This summer (June 11th) I will be leaving for France to live with a French family. It is a kind of a homestay thing. I am a 16 year old boy and will be staying w/ a 16 year old boy as well.

I was going to bring them some American candy such as hersheys snickers, milky way, etc etc. However i dont want to bring them something that hgave readily available in their own supermarket. Can anyone help me. What do that and don't they have. And what do they like?
Thanks

Reeses Peanut Butter Cups! I am an American living in Paris and have never found them here, my French co-workers loved them!

Or just plain peanut butter. The French seem to have a shortage of peanut butter like ours.

thanks for the peanut butter cups idea! Heres a question. I was going to bring some peanut butter, only i decided that wouldnt be a good idea when i heard they HATE it. is this true?

A friend of mine who lives in Paris said he cannot get Sharpie pens there. I know it isn't candy, but they are easy to carry and could be useful for school.

I'd not take chocolate. Everytime I've tried to carry chocolate, somwhere along the way , it is damaged or melted. What about pop rocks, air heads, nerds,. A popular idea on this board is a t-shirt or cap from a sports team in your area. A friend of mine in Belgium said his child was hooked on Countrytime Pink Lemonade.

Oh what about Captain Crunch or Peanut Butter Captain Crunch. Teens seem to really like it.

those all sound like great ideas. Anyone else have any other ideas

Several times we have taken Oreos to Europe and they were well received. We explain they are eaten w/a glass of milk. We wrap them in bubble wrap, pack in the carry on if we have room in the bag. Another item that was popular-we took Timberland brand tee shirts and the guys loved them. They are available in Europe but expensive. I bought them in the outlet store @ 2 for $20.00.

Yesmar, dear, please stop posting the same question. If you want more responses to your original one, just post a response to it an it will rise to the top.

A lot of candy companies are global and they have a lot of candy bars in France. I don't eat packaged candy very much, but it seems to me Nestle and Cadbury are the most common brands, in addition to Milka. Mars products are sold in France, though, and they have those candy bars over there (Milky Way, Snickers, M&Ms, Bounty, Twix is pretty common). I don't think they sell a lot of peanut butter because they don't like it that well. I haven't talked to that many French people about it, but the ones I have said they don't like it.

I wouldn't know what would be best for a 16 yr old French boy, and I'm sure tastes vary. I also think chocolate doesn't always travel very well due to the heat on planes and waiting in whatever baggage you carry it, so think some other product would be better for that reason alone.

I don't know about France, but in Italy they LOVED the jelly belly's that I brought!

Don't the French tend to prefer the dark chocolate over the milk kind? And I don't think American dark chocolate can compete with the French.

A lot of my French friends find peanut butter pretty disgusting, (although some like it) so it may not be guaranteed a good reception over here.

Also, be careful bringing chocolate such as Snickers or Milky way (I think that's the equivalent of Mars over here...?), as they sell it in France!

Oreos are a great idea, as you can't get them easily here and I've never met anyone that didn't like them! The jelly belly idea is another good one. Or those Hershey's mini white chocolate chunks with the cookie bits in.

Beef jerky! At least in Spain everyone I have brought it for gets hooked. It's an easy last minute buy at the airport, too.

Hi,

My European friends tell me that their kids only eat peanut butter to be polite to Americans.

Oreos are great. Harley Davidson tee shirts go over well, as do baseball caps. If you can find a picture book of your hometown that would go well.

Have a terrific time, and remember that a trip report is required.

I would forget the chocolate idea (with the exception of Peanut Butter Cups). MY sister in law is French is she is always saying that the chocolate is much better in France than in the U.S....whatever. However, I think you should bring a piece of Americana with you. Go to a candy store...buy PEZ...theyre soo cool. what about gummy bears? Salt water taffy? things fun like that.

The French never drink glasses of milk.
I found thet don't like peanut butter, maple syrup but loved the Chivas Regal.

WOW!! Thanks for all the great ideas. I will definetly take all that into consideration. And the Jelly Belly idea, i will definetly do that. I don't know about you guys but I LOVE them. oh and LVsue, thanks for the help, but please i am very well aware of how this site works. and i don't need you to tell me otherwise. I have tried "topping" my questions but after a while they just start getting ignored.
As for me... well i leave for France next Wednesday (June 11). But while i'm still here, please feel free to give me more great ideas!!

THANKS!!

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