Fun Housewarming Gifts

Housewarming gifts should be fun, so why are you giving the same bottle of wine to all of your friends? If you’re looking for a fresh, new idea you’re in luck. Olympia Moving & Storage has compiled a list of our favorite housewarming gift ideas and where to find them!

Feel like sticking to tradition?

According to Norse tradition, it’s considered good luck to bring bread, a broom, candles, coins, honey, a knife, olive oil, plants, rice, salt, wine, or wood as a housewarming gift. Each gift symbolizes different good vibes, but none of these “traditional” gifts have much of a wow factor. We suggest putting a twist on it!

Bread & Oil Housewarming Gifts

According to the Norse tradition a housewarming gift of high quality or infused olive oil symbolizes  health. Add a loaf of crusty bread (according to folklore, this ensures your loved ones will never go hungry), throw it in a pretty basket, and you’re good to go!

We recommend doubling up with a set of unfiltered Greek olive oil from Food52.

Candle Housewarming Gift

Another traditional housewarming gift sure to be a crowd-pleaser is a candle. Representing light and warmth, we’d suggest a simple scent that won’t overwhelm. You might like something seasonal, like our favorite Balsam & Cedar scent from Yankee Candle.

Home Decor Housewarming Gifts

anthropologie throw

Be careful when choosing housewarming gift items to help get the decorating process started.

We would suggest steering clear of playing a guessing game when it comes to your loved one’s style decisions but a nice throw blanket is always appreciated. 

We love this Knit Confetti throw from Anthropologie because of it’s classic style that can fit any color scheme!

whiskey rock

Kitchen & Dining Housewarming Gifts

For the entertainer we suggest getting them some staple items that they’ll love using themselves but also to entertain you in the future

Wine pearls or whiskey stones are a great gift that most people wouldn’t buy for themselves. We like this set by Sparq (available at Bed Bath & Beyond) because they have both small and large stones included.

If your pals are into cocktails, you might look into getting them a bitters kit. These are awesome projects that also educate about types of cocktails and spirits. Hella Bitters has kits for every type of cocktail aficionado and are sure to please. We’ll take one of each!

rifle paper co

If you happen to be giving a housewarming gift to your favorite chef, you might consider getting them a recipe box paired with some recipe cards. We absolutely love Rifle Paper Co.’s recipe box and card options. Actually, we just love Rifle Paper Co. in general. (Fun fact: the Olympia Moving & Storage marketing team has matching Rifle Paper Co. notebooks… I smell a sponsorship!)

No matter what you decide to get your loved ones for a housewarming gift, the truth is that your presence in their new home is probably gift enough, but giving something awesome never hurts.

Have your own go-to that we missed? Let us know, or check out our other picks on our Pinterest!

Planning your own relocation in need of a little housewarming?

Give us a call at 800.222.4744 or request an estimate and start planning a great move today! We’ll give you our best tips and advice to make your transition as smooth as possible.

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Olympia Moving Delivers Toys to the Big Wishes Gift Drive

Congrats to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage of New England for filling TWO Olympia Moving & Storage trucks full of gifts and toys for The Home for Little Wanderers Big Wishes Gift Drive!

The generous agents & communities around Coldwell Banker offices collected the thousands of gifts including laptops and bikes!  The gifts will go to needy families in the Boston area in The Home’s care, making their holiday seasons a little brighter.

Olympia Moving & Storage donates logistics assistance to the drive every year, picking up the gifts from the Coldwell Banker offices and delivering to the Home for Little Wanderer’s Toy Room in Rosindale.  Coldwell Banker has filled an Olympia Moving truck with gifts every year, so our crew was pleasantly surprised to discover that the gift drive would require two trucks this year!

We got this note of thanks from the Facilities Coordinator at Coldwell Banker:

We want to thank you for your help again with this year’s toy drive! As you probably know, this year we had two full trucks of toys to donate (the most ever!) and it would not have been possible without Olympia’s help! Deb even said that we donated more toys than Walmart and Bernie & Phyl’s. There will be a lot of happy children this Holiday season! Again, thank you for everything you do for CBRB and Happy Holiday’s!

We hope the families that receive these will have a brighter Christmas! More on Olympia Moving & Storage’s community involvement:

2015 Holiday Playlist Mix by Olympia Moving & Storage

Happy holidays from Olympia Moving & Storage! We are merry and grateful as we celebrate a great year for our company. Here are few of our highlights from 2015: Olympia Moving Holiday 2015

Listen on Spotify

Olympia Moving Holiday Playlist 2015

 

 

Hope you had a great year! If you need a move in 2016, be sure to give us a call at 800.222.4744 or request an estimate online.

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Olympia Moving President Interviewed for IAM The Portal Magazine

Olympia Moving IAM The PortalOlympia Moving & Storage has always put an emphasis on technology to drive our growth and the moving experience for our clients. Two years ago, Olympia Moving switched our internal moving management system to Moveware. Although Moveware had not yet entered the market in the United States, Olympia Moving was eager to be their first American client in order to have first access to the technology.

Although the transition was time-intensive and challenging, it was worthwhile for the vast improvements of Olympia Moving’s internal efficiency, closing of information gaps between departments, and ability to track every detail of the client experience.

Moveware

Every Olympia Moving client has an extensive move file in Moveware, which tracks every detail, document, change, and conversation with our clients and prompts almost a dozen proactive contact points from our staff with each client, ensuring that each client receives exceptional communication throughout the entire process.

Externally, Moveware has allowed for amazing access and transparency for our clients through the Olympia Move Portal, which allows clients to log directly into our move management system to view and manage their move’s details and documents.

After two years of implementing and improving the Moveware system, Olympia Moving & Storage is confident that they provide one of the best technology-driven moving experiences of any local and interstate mover in the industry. The innovation at Olympia Moving never stops, our team continues to work with Moveware daily to make improvements to the system and roll out new features to their staff and clients.

IAM The Portal, the bi-monthly magazine of the International Association of Movers, interviewed Michael Gilmartin, President of Olympia Moving & Storage, about the challenges of implementing new technology in the relocation industry.

Click here to read the article on page 73

IAM asked Michael his advice for other moving & storage companies considering new software. They also asked him about Olympia Moving’s future in regards to technology. Michael’s response:

“The moving industry has traditionally been somewhat of a laggard in that area, which is great for us from a competitive standpoint. I feel we are now where the rest of the industry hopes to be in 10 years, and we will continue to push and to innovate around technology. We have a great team, and we now have a system to support us fully.”

If you’re ready to try the Olympia Moving experience, driven by Moveware, click here to request a free moving estimate or call 800.222.4744

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Olympia Moving Photoshoot with Justine Johnson Photography

Our crews work many unusual jobs in the moving & storage industry including: moving pinball machines, transporting bikes for a 134 mile ride, and converting hockey rinks into basketball counts.  Earlier this fall, John, Richard, Liviu and Eladio were asked to do a job they have never encountered before: being models for an Olympia Moving & Storage photoshoot!

The photoshoot took place at an office building we do work for, a condo neighborhood we partner with, and our warehouse in Canton, MA.  Our crew did some real moving so we could photograph their skills in action and posed for some portraits. Turns out they were naturals in front of the camera!

Olympia Moving worked with Justine and her assistant Natasha of Justine Johnson Photography, a portrait, family, wedding, and business photographer from Portland, ME.  Justine had never photographed a moving company before, but she was up for the challenge!  Both Justine and Natasha learned a lot about the ins and outs of the moving & storage industry and were especially impressed with the size and vaults in our full-service warehouse!

We loved the photos we captured because they showcase the skill, organization, and friendly personalities of our crew. Here are some of our favorite photos from the shoot, expect to see some of the new photos on our website and in future marketing materials!

Justine Johnson Photography was a great local business photographer to work with. She took the time to get to know our crew and our company and our crew enjoyed spending the day with her team. Justine was patient & flexible working with the variety of locations and activities to photograph, welcomed our team’s ideas, and brought many ideas of her own. Contact Justine if you need moving company photography or any kind of business or personal photographer.

Our crew with Justine & Natasha of Justine Johnson Photography!
Our crew with Justine & Natasha of Justine Johnson Photography!

Although they did a great job representing Olympia Moving in the photoshoot, John, Richard, Eladio, and Liviu are going to stick with their moving careers. If you want to hire them, or any of our other professional moving crews, request a free, no obligation moving estimate today, or call 800.222.4744.

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