The perfect first date, just like the perfect first night in your new home, is different for everyone, but both are big events that can only come around once. That’s why it’s vital to mark that first night in a special way, whether that means having pizza on the upstairs patio with all your friends or simply soaking in that giant bathtub in the master bathroom with a book until the water starts to get chilly. Move-in day can set the tone for the entire time you occupy your home, so hit the right notes the first time around.
Some people still have housewarming parties, but they’re not nearly as common as they used to be. These days your welcome to your new home can be as unique as you are. We came up with a few ideas to get your party planning juices flowing, check them out!
#1. Turn your living room into a dance floor! Hey, everything’s still packed up, so now’s the time to hire a DJ and grab some snacks. Even if you don’t bring in a professional, you can crank up the music and convince a friend to boogie with you until you’re both too tired to stand. The massive stress relief that the end of moving day can be is enough to make you want to shout it from the roof — but don’t — that might strike the neighbors wrong. Dancing is ok, though.
#2. Host an unpacking party. There’s only one thing worse than packing and that’s unpacking. Suddenly you have all this stuff that you don’t remember owning and no place to put it. What? Why did I buy the Wafflemaster 3000? When was the last time I made a waffle? For added incentive, bring in some catering and offer swag (like that Wafflemaster) for any friends or family willing to help you brave the boxes and figure out how to put everything away.
#3. Sponsor a block party. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. Block parties can be huge fun and they’re a great way to get to know the neighbors. If your neighborhood has either a homeowner’s or neighborhood association, you can talk to the group about sponsoring a block party. There’s a good chance they’ve already done plenty of these and you’ll just need to help with the costs involved in feeding the block. Neighbors that know each other are neighbors that are more likely to watch out for one another, that’s never a bad thing.
More Personal Ways to Spend that First Night
Not everyone is going to be ready, willing or able to spend their first night hanging out with everyone under the sun. Instead, you might prefer a quiet time at home, and that’s awesome, too. Don’t think we forgot you quiet types, we didn’t.
#1. Plant a tree. Maybe this is a little bit of a cheesy idea, but planting a tree in an appropriate place so it’ll be able to grow to maturity without having to be moved or chopped down, is a permanent way of marking your place on the planet. You planted that tree. You nurtured it. That tree is there because of you, even if it’s 40 or 50 years later. That tree may easily outlive you. And you’ll always remember that it was planted on your moving day, for the rest of your life. That’s big stuff.
#2. Redecorate. The particularly ambitious among you may be ready to run to the nearest home decor store and start feverishly choosing items to cover the walls, floors and windows of your new home. If you already know how you want your space to feel and look, it’s a great time to do those decor things, there’s nothing in the way and you’ve not reached a point where you’re used to living with that hideous avocado green curtain that’s covering the picture window in the living room. Carpe the diem.
#3. Stay in a hotel. Hey, it may be an important time in your life, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay the night in the exploding house of boxed horrors. Rather than trying to traverse the mess you’ve created trying to unpack, get a nice hotel for the night and come back to the unpacking the next morning with fresh eyes. It doesn’t mean you love your house any less because you didn’t stay with it the first night, it just means you value your sanity more. PS. Order room service and drink things from the tiny fridge. Live a little!
It Doesn’t Have to Be Fancy to Be Fun
No matter what way of celebrating you choose, don’t let it add to your stress level. A Moving Day party (or non-party) is really for you and your family. No one else has to be happy, though it can help improve the overall party atmosphere. Moving is stressful, even in the best of situations, your moving celebration is all about blowing that stress out through the roof — figuratively, of course.