By Kate Harvey
Writer | Kaituhi
I reckon the art of giving a good housewarming present is choosing something that’s a bit of a treat: not necessarily expensive, but something special your hosts probably wouldn’t buy for themselves in the middle of the chaos and expense of moving.
Choose something that, when their life might still be all packed into boxes, will make the new house feel that little bit more exciting.
Here are 10 present ideas that meet the brief. They all come with the approval of the Consumer NZ test team and punch well above their price tag.
On this page
- An air fryer for the new kitchen bench
- A speaker to provide the soundtrack
- A toaster I can personally vouch for
- A coffee machine to keep them going
- A showstopper for kitchen whizzes
- A full-time live-in cleaner (kind of)
- A secret weapon for easy dinners
- A marvel of a multi-cooker
- A luxury take on the humble kettle
- The appliance every household should have
An air fryer for the new kitchen bench
I’ve had my eye on the pink version of this for a couple of months, but I’ve been waiting to see how it scores in our test lab. We’ve just got the results live on our website, and I’m pleased to see it’s ended up with the Consumer Recommended tick. Don’t pay full price for it – it’s always on special somewhere; I’ve even seen it for under $200 at JB Hi-Fi.
A speaker to provide the soundtrack
Listening to music while unpacking boxes and putting things in drawers and cupboards has to be one of the biggest joys in life. This little speaker would make a lovely gift for someone who is part of the Apple ecosystem. It’s super easy to use, and the sound is good.
A toaster I can personally vouch for
I know this toaster would make a great housewarming gift, because it’s the one I bought myself when we moved into our home three years ago. We got the white one, and it still looks great and works perfectly.
A coffee machine to keep them going
This is our favourite capsule coffee machine. It’s also one of the cheapest – and it’s even cheaper if you buy it without the milk frother. It comes in white as well.
A showstopper for kitchen whizzes
How impressive does this gift look? It’s a food processor. It’s a blender. It has a huge array of accessories. Importantly, though, it also did great in our tests. Slicing carrots, shredding cheese, chopping breadcrumbs, kneading pastry, emulsifying mayo – it nailed them all.
A full-time live-in cleaner (kind of)
You’re not just giving an air purifier with this gift – you’re giving the gift of less dusting. This did better than most similar products we tested at removing dust from the air. You can get it from Kogan, Dick Smith and Mighty Ape.
A secret weapon for easy dinners
When we tested barbecues, we included this grill, which looks more like a sandwich press – and it actually held up very well. Its plate is of course much smaller than a barbecue’s, but it’s perfect for cooking a couple of steaks.
A marvel of a multi-cooker
We think this multi-cooker is a great appliance for the price. We rated it very good for pressure cooking and excellent for slow cooking. It comes with a bunch of settings that would be fun to play with, including yoghurt, bake and steam.
A luxury take on the humble kettle
This is expensive for something that just boils water, but look how pretty it is! That knob at the bottom lets you set how hot you want the water, and the kettle chimes when it’s done! Our testers couldn’t find anything they didn’t like about it.
The appliance every household should have
A rice cooker is one of those things you wonder how you lived without once you have one. This is one of our favourites – it made easy work of cooking both brown and jasmine rice. It has a steaming tray, so you can also steam some dumplings, fish or veg for a healthy dinner.
