Home gifts, mugs and candles
20 Funny Housewarming Gift Ideas That Aren't Another Boring Candle
Somebody you like has just got the keys, and you are about to turn up with a scented candle in a gift bag. Again. Here are 20 funny housewarming gift ideas that earn their spot on the shelf: mugs with a point of view, wall art with personality, a candle with a sense of humour and a few ideas that cost nothing but good timing.
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Funny mugs, wall art and Sassy Scents candles, all designed by our own small team and printed to order in the UK.
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The housewarming gift has a reputation problem. Every new home ends up with three candles, a plant that is already struggling and a framed word like LIVE or LAUGH that nobody chose. It is kind, it is safe and it is forgotten by March.
A funny gift does the opposite. It tells the new owners you know their sense of humour, it gets used in the first week and it gives visitors something to laugh at. Most of the ideas below are designs from our shop, dreamed up by our small team in Antrim and printed to order in the UK. A few are plain advice, because the best gift is sometimes about timing.
Quick answer
A funny housewarming gift is something useful or decorative with a joke built in, such as a cheeky mug, a bold canvas or a candle with a daft name. For a first home, pick a mug or small canvas they can use straight away. For a couple, a matching pair works. For a renter, choose something that can lean on a shelf rather than hang.
How do you choose a funny housewarming gift?
Start with the home, not the joke. Find out what the place is like (or ask a mutual friend), then choose something that works in that room. A neon shark is brilliant in a games room and baffling in a pale, tidy hallway.
- Match their decorating style. Bold, colourful homes can take bold, colourful art. Calm, neutral homes suit landscapes and a mug with a dry line.
- Think about size. Mugs, candles and small canvases fit anywhere. A large canvas needs a wall they have already decided on.
- Keep the humour in tune with the audience. A pun is fine for a new neighbour. A stronger slogan is for friends who swear at the telly.
- Skip anything that makes work. Nobody wants a gift that needs installing on the day they are surrounded by boxes.
| They are… | Go for | Steer clear of |
|---|---|---|
| Buying a first home | A mug or candle they will use in week one, or a canvas for the first wall they paint | Anything large or fragile before they know the layout |
| A couple moving in together | A matching pair, or a joke that is clearly about the two of them | Anything that picks a side in an argument |
| Renting | Mugs, candles and small canvases that can lean on a shelf or sideboard | Heavy pieces that need drilling |
| Downsizing | One good print and something for the kitchen | Knick-knacks that need dusting |
| A colleague or neighbour | A friendly mug or a landscape | Anything with strong language |
| Fond of sarcastic décor | Mugs and canvases with a deadpan edge | Sweet, sincere slogans |
Tip: renting? Think before you give a heavy canvas. A lot of landlords object to nails. A small canvas leaning on a shelf, a windowsill or the top of a bookcase looks deliberate and leaves no marks. Removable hooks suit lighter pieces, but check the weight limit on the pack.
Candles, mugs and kitchen-table gifts
Mugs and candles are the traditional housewarming gifts, so they are the easiest place to be funny without being strange. Both are small, both get used and both get noticed.
1. Apple Pie But Burnt candle
Yes, this one is a candle. But a 9oz soy candle called Apple Pie But Burnt, from our Sassy Scents range, is hard to call boring. It starts the first dinner party with a laugh, which is more than a plain tin of vanilla ever managed. There is plenty more candle humour in our guide to funny scented candle gifts, and you can browse the full Sassy Scents range too.
3. All You Need Is Coffee and Wifi mug
The honest shopping list for a working-from-home flat. A good gift for a friend whose spare room is about to become an office. Pair it with a bag of beans from a local roaster and you have a proper gift, not just a mug. More ideas like this are in our guide to funny gifts for coffee lovers.
4. You Can’t Be Everyone’s Cup of Tea Or You Would Be a Mug
A tea drinker’s pun, with an orange mug in the middle of the design, printed on a mug. It is a neat gift for the person whose first purchase in the new house is a kettle. Add a box of tea bags and a packet of biscuits and it is done. Our funny gifts for tea lovers guide has more cuppa humour.
5. Comfy Clothes and Murder Shows mug
A cartoon pair of pyjamas and a knife under the slogan. It is for the friend whose first night in the new place will be a blanket, a takeaway and a documentary about something awful. Mildly macabre, never rude.
6. Sip Happens. Stay Calm. mug
The product description calls it a mug for workdays, tea breaks and minor emotional meltdowns, which is a fair summary of moving house. Give it to the person who has been carrying boxes for a fortnight.
7. A mug hamper, built around one good mug
This one is advice rather than a product. Choose a mug from our mug range and build a small hamper around it: good tea or coffee, a packet of biscuits, a tea towel or a jar of something local. It costs a little more than the mug, it looks generous and the new owners get a first-night kit they can use before they find the box with the kettle in it.
8. Not My Circus, Not My Spreadsheet mug for a colleague
When a workmate buys a house and you want to mark it without getting personal, a friendly desk mug is the safest funny gift. The slogan is clean enough for the office kitchen, and it makes a Monday meeting more bearable. For more office-safe options, our guide to the best funny mugs for work is worth a look.
Ready to order
More funny home gifts you can order today
A few more candles, canvases and mugs for a new-home gift: all printed to order in the UK.
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Vanilla Dreams & Cinnamon Nightmares Scented Soy Candle – Vanilla & Cinnamon – 9oz
£17.88Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page -
Sassy Mermaids Only Scented Soy Candle – Sea Salt & Orchid – 9oz
£17.88Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page -
Roar & Radiance Wall Art Canvas Wrap,
Price range: £26.48 through £38.93Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page -
The Jellybaby Wall Art Canvas Wrap,
Price range: £26.48 through £38.93Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page -
White Rocks Beach Coastal Cliffs Seascape Canvas Print — Beach Landscape Wall Art
Price range: £16.86 through £159.00Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page -
Harbour Morning Matte Canvas Print — Seaside Village Boat Landscape
Price range: £16.86 through £159.00Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page -
Don’t speak until finished – Ceramic Coffee Cups, 11oz, 15oz
£9.90Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page -
I May Look Calm – Ceramic Coffee Cups, 11oz, 15oz
£9.90Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Got a funny idea of your own?
Every FunnyTshirt design is our own, dreamed up in Antrim. If you have a custom design idea, send it over and we usually reply within one working day.
Printed to order in the UK
Funny and bold wall art for walls that need something
Wall art is the gift people remember, because it stays on show long after the mugs are in the dishwasher. It is also the riskiest, so choose subject matter that suits the home and save the surprise for the colour. Our funny wall art ideas guide goes through room-by-room styling, so here we stick to one idea per piece.
9. Highland Cow canvas for the hallway
A hallway is the first thing visitors see and the room most people forget to decorate. A bold, shaggy Highland cow in a wildflower meadow gives it personality straight away. It is gentle enough for most tastes and eye-catching enough to start a conversation. Browse the rest of the animal wall art for similar characters.
10. Sharkadelic canvas for the bold, colourful home
A rainbow-lit shark with its jaws open against a starry background. It is not for everyone, which is why it is a brilliant gift for the friend with the neon sign, the games room or the spare room full of gaming gear. Skip it for calm, neutral hallways.
11. Elephunk canvas for the animal lover
A psychedelic neon elephant, bursting with colour. Give it to the friend with three dogs, a cat that thinks it owns the place and a shelf of nature documentaries. More ideas for them are in our guide to funny gifts for animal lovers.
12. Whiskey and Cigar canvas for a home bar corner
A glowing glass of whiskey with a cigar resting on the rim, painted in warm, vivid colours. It suits a drinks trolley, a den or a man-cave wall. As it features drink and tobacco, keep it for people who would enjoy it and leave it off the list for non-drinkers.
13. The Dark Hedges canvas when you are not sure of their taste
Not sure what they like? A landscape is the nearest thing to a safe choice in wall art. The Dark Hedges is a tunnel of twisted trees along a country lane, and it works in almost any style of home, from modern to traditional. It is the gift that quietly gets the joke in first: not another motivational slogan, and not another candle.
14. Carrickfergus Castle canvas for a print of home
A coastal seascape of a local landmark is a lovely gift for anyone who has moved somewhere new but still talks about home. Look through our real places collection for more landmarks.
15. Paris Eiffel Tower canvas for the travel lover
A matte canvas of the Eiffel Tower from the river. It suits someone who plans every trip months ahead and now needs a wall for the photographs they never print. For the traveller who will finally have a wall for the trip they never stop talking about.
16. Turntable Vinyl canvas for the music lover
A close-up of a record deck with a red light and a start-stop button. It suits the friend whose first purchase is a turntable and who is already planning where the speakers go. Browse the full music wall art range for more.
Housewarming gifts for first homes, couples and renters
What do you buy someone for their first home? Something small enough to fit, affordable enough to avoid awkwardness and useful before the boxes are unpacked. These last four ideas are built around the situation rather than the product.
17. Pride of the Highlands canvas, leant on a shelf
This is our renter-friendly pick. A rainbow Highland cow on canvas looks good propped on a sideboard, a bookcase or a mantelpiece, which means no drill and no deposit worries. Choose a smaller size and let them move it around as the room changes.
18. A starter kit with a joke in it
First-time owners rarely have the basics. Build a small box of things they will need in the first week: a roll of loo paper, a torch, a pack of matches, a screwdriver and a bottle of something fizzy, with a funny note on top. Add one of the mugs above and it becomes a proper gift basket.
19. A custom design with a joke only they would get
Every group of friends has a catchphrase about the house, the street or the person who always parks across the drive. If you want to turn it into a gift, there is no personalisation tool on the site, but you can send us your idea and ask about a custom design. We usually reply within one working day.
20. A gift for the second month
Everyone gets gifts in the first week. By week six, the boxes are gone, the bare walls are annoying them and the money has run out. A mug, a canvas or a funny candle given a month after the move shows you remembered. It also means you can choose after seeing what the home actually needs.
Writing a card? Borrow one of these.
- Congratulations on the new house. This is not a boring candle.
- Now you own the walls, here is something to put on them.
- May your first dinner party go better than the unpacking.
- Welcome to your new home. The kettle goes in the first box.
Before you buy
- Do you know what the home looks like, or what colours they like?
- Is it small enough to fit in a house full of boxes, or easy to give later?
- If they rent, can it lean on a shelf rather than hang?
- Is the humour clean enough for the person and the audience?
- Have you left time for printing? Shipping normally takes 3-5 days depending on manufacturing time.
- Have you used code GO5 for 5% off your first order?
Funny housewarming gift FAQs
What is a funny housewarming gift?
A funny housewarming gift is a useful or decorative present with a joke built in: a mug with a deadpan slogan, a canvas with personality or a candle with a daft name. The best ones suit the person’s sense of humour and still look good in the new home. Something like the Cup of Tea mug or a novelty candle fits that description.
What do you buy someone for their first home?
Buy something small, useful and quick to enjoy. A funny mug, a candle, a small canvas that can sit on a shelf or a starter box of basics all work well. First-time owners rarely have the wall space or spare cash for big gifts, so keep it simple. If you are unsure, our mugs are a reliable starting point.
What is a good housewarming gift for someone who rents?
Choose something that does not need drilling. Mugs and candles are obvious picks, and a smaller canvas leant on a shelf, windowsill or bookcase looks deliberate and leaves the walls untouched. The Pride of the Highlands canvas is a colourful example. Removable hooks can work for lighter pieces, but check the weight limit first.
Is wall art a good housewarming gift?
It can be, if you know their taste. A landscape or an animal print is a safer bet than a joke slogan, and a smaller piece is easier to place. For more help with sizes and rooms, our funny wall art ideas guide covers styling in detail.
What should I avoid giving as a housewarming gift?
Avoid anything large, fragile or high-maintenance, such as plants that need special care or art that needs hanging on day one. Skip very strong humour unless you know the audience, and do not pick decor in a style you have never seen in their home. When in doubt, give a mug, a candle or a gift for later.
Keep reading
More ideas from the FunnyTshirt blog.
Home Gifts, Mugs & CandlesFunny Wall Art Ideas for Kitchens, Home Offices and Living RoomsRoom-by-room funny wall art ideas for kitchens, home offices and living rooms, with advice on size, colour, hanging…Read the guide
Home Gifts, Mugs & CandlesFunny Scented Candle Gifts for Friends Who Have EverythingAre funny scented candles good gifts? Here is how to match the four Sassy Scents candles to a…Read the guide
Home Gifts, Mugs & CandlesFunny Gifts for Coffee Lovers Who Can’t Function Without CaffeineFunny gifts for coffee lovers, matched to the coffee personality: mugs for the silent-before-caffeine type, the espresso snob…Read the guideReady to pick a housewarming gift with a sense of humour?
Choose the mug, canvas or candle that sounds like them. Everything is printed to order in the UK, and shipping normally takes 3-5 days depending on manufacturing time.
