Gifts after the trip okay?
 

We are taking our first family european vacation. A relative is picking us up in Munich and touring Austria with our family. He is my DH's cousin. He loves to travel and is from Austria. We will stay in his home one or two nights on our trip. There are other family members in the town we will visit.
I was planning on sending a gift after our trip to say thankyou for all the hospitality and such. I was waiting to see what they were like, what they seemed to like and how much they go out of their way for us. There may be someone who has us for dinner that i don't know yet...
So, I will arrive with no gifts from America. I also did not want to drag them all through europe with me and my carry on bags.
So, does that sound like a good plan to send the package after? I was planning on including some stuff from our state of Virginia to personalize the gift.

Hi G,

It is perfectly all right to send a thank you gift after the event.

I suggest that you pick up some flowers before you meet with the rest of the family.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

I would bring a small gift with you and send something further on later if you wish. It doesn't have to be a big thing - just a token. The Austrians are gift givers but not hugely expensive things. When my Austrian inlaws arrive here, I get things like Oil, wine, chocolates, books, commemorative coins (for some reason) and very small things for the baby.

I would not arrive empty handed.

If someone has you for dinner you can always bring flowers.

Lawchick is spot on.

It's more common to thank for hospitality in advance where you will be traveling to, than afterwards.
Bring something with you that travels well (light-weight, does not break/spill).
No need to fuss too much about it, and you don't have to run all over town to find one very special gift.

I'd rather bring a simple box of (local) candies with me, then send a parcel with lots of stuff afterwards.

Okay I think I have found the perfect gift!! I got 8 pewter shot glasses that are unique to Virginia. Pewter items are very Virginia. They are called Virginia cups and they are engraving them with the family name. They will give us boxes to wrap them in when we get there, but the shot glasses will be easy to disperse in our carry on bags.
I thought about what all of you said and you are right about bringing something with us. It is better to walk in with a gift. If we have dinner at someone else's home, I will ask them if we can pick up wine to bring.
One cousin wanted american jeans, but I will send him some after I see what size he is.
Thanks again!

I guess you are already having that done, I would be leery of giving a pewter shot cup with a name engraved on it as a gift. Now I guess being a housegift, no one expects something great, but a lot of people would prefer chocolates or something edible/disposible (flowers, nice cookies, candy, etc.). I mean no one in my family has ever used a shot cup and no one ever will, including me. So it would just be "junk" that I would probably throw away, after a while of feeling I shouldn't, because it is rather expensive. But I would never want a single pewter shot cup with my name on it. Besides giving someone one shot cup is kind of funny, and they will be heavy to lug around with you. Who really uses "shot cups" nowadays? I don't know, maybe a lot of people sit around the house taking shots of alcohol or you know your relatives drink a lot and drink alcohol by taking shots, so it would be something they'd like. I do have some German relatives who drink a lot and like keeping a lot of stuff like that around on shelves.

If your relative wants American jeans, I think it would be easier for him to just tell the size ahead of time by email or something. I would never try to guess someone's jean size by looking at them. If he wants American jeans, he probaby knows exactly what brand and size he wants -- I think it's just a matter of whether it is in inches or centimers (waist size).

I had a set of 8 made up for the one family. They like to drink schnapps shots. They did when they visited us many years ago.
The cups are also very light and are on the small side. They should be easy to transport. I only did pewter because that is a favorite Virginia gift.

He didn't know the size of jeans. So, I am bringing a measuring tape in inches to see if we can measure him.

Awesome gift idea! Hey where do you get shot cups with engravings? I want to get some as a graduation gift for my sister!

I think the shot glasses are an ok idea. The Austrians drink a lot of schnapps...even my husbands 94 year old granny knocks a few back. I'd bring some sweeties or something as well though.

Engraved pewter cups:
www.silverandpewtergifts.com/jefferson-cups.html

I like my pewter Jefferson cup (I have a couple that are engraved from different occasions) but I've never thought of it as a "shot cup" nor do I use it for drinking. I store my leftover euro coins in one when I get back from a trip.

If Austrians are at all like Germans, a hospitality gift is very much in order. You never show up for dinner at a German home without a gift (usually wine and/or flowers). I think your shot glasses are a very nice idea - sounds like something this particular family will appreciate, and something representing your home state. Good job!

I ordered the cups from a local pewter shop. They hold 2oz of drink and they are called Virginia cups. They look like a large shot glass size. The Jefferson cups are 8oz sized. It is along the same line.

I think they will like it. I plan to bring wine or flowers or chocolates if we are visiting other homes/relatives for dinner. That I can buy locally. Thanks for all the advice!

i would not go without a gift. at least to the cousin!
the other relatives won't expect a gift if it's only for a "hello".

nobody expects you to carry loads of gifts with you.