Souvenirs & Gifts from Faraway Places

At this time of year, we all have gifts on our minds. Whether we've been forced into a secret santa, White Elephant swap, or just feel we want to give some gifts, I find it hard to not feel some pressure to provide semi-amazing gifts to my loved ones, friends & even colleagues.

The way I try to prepare for this is by picking up delightful gifts (also known as souvenirs) in countries to which I travel. Not every country I go to is touristy enough to have a tourist market, so sometimes I make do with a supermarket.

So here are some suggestions for your next visit somewhere abroad (or domestic)...

Things I've bought and thought were good ideas:
1. Tea: This is probably my favorite. I have gotten some wonderful varieties over the years that I have never seen in the US, including a Peruvian Andean mint tea, Serbian cherry tea, British anis tea, and a Romanian sage tea. Tea is lightweight, it is cheap and easy to find in a grocery store, and there are lots of kinds you don't see in the US. Con: sometimes the boxes squish and it can be hard to pack a whole lot of it. Once I brought back a suitcase half full of the Serbian tea, I liked it so much. Of course if you're in a place where they grow and roast coffee, that's always a treat! Similarly local beans or fleur de sel or special oils or vinegars...mmmm!

2. Local fabric: Hit and miss really, but lovely in places like West Africa, Central America, etc, where you can get locally died, spun, and woven fabrics. Again, lightweight and easy to pack. Con: what do you actually do with local fabric?

3. Honey: It is always fun to taste honey from around the world--it's amazing the varieties that exist! Con: you have to check your bags. Plus it may leak. Plus toting around Slovenian honey for several weeks on your honeymoon is not always the best idea...but we did it anyway.

4. Hot sauce: Same as above.

5. Wine: Same as above.

6. Cookies: This can be tricky, but when it works, it really works. On the day I'm due to leave a country, sometimes I'll stop by a bakery and get some packaged local cookies, like the powdered cakey cookies stuffed with dulce de leche. Con: they can break, be hard to pack, and go stale. One way to get around that is buying packaged cookies from the supermarket--but only if they're special and delicious!

7. Calendars: I bought a calendar once and it was good. Lightweight, beautiful, and practical. Con: I don't believe you find them very often.

8. cds: Music is a wonderful thing to bring back from abroad. I remember the Bollywood music I stocked up on in India and the Ukranian pop music I got in Kiev. Con: sometimes the CD's don't work, plus it's not too often that you can't find that music in the US.

9. Pottery: I love getting this gift (especially from Portugal!) because they can be so beautifully painted, carved, etc. The challenge, as always, is to find space in the suitcase to get them home. I've often brought home some beautiful black and white traditional Incan vases, as well as some Turkish plates, but my--this can be a nightmare and not worth the risk. Choose wisely.

10. Chocolates: I add this not because I think I've ever successfully brought back chocolate from another country, but I have been given some from Spain and marveled over and over it!

Not surprisingly I've also made a lot of mistakes with gifts from abroad.

Things that I buy that don't seem to work out that well:
1. hats: Practical and local, I thought this would be an ideal gift for friends and family. So imagine my surprise when no one liked my alpaca brightly colored hats with (slightly dopey looking) ear coverings. Ahh well. Plus the South American cowboy hat was quite difficult to carry home. Though Ben really loves his scary mask.

2. posters/art: While it can be beautiful and cool, it is most difficult to bring onto an airplane.

3. painted eggs: This was probably the most challenging item to get home in one piece. Somehow I managed to bring back these Bulgarian eggs, but now they sit, languishing, on my shelf. I can't bring myself to throw them out.

4. cookbooks: I made this mistake most recently in the UK. Duh, they use different measuring systems. So long, cookbook!

5. Bottles of local alcohol (ie, cachaça): Back in the days before they made you check liquids, I chose to do so voluntarily once. A battle of "firewater," Brazilian cane liquor called cachaca. The whole thing ended in what I imagine would have been a shattering BURST and several books I had bought for people drenched in this foul smelling liquor. Blegh!

6. Small trinkets: I am a sucker for these--beautiful little dolls, local soaps and candles, unidentifiable bright objects--but it always seems that when I give them away, people look bewildered, like "What on earth am I going to do with a Guatemalan bell/charm/mask?" And I know exactly what they mean.

Any other great or horrible gifts ideas when shopping abroad?