Top 10 Best Ever Gift Ideas (not just) for Old House Lovers

This page provides a list of our TOP TEN gift suggestions for the gift of time. (Don't worry if you have never hammered a nail and don't know how to paint or plaster. We're sure you'll find something on our list that is very "doable" and suited to your availability, interests, skills, and pocketbook.)

Make sure whatever you offer is a commitment you can honor. Even an hour or two can be a godsend to the harried homeowner. You can write a voucher or create a coupon or coupon book. Wrap it with a token symbol of your promised gift. (We've included a few suggestions with each item for inspiration!)

Since not everyone will be able to spare the time, we'll also include a few suggestions for tangible items that old house home-owners would appreciate, no matter the age of their abode or their body.

Whether your intended giftee prefers Classic Federal, quaint Early American or Country, Victorian, Craftsman, Retro, or Eclectic architecture and/or period home decor, we think you'll find inspiration enough to earn you a heartfelt "thank you" for the PERFECT GIFT and a reputation for being the best, most creative, knowledgable, smart, sexy, mind-reading gift giver ever! (Enjoy it. We won't tell them you had help from us.)

Offer an hour or two, a weekend, or even a month of Sundays to provide an extra pair of hands to hold the 30 foot ladder steady or an extra pair of feet or wheels to run to the store for the right size screw or extra can of paint.

Package your gift coupon, voucher, or IOU in a book about time, or box and wrap it with a calendar, timer, watch, or clock. Or how about an old 45 rpm record or, if the lucky recipient's home is older, perhaps vintage sheet music with an appropriate tune? Choose one related to time in general, or the time you are giving (such as a particular month or day of the week).

Volunteer to help with painting if you're handy with a brush or roller. You can specify the time (one Saturday, 4 hours on a particular day(s), or "to be arranged"), or the project (will paint one bedroom, will paint the garage, will help paint trim on the house). If you're a talented stenciler or muralist, and if you know that is something your giftee would like to have done in their home, you could offer to do something using your skills (e.g. stencil a border in the guest bathroom, stencil the foyer floor, paint a trompe
l'oeil vase of flowers in the niche in the foyer wall).

Package your gift of time with a collection of paint charts or color chips (at no cost) and/or a good quality paintbrush, dropcloth, or roller tray set. You might also package it with a book about paint colors and application related to the home's period and style (Although if the giftee is anything like me, s/he may already own a copy. Try to check first. On the other hand, you can always use another brush or drop cloth.)

If you have carpentry skills, offer time or volunteer for a particular project. Wrap your offering with an assortment of nails or a tool (the best would be to pick up an old one at a garage sale). Remember the gift is your time and talent. The item with it can be symbolic and a dollar hammer from a yard sale is likely to appeal to the old house nut.

If you happen to be adept at electrical work, chances are you've already been drafted by your friend or relative to help with the old homestead. Even if that is the case, an "official" offering is appreciated even more. (Photo is picture of Thomas Edison.)

If you happen to have experience as a plumber, pipe up and offer to fix that leaky faucet or install that old claw foot tub or cast iron radiator. Depending on the project or amount of time, enclose your gift with a plunger, a wrench, or even a roll of toilet paper.

If you've read this far and are thinking that nothing mentioned thus far is a good match for your talents or you cringe at the idea of being around construction of any kind, give the gift of what you do best. A few hours of babysitting is always welcome -- especially given the hazards of many renovation projects. Offer to take the tot(s) to the park so parents can raise dust or paint without worrying about the kids. Or offer to take the child(ren) for a day so parents can concentrate on a difficult or demanding task without distraction.

Have a Green Thumb? Help with taming that overgrown garden or planting bulbs. Have a knack with a weed-whacker? You know what to do. Have experience putting in a brick path? Glazing windows? Fixing sashes?

Do you take great photos? Document the renovation of one room or the entire house. Create an album of before and after shots and maybe some candids during the process. Present them the old fashioned way or in digital format.

We could have made a TOP TWENTY list, but even that would not have been enough. So Number 6 is for the Gift of Whatever You do Best (except maybe you-know-what) that may not appear here or elsewhere on this list.

No. You don't have to be a stand-up comic, but if you have a way with a needle and thread, you've got it sewn up! Offer to provide the labor for making a pair of curtains, a portiere, or a throw pillow. Wrap your gift with a book about window treatments, a spool of thread, or even a miniature dollhouse sized sewing machine.

In other words, offer to cook a meal (especially appreciated by anyone involved in renovating a kitchen. Believe me, I've been there!) or, if a freezer is available, supply your specialty in a microvable container with instructions. Nothing would be more appreciated after a long day of demolition, plastering, or stripping a hundred years of paint from intricately carved woodwork. You could also prepare and freeze a meal (or several) and offer to defrost, heat, and deliver on request if you happen to live nearby.

Although I'm sure your company would be appreciated on its own, imagine how much more welcome it would be if, instead of just hanging out, you offered to pitch in and help strip or hang wallpaper. If you can't get the knack of applying wallpaper paste and rolling seams, you could always rinse sponges or rags and wipe off excess glue and hand that gal on the top of the ladder the squeegee she dropped.

If you are a tech-savvy and your friend yearns for quill pens or typewriters, or has the know-how but is just too busy working on his or her "money pit", offer help to set up a blog, journal, squidoo lens, or even a website (you might also consider registering a domain name related to the style or year of their house) on one of the many venues related to such pursuits. A lesson in scanning or in uploading digital photos and blogging might also be useful. If your friend has just been too busy to maintain a site started long ago, help with an update and general maintenance might be the perfect gift. You might also want to point out that even Victorians embraced technological advances and embellished them accordingly (a tradition carried on today by the steampunk movement.)

From facebook and twitter to http://www.myoldhousejournal.com, Sharing old house stories, pictures, advice, and frustrations can be a lifeline to maintaining one's sanity as well as a valuable social and educational resource. Ahhh. Technology. The gift that keeps on giving...

Choose from one of 12 Wine Clubs starting at only $19.95
No minimums, no memberships, just great wines.

You do not need to be a member of Squidoo to visit our lenses or leave comments, but if you'd like to make your own lens, have more "voting" rights, and earn some extra cash for yourself or your favorite charity, I invite you to

Join the Squidoo Community!

In the interest of full disclosure, however,
I feel I must add this:
W A R N I N G
Squidoo can be very addicting!

SquiDirectory - A categorized Squidoo directory featuring an interesting variety of different subjects ranging from arts and literature, shopping, and eco friendly tips, to vehicles for sale, travel, and everything in between.

Special thanks to Steve for the Squid Art used in this lens.
Other pictures are Original, Public Domain or Purchased Stock Photos.
Contents © 2011 Restoration Fabrics & Trims LLC. All rights reserved.