Gifts for London Hosts
 

We will be staying with friends in London for 5 days and I'm looking for some good gift ideas as to what to bring from the US (Ohio), to be exact. I have never been to their home to know what their tastes are, so I'm stumped! Any good ideas? Thanks!

Is there something unique from Ohio, that you can bring? Otherwise, a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates always makes a nice gift.

Except for maybe something from your favorite sports team, anything you can get in Ohio, they can get in London. If you are into that - OSU sweatshirts or ball caps might be fun. Otherwise just a nice bottle of wine. Instead of taking something - treat them to a wonderful dinner out.

How about an art book or note cards from your local museum?<BR>Or perhaps a local cookbook?<BR>Or else, wait until you arrive in London, see their home, and buy or send something later. One less thing to pack in your suitcase.

Anne I have lots of family in England &amp; I never know what to bring them. I must disagree with Leslie on wine &amp; chocolate. Both are as good or better there (&amp; cheaper!) What's cheaper here is clothing, especially from our discount stores, but unless you know sizes &amp; tastes it's not easy. Jeans (particularly Levis) are appreciated but probably not appropriate for your purposes. Do you know them well enough to ask if there's anything they'd like? Short of that,I guess I'd go with the dinner out &amp; perhaps once you get there you might notice something they need you could pick up there.

Well London is my favorite city in the world but there must be one or two things in Ohio that haven't hit Oxford Street yet!<BR><BR>Doesn't Ohio have a large Amish community? Something amish and handcrafted might be appropriate.<BR><BR>My community makes a type of unique salt glazed pottery so my standard gift is a small piece filled with some locally made candies. If it's the host's style, well great, and if not then they have a candidate for their next boot sale.<BR><BR>I visited a good friend in London last month and carted over six megaboxes of those Listerine breath strips for my pal and a group of his buddies who've gone mad over them. Leave it to us Americans to be on the cutting edge of uber-hygiene!<BR>The breath strips are probably a bit awkward as hostess gift. :)<BR><BR>

Anything charming made in Amish country in Ohio? Seems that people from other lands know about and are intrigued with that American subculture.

When a large group of us were hosted by families in St. Alban's it was suggested that towels are great gifts -- the nice thick luxurious ones -- even just a few nice guest towels, preferably in cream or a neutral color. I once remarked that we get such wonderful big thirsty towels in the flat we rent in London which surprised me, and found out it was because whenever the owners come to the States, they buy towels to take back!<BR><BR>And our house guests here were surprised that we often pop popcorn at home. They seemed to be familiar only with the microwave kind or buying it at a movie. I'm not sure if it was just them or popping corn at home is an American thing. Ohio has great popcorn (even if Orville R. was from Indiana).

What part of Ohio do you live in? There are three things I miss from Dayton; tomatoes, sweetcorn and MikeSells potato chips. I have traveled all over the states and a few other countries and NOTHING comes close to MikeSells.

Brings back memories. Another former Daytonian here, I grew up on MikeSell's. I remember when you put down a paper napkin and put a bunch of the chips on it, when you were finished you could almost wring the grease out of the napkin. No wonder they were so good!!! Hadn't thought about those chips in years.<BR><BR>But I'd add Pine Club steaks to your list of things I miss most about Dayton.<BR><BR>

Montgomery Inn Barbeque Sauce is unique to Cincinnati. I don't know where in OH you live but even Skyline packets of chili mix is a little different. I take Peggy Karr glass items to friends out of the country - very American. When my sister visits from UK she always buys different size ziploc bags. I believe you cannot buy no water hand sanitiser in UK. I am thinking of taking a pewtar serving piece when I go in a few months to the person I will be staying with eg nambe or similar.<BR>Regarding clothing the styles etc are very different there and here. Had some young guys 9(late teens and mid 20's) staying with us recently and they were looking for Levis and did not like the styles here!!!<BR>I have seen beautiful painted coasters on stone, which are done by a Cincinnati artist.<BR>What about those wooden baskets that fold out - they pack flat and then they expand - maybe Amish or Appalachian.<BR>If you have a decent gift type store near you as I am very fortunate to have you should be able to buy some wonderful things.

Ok, I know that it's the thought that counts, but tastes vary so much that something you think might make a charming present, could be seen as a hideous white elephant by your hosts. I'd go along with the suggestion of a meal out to their favourite restaurant to thank them for their hospitality and then maybe flowers, chocs, wine, etc, as an extra thank you when you're leaving and you've gained a better idea of what they would most appreciate.

I'm an American living in London and while some of the above are great suggestions, we can buy the Listerine strips here now (just came out) and the no-water soap.<BR><BR>Some suggestions: if you do have local candy it would be a nice gift as it's unique to your community and is not meant to rival the Belgian chocolates, etc. that they have here, but be a symbol of where you're from. A bottle of good California wine might be nice as most people here buy European. California is available here, but we only get the big brands (BV, Mondavi, etc.) Another idea-Yankee candles. I know it's not from your neck of the woods-but I find it's a great hostess gift because it's very American. I have only seen the Yankee ones in a couple of shops over here and a fragrance like MacIntosh (apple) would be traditional and hardly offensive. They do have scented candles here, but not like the large jars of Yankee. Lastly, I like the Amish idea as well as it's a part of our culture not well-known.<BR><BR>Personally, I think I'd bring a small gift-like a candle or bottle of CA wine and take them to dinner as well since I'd hate to show up empty-handed, but a dinner out is a good show of appreciation. Hope that helps!

p.s. we get the ziplocs here now too-at a store called waitrose.

Thanks for the wonderful ideas. I'm from Columbus, so I was thinking of some candy &quot;Buckeyes&quot; and also a Yankee-type candle. I'm glad to see that others mentioned similar ideas. This board is always so helpful!

My daughter and her family ( 6 year old, and 3 year old girls) live in London. They like microwave popcorn, Hershey Kisses, and Lifesavers. You can't buy Tylenol in London, so Tylenol PM, Tylenol Cold, and straight Tylenol are part of my packing. I'm going to be a houseguest of friends in Cornwall in May. I think I will bring some liquor that I get at duty-free. I know it's not American, but most people like it. I don't think any US wine that I bring with me will be very good after the flight, taxi, train, etc. We will also take them out to dinner but it's good to bring something with you.

As a Londoner I'd like to put in a thumbs up for some of the ideas above.<BR><BR>Love the towels idea - although they are bulky the space in your case would be filled by your shopping on the way home.<BR><BR>Also like the idea for candy local to your area (don't bring chocolate, American chocolate is not as good, IMHO, as the European brands we can buy here in the UK).<BR><BR>I am not sure about the meal thing for this reason. If I were the host and my guests asked if they could take us out for dinner, chances are they'd ask us to choose somewhere. I'd feel incredibly uncomfortable about choosing a restaurant because how could I judge what price range would be acceptable? Especially as dining in London is often more expensive than in many US cities. <BR><BR>But maybe that's just me.<BR><BR>If buying pottery/ baskets etc and buying for a younger host (under 40s say) then do opt for the more simple and neutral colours and styles...<BR><BR>Just my tuppence!!!