If you were just moving in with SO, what would you want? (nbr)

Zed58

Okay, so here's a quick background on the situation.  My sister is in the process of moving in with her BF.  She is thirteen years my elder and this is the FIRST time in her life she will be living with a SO.  YAY for her!!!  Our usual sitter is going to be out of town next week and we need someone to stay with the girls Monday evening.  I asked my sis if there was any chance she could watch them and she very happily said yes.

Here's the thing.  If we were using our sitter that evening, we would obviously pay her for her time, right? Right.  My sis and her bf are pretty strapped for $$ and while she would never ask/expect to be paid for watching the girls I know that this would be a good chance for me to help her out (just a little) without her having to ask to burrow money or anything like that.  For the amount of time that my sis will be watching the girls, we would typically pay our sitter around $100.00 (about six hours at 15/hr).  I don't want my sister to feel awkward or insulted that I try to pay her for watching the girls, so I was thinking I would get something for their house that they might need now that they are going to be living together.

She is moving into her boyfriends' house.  It's not like they have found some place new and therefore *need* anything new to update, decorate, finish, etc.  He has lived in this house for ten years with a friend of his renting in the basement.  My sister has had a place of her own for fifteen years as well, so they have a LOT of stuff that will be filling this house of theirs.  

Looking back, when you and SO first made that commitment and moved in with each other, is there anything you wish you would have had?  Maybe something that you didn't have when it was just you, but needed to get when you moved in together?  I figured if I could come up with some kind of "housewarming" necessity, I could maybe non-chalantly help them out in a way that doesn't make anybody feel uncomfortable.

martinimomma

How about some new linens? 

damabo80

Hmmm....I know this probably isn't what you're looking for, but nothing else comes to mind (housewarming gifts we got mostly turned into clutter anyways):

Gift certificate for a local restaurant, and a pair of movie tickets. If they are strapped for cash, a free date night would probably come in handy.

kilissa

I think a gift card would be nice.  When my husband and I moved in together and strapped for cash it was difficult for us to go out on dates.  It would have been nice to have a restaurant / movie gift card so that we could go out without feeling guilty.  Plus, it wouldn't feel like charity.

martinimomma

damabo80:

Hmmm....I know this probably isn't what you're looking for, but nothing else comes to mind (housewarming gifts we got mostly turned into clutter anyways):

Gift certificate for a local restaurant, and a pair of movie tickets. If they are strapped for cash, a free date night would probably come in handy.

Scratch my boring idea..  This one is much better. 

DowagerCountessofNJ

Nice linens or an upgrade on a small appliance.  Maybe a Keurig?

Gummybear

sandyd:

How about some new linens? 

Sandy I think you idea is fantastic, not boring. I was going to post the same thing. Granted I am a linens wh0re and would spend an ungodly amount of money on nice bedding, but I was thinking a nice pair of luxurious sheets would be great.

I love my husband to death, but if I were moving into his house I'd want to buy new bedding. Guys are gross

Zed58

Gummybear:

I love my husband to death, but if I were moving into his house I'd want to buy new bedding. Guys are gross

hehehe. True Enough!  

 

Thanks for the ideas ladies.  I do like the date night idea. ...and I agree, I would definitely be replacing the sheets if I were to be moving in with a guy! 

Karen1998

I like both the date night ideas and the sheets.  Maybe some nice linens and a dinner gift certificate?  Or would that be oogie seeing as you'd be sending them to dinner and then back home to try out the sheets?

erinlovesdavid

sandyd:

How about some new linens? 

This is what I was thinking. A good set of high thread count sheets would be a nice gift, and something that many people need/want but don't go out of their way to buy for themselves because of the expense. I don't know how you would go about finding out what size bed your sister's BF has, though, without sounding like a creeper!

damabo80

erinlovesdavid:

sandyd:

How about some new linens? 

This is what I was thinking. A good set of high thread count sheets would be a nice gift, and something that many people need/want but don't go out of their way to buy for themselves because of the expense. I don't know how you would go about finding out what size bed your sister's BF has, though, without sounding like a creeper!

Bwhahaha....this seriously made me LOL!

Zed58

rmj80:

you pay your sitter $15/hr??? wowza!

We do, but she's not the teenage girl from two houses down.  She's a thirty year old professional nanny with a college degree in child development.  She also goes waaaaay above the call of just playing with the girls.  She bathes them, puts them to bed (neither are easy tasks), she cleans our house top to bottom (I'm talking sweeping the floor/mopping if necessary, scrubs countertops, cleans mirrors....ya know, goes beyond the surface clean), does any laundry we have laying around, does our dishes, etc.  10-15 is the going rate for an average sitter where we are and considering all she does, I honestly don't feel like we pay her enough.  We usually tip her in addition to her hourly wage.  She's A-MAZE-ING!! 

Zed58

rmj80:

wow, that actually sounds like a REALLY sweet deal!!

...and I forgot to mention that she cooks them dinner and makes leftovers so we can have some (always sooo yummy).  She also does projects with them.  Ya know, the messy ones that I don't really love to do cause I hate to clean up after them.  Play-doh, painting, glitter art, baking and decorating their cakes/cookies.  90% of the time we come home to not only a clean house, but some kind of art project that the girls have made for us.  Last time it was a book with drawings, hand/footprints and a poem the girls "helped" write.  Yeah.  She's pretty great! 

jamilynn9

I like the gift ideas presented.  Grocery gift cards come in handy too.  I remember when we first moved in we were saving for the wedding and we skimped at the grocery store big time.

Awesome sitter you have!