Getting ready for my trip to London and would love to hear about some favorite purchases that have been made in London.

I stock up on clotted cream & jellies while there. They make good gifts but beware... they get heavy to carry. My son got some "Mind the Gap" stuff since one band he likes did a song with that in it. I bought some nice crafted stuff from Covent Gardens & Camden markets. Tiny wire fairies with gauze wings & pressed flower things too. Make sure your carry on has wheels in case you buy jellies!!

I love to buy teas while I'm there. Lightweight to carry home and they have a nice variety of brands that I can't get at home.

I like the Spy prints. Spy was the signature of an artist in the late 1800's who drew people for Vanity Fair. If you have lawyer friends, the judges are very nice.

Tea towels (cheap, lightweight, unbreakable, can be used as packing material around other purchases), castor sugar, gargoyle, fringed lampshade, House of Lords pen, picture of me with the Beatles [okay so they're wax (Madame Tussaud's), but I won't tell if you won't].

I like anything with the tube logo on it. (Love that tube! ) I buy pens everywhere I go. Even if I don't use 'em, I can give them to someone who will. I'm also partial to the toiletries at Marks and Spencer. I especially like the Forest Fern shower gel.

Fantastic soaps and bath bombs from Lush (not available in the US).

Caries, plaque and malocclusion.<BR>

What a holiday you must have had, staring into people's mouths. Just as well they didn't demand to inspect your mind

Francesca,<BR>Actually Lush products are available in the US. You can order them from their website www.lushcanada.com.

London:<BR><BR>A good long time ago I was in London as a 17 yr old. My group went to Sherlock Holmes pub and purchased Sherlock Holmes hats, you know, the ones with double brims and bow on top. Since that time I lost it and wish I still had it. You have to go there and get one yourself, definitely a very British souvenir.<BR><BR>

For those you must remember with a gift:<BR>Fortnum & Masons, Harrods and Harvey Nichols all have great food courts and do an expert job of shipping, so I go there soon after arriving (usually Fortnum & Masons), fill a basket with something for everyone (Christmas puddings, honey, jelly, teas, etc.), take the basket to the counter on the lower level and have them ship it to my home. Usually arrives before I do (in which case send it to yourself c/o your office or a relative). <BR><BR>Shipping isn't cheap, but I weigh the cost against toting this stuff around, spending inordinate time in many places looking for souveniers and possibly breaking things in my own luggage.<BR><BR>For myself: I always buy a Christmas ornament from every place we go. It's so nice to unpack each year and remember the trip while hanging it on the tree and catching site of them all during the holidays. And what you buy doesn't have to start out as an ornament. Be on the lookout for items that have other purposes, but, if it's something you love, can be strung to hang. <BR><BR>There's always something interesting at the V&A museum gift shop--Christmas ornaments, jewelry, note cards, etc.and the prices are very reasonable. Same with other museum/gallery shops. There's an antique print shop in Eton--just over the Thames footbridge from Windsor, on the right, called The Red Pale, which has wonderful prints for under GBP40. You'll find the same, as well as old books,of course, on Charing Cross Road in London.

My hedgehog from Liberty brings back great memories of my first-ever trans-Atlantic trip eons ago.

Elvira, when I lived in the US I used to get frustrated at not being able to get caster sugar. You can actually make it by giving ordinary sugar a very quick whizz in a coffee grinder. If you keep whizzing you can also make icing sugar.

I also love the bath bombs and such from Lush! I have ordered from their Canada site several times and never had a problem.<BR><BR>We like to buy coffee table books from places to travel so that we have a whole book of pictures/reading to enjoy when we get home.<BR><BR>We also buy Christmas ornaments from everywhere we go...course it takes a while to decorate the tree since we start to reminisce<BR><BR>

I too, buy Christmas ornaments and also refrigerator magnets. Their both great reminders of wonderful trips and beautiful places - wish I was somewhere in Europe right now!

Lush definitely, when anyone I know goes there, I submit my request for anything Lush!<BR>Teas are always good.<BR>Silk scarf/scarves from Liberty.<BR>Antique prints from the Map House on Beauchamp Place.<BR>Any antiques from Antiquarius on Kings Rd or Alfies on Edgeware Rd.<BR>Posters from the Underground from a shop in Covent Garden.<BR>Jams, jellies, biscuits, chocolates.<BR>*can you tell I like to shop?*

I love the small english enamel boxes. They are expensive but easy to take home and display. Since it is the Queen's anniversary year something with that on it might be nice.