10 Homesick Gifts for Your Friends and Family Missing Home
Home is where the heart is. But, sometimes, we can’t always be where the heart wants to be. Kids and adults alike are no strangers to homesickness. So if you have a special someone who is longing for places and people they miss, cheer them up with something that speaks to their heart.
At Homesick, we believe candles make great gifts but at Homesick our candles are more than a gift, they're a memory. Whether it’s a candle that smells like their hometown or country or merely a memory that takes them back to their childhood stomping grounds, it will surely bring a smile and maybe even a tear to their face.
We are proud of our candles through and through. Made with a natural soy wax blend, our candles are safe for the home and produced sustainably. Each of our candles is even hand-poured right here in the U.S., reducing overseas shipments and our carbon footprint. Combine this with the fact our candles feature 100 percent organic cotton wicks and are poured into reusable glass containers, and you got yourself one stellar candle gift.
So here are ten homesick gifts for those long-distant friends and family members who are missing home, from candles to reed diffusers to taking home on the road with you with a Homesick car freshener.
#1 Memory Candles
Recall more than a place or destination. Psychology experts agree that even a subtle scent can bring back homemade memories. That’s why we believe Homesick’s collection of memory candles makes a wonderfully nostalgic gift for those missing home. Inviting memories is as easy as lighting a candle with scents inspired by holidays, celebrations and merely special moments.
Choose from holiday-inspired scents that bring back the memories of Christmas traditions attending an annual Nutcracker ballet or taking a Holiday Stroll shopping the bustling boutiques downtown. We even have a Hanukkah-inspired Latkes and Lights candle with scents of savory latkes, applesauce and jelly donuts. Miss the smell of freshly fallen snow in winters? We have a candle for that, too. Whatever traditions you had, these candles will transport you home for the holidays.
Winter holidays aside, Homesick offers a series of summer candles and fall harvest candles. Did your friend or family member miss out on summer vacation at the beach or the cabin? Send some warmth their way with the beach cottage candle with notes of salty ocean air and warm sand or the summer camp candle with notes of wildflowers, fresh grass and evening bonfires.
If you have a friend or loved one who misses Granny’s cooking and would do anything for a taste of her warm apple pie fresh from the oven, they’ll cherish the Grandma’s Kitchen candle. With notes of sugar and spice, ignite this charming candle, and you’re instantly transported to a cozy and welcoming home where Grandma spoils you with snickerdoodles and hugs.
#2 A Custom-Made Item with Home’s Coordinates
Even better? You can add the coordinates to the back of a homesick candle along with a message. That way, they can keep it forever, repurposing the glass container even after the wax has melted away.
Another excellent gift for homesick friends and family members is a custom-made item with the coordinates of their home. Personalized items like these are sweet and sentimental, but they can also be functional.
Did they just move into a new home or apartment far from the rest of the family? Give them a way to hold onto their brand new keys with a customized keyring, designed with a faux leather tag stamped with home coordinates. Or give them a piece of jewelry like a necklace or bracelet that features engraved home coordinates. Do they need some decor for their new furniture? There are all kinds of comfy pillows and graphic prints that can be embroidered and framed to add a sentimental touch.
#3 Home State Candles
From the purple mountain’s majesty to the amber waves of grain, our great nation has a variety of scents. To try to capture the United States in one candle is just impossible. That’s why we created state candles, each with its own unique aroma of the landscape, state flowers and other undeniably distinct scents the region holds.
Unlike our Country candles, we have a candle for every state in America. Technically, we offer 51 state candles; California is so vast it calls for two distinct scents: Northern and Southern Cali. So, whatever home state they hail from, we’ve got a candle for it! Explore our entire collection of State candles.
#4 City Candles
Of course, we also have city candles. Whether they are a proud Bostonian Red Sox fan from Massachusetts or a whiskey-loving southern gentleman from Nashville, homesick has a large selection of city scents sure to take them home in a single whiff.
From the palm-lined streets of Miami with its balmy summer nights to the coffee-shop-filled neighborhoods of Seattle on a rainy morning, Homesick captures some of the most iconic cities across America. We even carry Canadian city candles like Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver for our Canadian friends.
#5 Country Candles
Have a college friend or coworker who came from faraway lands? Okay, maybe it’s not even that far away, but just the next country over. Regardless, they might love one of our country candles, inspired by countries from all across the globe. While we don’t carry as many candles as there are countries, we carry quite a few.
Remind Those Abroad of Their Home with a Country CandleYou will find country-inspired candles for America’s neighbors to the north and south, a Canada candle and a Mexico candle, respectively. But you can also find candles that smell like the United Kingdom for our friends and loved ones that live right across the pond.
#6 Reed Diffusers
Many Homesick candle scents that would remind them of home are also offered in reed diffusers. Homesick has a large selection of reed diffusers, featuring a glass vial filled with a hand-crafted, non-toxic solution with the finest essential oils. Reed diffusers are a smart gift option for those with kids and pets. When they have rowdy little ones around and furkids, they may prefer to avoid candles with an open flame. This is where a reed diffuser comes in as a nice alternative.
To keep the scent fresh, simply flip the reeds. If they wish to lighten the scent or make it last longer, remove the number of reeds from the bottle. Your friend or family member can also choose to cap the bottle, preserving it for those times when they are truly missing home.
#7 Hometown Memento Care Package
Give your homesick friends and family a few mementos, swag and trinkets from their old stomping grounds. Whether it’s a koozie from the local town bar, a t-shirt from a restaurant or treats from a local bakery or chocolatier, it will remind them of home and send good vibes from the places they miss visiting. Is there a local coffee shop they miss hanging out with friends at? Pick up a bag of their favorite roast and a branded mug.
Collect a few items and ship them as a care package. Even if grandma is their favorite local bakery, have her make a special batch of her famous brownies, snickerdoodles or fudge, sealing it in a tin container they can reuse. Know someone who loves to bake? Take it a step further and send the dry ingredients along with a handwritten recipe card. Then, all they have to do is add the eggs and milk to whip up a batch of mouthwatering memories.
#8 A Framed Photograph or Portrait
What better way to let a friend or family member know you’re thinking of them than with a framed photograph or portrait? A family portrait of everyone together on vacation or the last family reunion works wonderfully. If the gift is for a homesick friend, send them a framed photograph portrait of just the two of you or the entire close-knit group.
A family portrait can be as simple as a photograph. Search your newer digital files (you know, those you don’t print too often) and print a favorite. A black and white photograph always lends a nostalgic touch, but color works nicely too, especially if the photo was taken at a beautiful destination like the beach at sunset. Find a minimal black frame that complements their style and send it to them as a gift. Have too many great photos to choose from? Create a custom-printed photo book or hand-made photo album with all your favorite moments together they can flip through when missing home.
Have trouble finding a photo with all of you together? Easily solvable! Explore places like Etsy for artists who can make a custom-illustrated family portrait with characters. This way, you can send them photos of each person (not necessarily in one shot), and they can create a montage of everyone together. It will remind them their family back home is thinking about them and is always there for them.
#9 A Print or Photograph of Home
On the same lines as a photograph or illustration of family, a graphic print or photograph of the place they call home is a nice alternative. If they miss the sights and landscapes of their home country or state, this is the perfect homesick gift. Send them a coffee table book of photographs by a local artist or, if you have some creative skills, create a photo book yourself, capturing the locations and spots that mean the most to them.
A printed calendar offers them 12 images of their favorite places they are missing, whether it’s the national park in their home state, the beach where they vacationed with family or merely the vibrant, fallen autumn leaves they don’t see much from where they are now.
Printed illustrations and graphic posters are also a nice gift. Have one created by an illustrator to capture the feel of a particular place or even the front facade of the home itself. If home is a well-known city like Paris or a landscape like the Rockies, you will undoubtedly discover all sorts of illustrations you can print at home and send to them.
#10 A Self-Care Basket
A self-care basket is a lovely way to cheer up someone who just moved to town. Even if you only very recently met and don’t even know their roots, a self-care basket can get them through a bout of homesickness.
So, if you don’t know someone well enough just yet, what kind of gifts can you add to a self-care basket? Think of consumables like homemade soups and fresh-baked goodies, along with some soothing tea or a nice bottle of wine. One thoughtful idea is to create a list of your favorite restaurants or a binder of takeout menus.
A self-care basket may also have body care products. If they just moved to the west coast, help them prepare for the sunny days with sunscreen. Are they settling into their place and bracing for a cold, snowy winter for the first time? Throw in a pair of warm wool socks, a bottle of hand moisturizer and a summer-scented homesick candle or reed diffuser to beat the winter blues.
Make Your Homesick Friends and Family Feel Welcome
One of the best gifts you can give to banish the homesick blues is totally intangible. Making new friends and new families feel welcome to the neighborhood and your area can help them get through tough times. Whether you take them out for dinner, show them around town or hang out for a weekend barbecue to get to know one another, it lets them know you care and empathize with how much they miss home.
This is especially true for new homeowners who may not know very many people yet and are still adjusting to a new way of life. So, make them feel welcome by opening up your home to make them feel more at home too. Send some gifts for new homeowners to assist with the transition and help them settle into their new place. Eventually, a house will feel like a “home.”
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