bellac

We are getting ready for our 1st trip to London and everyone says we have to at least visit Harrods. Since I will have a Type A husband and 2 teenagers can someone suggest the best and most inexpenseive(ha,ha) small gifts to bring back to the states.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

tcreath

I don't know if they would be interested, but I bought back several gifts of biscuits (cookies) and teas that were housed in neat Harrods tins. The cookies and teas were pretty good (yes, I also bought some for myself!), fairly inexpensive, and my friends/family seemed to enjoy their gifts.

Tracy

ira

Hi B,

Are you actually going to buy something at Harrods?

We generally go to the food hall, buy a bread or something and then keep the bag as a souvenier.

KidsToLondon

I'm part of "everyone" and in my opinon you don't have to visit Harrods. It is a huge, famous, and expensive department store...but London has other famous, expensive stores (like Fortnum and Mason) that are less overwhelming and less snobby.

Inexpensive, er, LESS expensive, gifts can often be purchased in the shops associated with historic sites--the Tower, various museums, Westminster Abbey, etc. (Of course, tacky, cheap souvenirs are sold almost anywhere tourists are likely to visit. So you can get a "My XXXX went to London and all they brought me was this t-shirt" type gifts throughout central London.)

For unique teas and other food gifts, in addition to high quality/high cost Fortnum and Mason, you can pick up some bargains in the food sections of Marks and Spenser or any decent grocery store. While they are aren't unique items in the UK, they often are unique when brought back to the US.

If, after touring London, you decide you still need gifts to bring back from Harrods, not to worry...they've got outlets conveniently located at Heathrow.

Tulips

Get a Harrods apron; quite smart in green. You'll remember your trip everytime you cook!
Otherwise, the biscuits, tea or sweets in Harrods tins. I think there may be some ideas on the Harrods website.

elaine

the biscuits, teas, jams, curds, etc at Harrods and especially at Fortnum's make good gifts.
Harrods also has a lot of things on the main floor that sport the Harrods logo, in addition to the aprons: tea towels, tea cozies, stuffed bears, golf balls, totebags, umbrellas, etc. None are inexpensive for what they are, but the smaller things are affordable for most.

lyb

I bought a journal at Harrods's that I will use as a travel journal.

Bill_I

We bought the salt & pepper mills. They have the green tops. Are small & plastic, so would fit well in a suitcase & not break. We know it was a little more expensive to buy those there but we wanted a souvenir. & for us they are functional as well. Use them every day & reminds us & the kids of the trip. When we were there with the 2 boys, spent time in the food court, & the toy floor. The wife also wanted to look at the kitchen goods. The boys were pre-teens though & especially enjoyed the toys. We spent at least a couple of hours in the store. I don't know if it is a must see, but the wife is a shopaholic. After all it was her vaction too, so we went to Harrods for her but we all ended up enjoying it for a short time.

JoeCal

You might have noticed on other threads that Harrods might ask you if you want to pay in dollars instead of pounds if you use a credit card. Don't do it, they have a slightly higher exchange rate than the cc willl charge. I don't remember F&M doing this to us (I was there last Christmas and New Years).

eurogals

I think Harrods is worth seeing even if you don't buy anything. We had a wonderful on the sun porch and it was really nice.

If you're a cook or food lover the Food Court is definitely worth a look. I even ran into Norm from "Cheer" there. He wasn't pleased that I said "Hi".

Anyway tea is a great gift and I always buy some for myself too. Books on the local scene are nice, since my local Barnes and Noble in Minneapolis doesn't carry specific region book to any extent.

Have a nice trip and just bring back memories.

eurogals

Sorry for the mistake. We had a nice LUNCH on the sun porch.

marshacarlin

Went to Harrods Food court several years ago just before heading to Heathrow. For some reason we bought a piece of meat pie (sounded like someting very British to bring home to the kids) Had it in my carry-on and when we got off of the plane at JFK a very polite beagle dog came and sat down next to me and wouldn't move.....turned out he was a sniffing dog and you couldn't bring meat (might have been around the time of mad-cow or maybe always) into the US and they confiscated my $20 slice of pie..........made for a good story though!

isabel

If you happen to be in that neighborhood, it's worth stopping in to see capitalism at it's best (worst?). The food courts were pretty interesting. But I certainly wouldn't make a special trip to that area just for that. There is so much more that is more interesting in London than an incredibly overpriced department store. Except for the price tags (and the name and the food court) it looks like any other large department store.

I bough some Harrods biscuits at the airport cause I wanted to use up my last £4. The tin and bag were nice but they were the worst cookies I've had in a long time, not even considering they cost $8 for about a dozen. All over London you can get great tea, candies, jam, etc for less money that taste much better. Fortnum and Marcus actually has some pretty reasonable stuff in their food hall.

bellac

Thanks everyone. Food court sounds like the place. How are the chocolates?
I aways bring back Chocolate!

aggiemom

bellac - I love Harrods. They have a great selection of relatively inexpensive key rings 5 GBP and up - very nice quality and they are easy to bring back. I love their tote bags which range from conservative to very decorative. Also, they have a great selection of greeting cards, many hand made. I bought a variety and sent them out through the year as needed. They were a big hit with the receivers! Surprisingly, they were cheaper than same type you can find here - 1 GBP and up. Of course, don't miss the food court!!

BTilke

If you need a sugar/fat fix, don't forget they hand out free glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the food hall (at the Krispy Kreme stand, of course).
Harrods is not the place that immediately springs to mind when looking for inexpensive souvenirs. The last cheap souvenir we bought for friends back in the U.S. were mousepads with the Tube map. I have one too and use it whenever I'm online and need to check how to get someplace in London from Paddington station.

m_kingdom2

Harrods own label goods are strictly for tourists, perhaps with the exception of foods on offer.

As for inexpensive and worthwhile, that's quite tricky really. Dior Homme scented candles (32GBP) and any other scented candles are always a thoughtful gift. Harrods pet accessories are quite nice if you have a pet that is.

I'm at a loss to suggest other cheap presents besides the mass produced tack. To be honest, if you're not there for the fashion and furniture, it's pretty boring just walking around huge floors of such items, but have a look.

janis

"How are the chocolates?"

Well - first you have to decide what sorts of chocolates you want. There are English chocolates, French chocolates, Belgian chocolates, Swiss chocolates, manys varieties of truffles, and every sort of candy imaginable. Just go into the sweets hall and you will be overwhelmed.

Underhill

Do the gifts have to be from Harrods? Otherwise, head to Selfridges and load up on the great selection of chocolates from all the London name brands. There are also nice coasters with London scenes on them.

sorriso

My daughter brought back beautiful Christmas tree ornaments (on a student's budget).