What You Should Buy For The Perfect Housewarming Gift

The problem with housewarming parties is that close friends have a habit of morphing into strange relatives who like to bear surprising gifts.

Where once they brought wine, now they come bearing indoor tulip trees, personalised chopping boards, and elaborate tasting plates, with an array of dipping sauces that won't fit in the fridge door.

Cruelly, they are usually the things a new homeowner has been trying desperately to avoid.

Not because they're not desperately cute. But because in 2014, accruing stylish household knick knacks is no longer difficult and expensive, but easy and fun.

What has become difficult is controlling one's urge to accumulate.

At the very same moment when even supermarkets sell funky crockery, new homeowners are likely to have less living space than any of us can remember.

So the chances of your friends having room for an ornamental Uganda drum is probably slight.

You can bet, they've been dying to fill every available nook with Victorian birdcages, Art Deco flower stands and oversized Tuscan-style vases. But instead have opted for three Billy bookcases, and a pull-out shoe rack.

So please don't make life more tough than it needs to be, and walk in with the very gift they've been lusting after for months.

Next time you head to a housewarming party, channel your best Mary Poppins.

Like the lady with the best-tote-bag-ever, make a strong emotional impact, offer useful support, and then attempt to disappear leaving nothing behind.

There are tons of great presents that demonstrate your love for your friends, which don't involve buying them a large, stencilled suitcase, as a quirky storage solution.

Here are 10 great housewarming gifts that will hit home.