Help! I Bought a House
What is the best housewarming gift to give to someone who has just purchased a home? That was the question on my mind recently. It is quite a dilemma to come up with a good gift idea. Flowers and wine are nice, but so cliche. Food is always an option, but isn't that what everyone else does? I knew I could think of a more creative way to celebrate such a momentous life occasion.
As I was looking around my stock room (AKA my drawers of random craft supplies and household objects), I ran across a package of aspirin by one of my favorite brands, Help.
Help is a company that makes health products like aspirin, bandages, and decongestants. What really sets them apart, though, is their brilliant branding and packaging. The cute and clever copy immediately sticks out to anyone walking down the medicine aisle. In fact, many upscale brands like the Ace Hotel have even started offering up their products inside their gift shops and hotel rooms.
That's when it hit me: new homeowners don't necessarily need food or wine, what they need are everyday essentials for the house. So, I decided to make a DIY "Help I Bought a House" kit.
It was incredibly easy to put together. I purchased a $7 clear storage container, and then found all kinds of goodies to stuff inside. I bought products that ranged from practical necessities like toilet paper, WD40, and a razor, to more design-centric objects like Bowtie Bag Clips, a Poach Pod (an egg poaching gadget, which I bought a second set of for myself!), and a giant matchstick lighter (doesn't everyone need one of those?).
Because I knew my friends had heard of and often used products from Help, I decided to design and print my own variation of their packaging for the top of the box. I just glued the print onto a piece of scrapbook paper I had in my craft supply closet, then used double-sided tape to stick to the lid.
The result? It was a hit! Not only did my friends laugh instantly, but they told me that all of the products were so fun and useful for their new home.
