‘It’s for your living room!’ My wife was so grossed out that we put it in the garage and left it there even after we moved.”
– Jeremy Kendall, Putnam County, NY
2. A shower head
“I moved into a place in Queens, NY, and my aunt bought me a shower head for no reason. The weird thing about it was that my aunt was a very ‘frilly’ lady. Everything she wore or owned had sequins or ruffles on it, so to get something as utilitarian as a shower head – wrapped in nothing more than a brown paper bag — was very strange.”
– Trish D., Long Island, NY
3. A broom
“I recently moved to Los Angeles with my girlfriend. A friend of a friend welcomed me to town with a broom. It wasn’t any sort of special broom, but he said he’d recently bought one and it was the best broom he’d ever used in his life. That apartment had hardwood floors, so it did end up being a pretty solid broom. Still, it was an odd thing to receive as a gift.”
– Owen Neil, Los Angeles, CA
4. A pig
“My friends got me a big bag of presents when I moved into my new apartment. One of them was a blue, glass pig. When I took it out, everyone laughed and said, ‘That’s so you!’ and ‘It’s perfect!’ To this day, I have no idea why — no idea what it’s referring to, or why they think I’d want it. I don’t even like pigs. Either I’m forgetting an inside joke, or my friends are trying to tell me something.”
– Kayla P., Boston, MA
5. A dozen pineapples
“When I was a kid, my family moved to South Carolina. About a week after we moved in, a series of neighbors showed up to our front door with pineapples. Whole pineapples. We had more than a dozen at one point. Apparently, the pineapple is a symbol of hospitality. My mom made pineapple everything for the next few weeks.”
– Jeff Ashworthy, New York, NY
6. Decade-old spices
“My parents have keys to my place. One day after I moved in, I showed up after they were supposed to feed my cat. There’s this spice rack, from 1993, with geese on it, sitting on my counter with a bow. It was a spice rack from their house — I remember it from when I was a kid. They got new stuff, so they gave it to me. I never asked for it, never wanted it. The best part is that there were spices in it — from 1993.”
– Will H., Cleveland, OH
7. Too much candy
“A friend brought us a basket of candy to welcome us to the neighborhood. Not a small basket, it was like the size of a laundry hamper. I think she worked at a candy wholesaler nearby and just decided to load us up. We ate some of it, but could barely make a dent in it. We probably got a few cavities, too.”
– Al Crespo, Denver, CO
8. Fishbowl, with fish
“One of our neighbors gave us a small fishbowl with a goldfish in it. I’m not sure if she thought we needed the company or what. We couldn’t flush him, so we named him Scooter. I think we had him for a full five years before he finally passed away. RIP, Scooter.”
– Carlos & Karla M., Plainville, CT
9. Football helmet
“I moved to Columbus, OH — home of the Ohio State Buckeyes — a few years ago. Fans there are … enthusiastic. And it didn’t take long for me to meet a few on my street. Most of them brought me wine and stuff like that, but one guy gave me a regulation-size replica football helmet. It was sweet, because I know how seriously they take the game down here, but it was a little weird.”
– Sarah Amy, Columbus, OH
10. A dead scorpion
“I lived in Utah for a little while. An eccentric neighbor welcomed me to the area by giving me a dead scorpion encased in a little glass orb. It was a paperweight, and it was actually pretty cool — something I feel like I could’ve only gotten out West. But, it definitely weirded a lot of people out.”
– Morgan Lyn, Atlanta, GA
Source: Realtor.com
