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I was watching a reality show of a popular Korean pop group when an idea suddenly popped in my head. Tada! I will convert a spare room in the ground floor to a family room! It is the perfect time to get a new mattress in winter and the idea is to put it in that spare room so that when any member of the family just want to lay down to play, read or just sleep, there’s something to lay down on.

Our family is a large one. We live under one roof. I have four siblings and one is already married. His family, wife and two kids, are also living with us. It is one chaotic household but we have our fun moments. I guess it is my parents’ influence on us that we stick together no matter what. We are just fortunate that we have a large, three-storey house. My brother’s family lives in the third floor. The rest of us in the ground and second floors. We one spare room in the ground floor which used to be Dad’s room. He passed away in March of last year so that room has been unused for more than a year already. I think it’s time to make use of it again.

Here are three ideas that I have for that family room.

A big mattress on the corner floor. As I’ve said, it is for anybody in the family who just wants to lay down. I think it will be used mostly by me and our youngest sister who love to lay down and browse social media. In my case, I love watching clips of my favorite Kpop groups in Facebook.

A huge television on the wall facing the mattress. Netflix is a big thing in our home. We love watching series together. In the beginning of the pandemic, just after our Dad passed away, one way to divert our attention from the grief of losing our Dad was through watching popular Korean drama series. Crash Landing On You and What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim were two of the first series we watched in Netflix. It really helped us lessen the grief we were going through that time.

Up until now, we still watch movies, series, and documentaries in that streaming app. It is a very effective tool in passing time especially when in lockdown.

A long fold-in-half table with two desktop computers. I have two nephews. One is turning eight next month, the other is turning four next month as well. The older one love playing Roblox with his schoolmates. My youngest sister also loves playing video games with her school friends. So, two desktops where both can play their video games is another idea that popped in my head while planning the family room.

I am also thinking of bean bag chairs, several throw pillows, blankets, and mellow lights. I will start transforming the room before the nephews’ birthdays next month. I can’t wait for it to be transformed into our family room!

A family friend and her whole family, husband and three kids, are finally moving to a house that they can call their own. It is a decent size house that they got outside the city. They are excited to move in it because they have been renting since the wedding.

We were one of the first ones to be told of the move. We live near each other so they thought it would be best to tell us they will be moving out in a month’s time. I talked to my siblings about it and we came up with the idea to give them a housewarming party. We are going to talk to the eldest kid so she can be our accomplice in the intimate party we are planning to throw for them. I also came up with the idea of asking common friends if they want to chip in so we can give the family something they can use for their new home. My suggestion is aesthetically great lighting. It came to me when the wife was asking me about appliance repair experts in Oshawa. They have a few items at home that they needs checking and repairing so I thought why not give them something that we all know they will find useful when they move in to their new home. Everything is in place and we already talked to some common friends who chipped in so we can buy lighting for their kitchen and dining area.

If you are also planning to throw a party or buy a gift for someone moving into their new home, here are two housewarming gift ideas if you are under budget constraints.

Rugs

There are different kinds of rugs you can get for the house. I am thinking about the ones you can use to wipe your feet on and the ones you can use to wipe surfaces in the kitchen. These household items are the ones you don’t think of when you go shopping but something that is most needed especially when there are visitors around. I am saying this based on experience. It is always handy to have a couple of rugs around the house.

Believe me, it may not be something grand to bring to a housewarming party but the rugs you will give are the items that will be most used on everyday normal life inside the house.

Plants

Indoor plants that clean the air are the best to bring to a housewarming party. It will be most appreciated, believe me. With so many people suffering from allergies, asthma, and other similar illnesses, it is best to have something inside the house that will clean and purify the air naturally.

There are snake plant, spider plant, peace lily, weeping fig, and so many others that you can buy for inside the house. You can ask your plant vendor the best one you can buy that doesn’t need to much care and sunlight.

There are other great housewarming gift ideas but the two I mentioned are the ones best for me.

There is a reason why majority of houses in this side of the world has a written reminder on their garage doors that says “Do not block the driveway”. Some car owners are careless on where they park their cars. In times when you are in a rush due to an emergency, you cannot take your car out because another car is blocking the garage door or driveway.

Let me tell you of the same predicament we are always in. Our house is in a busy street. Our neighbor is a dentist and the front of his house is converted into a dental clinic. Naturally, when he has a number of regulars come in for their appointments, parking space becomes a problem. We often find a car parked in front of our driveway even when we already put a “no parking” sign and a “do not block the driveway” warning sign in front of the house. It is a lot of hassle when we need to go out. I have to go find the car owner for the car to be removed so we can go take our own SUV out.

When my Dad was alive, he was our guard. Since he always parked himself near the door, when he would hear a car parking, he’d go and check to make sure it’s not parking in front of the driveway. He’s very protective of our residence he was the one who put up the signs. He even went and get driveway sealing to make sure we are safe when our vehicles are being driven out of the garage.

It is a good thing that my Dad trained our dogs to bark when a car or a motorcycle is parking in front of our house. Now, we know when to go out to check. I already talked to the dentist next door. I told him to gently tell his regular patients to park somewhere else and not on our driveway. He already told his regulars but there are still some who would ignore the reminder on our garage door. I told the dentist next door that next time one of his patients would park on our driveway and the car is blocking our path when we need to go out, I’d call a towing company to get the car towed.