Irish customs?

Question

Hi My sister in law and her husband just bought a new house here in the U.S. She lived for a short time in Ireland and really enjoyed it there.

I'm trying to think of a suitable housewarming gift for her (around $10 as I don't have a lot of money). Any suggestions? In particular, if she was still living in Ireland, what would a typical Irishperson give as a housewarming gift?

Thanks!

Answer 1

make up a box of small things like bread that they Will never know hunger, sugar to give life sweetness, salt to add a little seasoning, and some spices to add spice to their lives and a big paper heart to give them love

Answer 2

Corn dollies made from wheat are what people of the British Isles call corn have deep pagan symbolic roots.

The harvest knot for men has no seeds but the woman’s knot has them intact - its about fertility and the wonder of the harvest and thanksgiving. Perhaps the best known corn sculpture is the old hag or cailleach which is constructed from the last sheaf to be harvested.

It is blessed and carried by the lucky person who harvested it fore it is said to give them good luck.

Through time much of the pagan meanings have been forgotten, yet, the designs and the activity of plaiting persisted.

Today harvest knots are made into jewelry - beautiful gifts for friends. And the designs and the craft - the very activity itself is timeless and continues to delight the crafter as much as the observer.

Plaiting begins with a simple pattern known as the two plait which is also known as cat stairs. From completed two plaits one can braid ever more complex harvest knots and corn dollies of all sorts. Then with the concept mastered it is with a little practice that you will move on to the more complex plaits and designs.

You can do plaiting everywhere - the materials are all around you growing wild in nature or as simply found as a scrap of paper.
http://www.irishfestivals.net/harvestknots.htm

http://www2.wwnorton.com/thamesandhudson/new/fall03/551142.htm
http://www.irishabroad.com/news/irishpost/ents/book19nov.asp
and this link has gifts from $8.00 to $15 on first page
http://www.irishstore.org/ia/sc.php?select=2&Cat=12

Answer 3

Why not give her some shortbread? This traditional irish cookie has been made according to the secret recipes of the boggy land for five thousand years. Wrap it in traditional Irish tartan wrapping paper. The perfect gift!

Answer 4

Look for an Irish blessing. You can normally find them done on slate for next to nothing.

They are really nice and show that you are thinking about the person.

Just type "Irish Blessings" in your Yahoo search bar and take it from there. It comes up with quite a few results.

Good luck.

Answer 5

You could get her an Irish calender for 2007 to remind her of the time spent in Ireland.

Answer 6

I suggest you buy them whatever you'd buy anyone else as there is no real stereotypical gift for a new home that we give. Obviously, when we do call over to say hello, we bring along some beer - just to be sociable of course.(and invariably, the person presenting the gift ends up drinking it themselves!)

Answer 7

Don't listen to the person who said shortbread wrapped in tartan, that is Scottish not Irish.
Buy some Irish whiskey or a bottle of Baileys.

Answer 8

I'm Irish. definately a bottle of Irish Whiskey! then maybe make something, like a St. Brigids Cross or a cake or some bread!

Answer 9

Shamrocks. You should be able to get them from anyone from an Irish community or get a garden centre to order them in. You only need a small cutting. They bring luck to the house.

Answer 10

Buy her a nice tea-pot.
This will give her precious moments of quietude, when she can make a brew and think of the giver (you).
It is also a sociable gift.
You guessed it...I'm Irish!