Gift from America for Irish relatives
 

With globalization, nothing seems special anymore. We're traveling to Ireland and staying with relatives in Galway for a few days during part of our trip, and I'd love to bring them something special, but I'm at a loss as to what we have in the US that is small enough to transport, and that would be appreciated.

Any thoughts would be welcomed.

You are so right about globalization as everything is available everywhere. Kind of sad as it has taken the fun out of finding unique, local stuff.
When I visited India, Japan and China, I had taken various boxes of chocolates to give as gifts. Strangely, I found soon that the same chocolates in different packing was available in all the countries.
Thus took away the charm totally.
But I found that people like to get t-shirts of local US cities and universities as those are not sold abroad. Also caps and sports team stuff.

Thus, now those are on my gift list. The best part is they are easy to purchase and so easy to carry.
So, buy several in various sizes, colors and designs and hand out with pride and pleasure. In addition you can always add a couple more small items.
Everything in Europe is quite expensive. If you have any teenage girls, they like to get little make-up kits with eye-shadow, lip gloss etc.
I have also taken diaries and journals that have sceneries of the US. They are perfect for people of all ages.
Maybe others will have better ideas.

Just about every gift we have received from visitors is stored away and taken out only when those visitors are expected again.

Bring something consumable. I'd suggest, if you were to visit me, a good bourbon.

OK, I'll visit you and bring a bottle of the best Kentucky Bourbon!

Seriously, thanks for the advice, but the problem is liquid restrictions out of the US. Any other consumable thoughts?

"<i>but the problem is liquid restrictions out of the US</i>"

The restrictions are for your carry-on's. If you are checking a bag you can put the bourbon in it.

But - it is sort of difficult to give suggestions since you haven't told us anything about the rels. Is it a family w/ kids? Ages? etc . . . .

I agree though that just about anything we can get they can get. CA wine - check. Bourbon - check. Foodstuffs . . . whatever. Where are you from? Sometimes a photo essay book of your home area is a good idea. I live in CA so an Ansel Adams book or photobook of Yosemite or San Francisco or Lake Tahoe would be possibilities. Or about the coast of Maine, or the Grand Tetons or what ever is near your home.

If they have children - something w/ professional team logos might be good. Yankee caps, or your favorite football team??

mainly though - I'd just take some candy or something small like that and take them to a super nice dinner.

Depending upon the DEGREE of relations, here's what we found:

Our first visit was in 199. We brought my FIL over and met his two living first cousins -- FIL's mother was the sister of their father.

We brought all sorts of gifts. A coffee-table book about Florida (where we are from), assorted candy and some sports paraphanellia from the town's college team, etc. and they were very gracious with their thanks.

What REALLy impressed them, though was the small photo album that we put together with reprints of pix we had of FIL's mother and father, his siblings and his children. They couldn't stop talking about it and admiring it and seemed genuinely shocked that it was a gift, for them to keep.

After a few days, we wandered further afield, playing tourist, on our own, but we all met up for dinner, the night before we flew out.

It was only then that we realized how much they truly appreciated the photo album -- when they presented US with a version of their own.

They say that immitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I don't know about THAT -- but I do know how BONDING those two simple photo albums have been ...

Bob

What a neat story. We experienced something similar while visiting the husband's relatives in Crete two years ago. We didn't expect the Cretan hospitality since the the separation was a generation old, AND we came unannounced. They almost literally kidnapped us, they took our luggage into their home although we had made other firm arrangements. We were over fed, pampered, and allowed to run. They were thrilled to find the missing branch of the family tree, and we were thrilled to find them. We had no way to reciprocate, so I asked a younger member of the family if there was anything we could send back that they like. She said copies of photos. When we returned I prepared small albums for everyone in the extended family. Their response was truly touching.

The Irish relatives are much more distant, but the generations have maintained contact over the past <u>century</u>, including trips from the Irish side to the US recently, although not to our home. The American side has visited before, but not in the past 15 years. They've already shared family information, so photos wouldn't be special. The family we will stay with are in their 50s, with no children who reside with them. Our visit will be short, no more than two days.

Any new thoughts?

Thanks.

I think of local foodstuffs. Local honey or jam. (I live in Texas, so bluebonnet honey and Jalapeno jam are big ones. I'm pretty sure whereever I go, they are not going to have that. Though, I suspect, could order online.) Maybe Texas hotsauce or salsa, too. Wish I made a homemade one. Never tried.

I also have heard (and maybe wrongly) that whereever we go, we will find people that follow/like the Dallas Cowboys. No problem getting that stuff here.

I agree that something specific to where you live is always good. We found some really great, inexpensive gifts that were so fun. And they were cowboy-themed. They were bandanas that were folded up into an envelope type thing. And on the outside of the envelope were 25 ways that cowboys used their bandanas. (ie. handkerchief, keep sun off their neck, as a place for a lady to sit on the ground, etc) Perfect gifts.

One final thought- if you are taking stuff to family, what about putting together a family "cookbook"? My children's great-grandmother put one together years ago and had copies made for all the family. (She'd solicited every family member for their recipes.) My kids are now grown and cherish that cookbook.

Have fun!

Read the suggestions carefully.

On the one hand an Irishman politely telling you all the twee ethnic crap Americans delude themselves will delight the natives gets chucked into a cupboard the instant the visitors go home.

On the other, Americans telling you how the natives just LOVE all this twee ethnic crap.

Which do you think is a better predictor of how your distasnt relatives will really react?

Stop inventing spurious objections: not only are there no restrictions on liquids in baggage: you can even carry booze onto a US plane if you buy it at your departure airport's duty free, though for this to work you mustn't be taking a connecting flight in Europe.

Take Padraig's advice. And leave the tatty college merchandise back where people might appreciate it.

As an Irish person who has had visitors coming from America all my life, I would say that the bottle of American whiskey is the best idea. Even for people who dont drink whiskey, it is something they can have i the house for visitors.
Somebody bought me a bottle of Makers Mark from the duty free in the airport of departure and it is a bit of a novelty here and much appreciated.

One year we brought a bag of fun fresh locally-purchased groceries to our cousins in Lahinch -- the thing they really seemed to appreciate was the cool Trader Joe's bag we brought them in.

Whiskey for the Mister, flowers or good chocolate for the Mrs. and trendy US stuff for the kids.

I always bring booze. Usually 3-4 bottles of Whisk(e)y (you may have tighter restrictions coming from the US). Costs half as much here as in Ireland. Brings twice as much joy. Never had a complaint.
Well, I do complain because it's no fun carrying around 4 big bottles of a produce that got made only 100kms from where I will bring it to. But they insist on booze.
We drink it together, they save the good stuff for later (just kidding), or bribe the handyman with a bottle to show up next day and not next week.
Sláinte!

Why not tell your relatives ahead of time that you want to take them out to a nice place to eat and for them to pick the place and decide what day they would like to do it. I know I would like that better than anything you could drag over on the plane. Everyone likes a nice dining place with "guests" paying for it, especially if you are sleeping at there house.

McCormacks Steak Seasoning ;-) OK, not seriously... but I'm Irish and have to bring home about 10 big tubs of the stuff every time I go to the US. Everyone in my family wants loads of the stuff. Personally I dont' drink, but will admit that almost every other Irish person I know would be thrilled with booze :(

I love Americana but I know it's not to everybody's tastes, but there are some lovely things around. I have a beautiful Americana throw rug that I love and some nice wooden ornaments and wall plaques. I love getting boxes of American chocolates, it's nice to get something different. There is a nice yellow traditional looking box Whitmans Sampler?? (something like that?)

Bring the whiskey from the duty free airport shop. If you're going to bring chocolates bring good ones from a local specialty shop -- or a decent brand from the duty free shop. Whitmans are low end, sold in drug stores here.

If my mother's Irish cousins are typical, you will have a hell of a time paying for their restaurant meal. We were really on the verge of hard feelings until we realized how serious they were about being generous hosts to guests who had some from so far away. These were older folks; perhaps younger generations are not so aggressive in their (very generous) hospitality.

You don't have to travel a great distance to find problems paying for a meal. I sometimes invite myself to stay with a young cousin and his wife, and like to thank them by taking them out for dinner. We fight over the bill, and the main reason why I win is that I was an adult when he was an infant, and that enables me to pull rank on him.