Suggestions for small gifts for Italians
 

Last year when we went to Japan we took along packets of Tim Tams(Chocolate biscuits to die for!)and good coffee as small gifts. It felt good acknowledging small gestures especially when people who did not know us went out of their way to help us. We would like to do something similar on our trip to Italy. Has anyone out there any ideas on small items that Italians love which are not readily available that we can take with us from Australia and can carry in backpacks?

Hello albaaust, are you talking about taking presents to people in Italy will will have you as guest, overnight or for dinner etc. If so a book with photos of your area with Australia would no doubt be appreciated. Or a bottle of wine or flowers is always appropriate to take to a dinner party.

If you are talking about people that work in hotels etc., it is not the custom to give them gifts.

If there is someone in Italy that has gone out of their way to help you more as a friend might rather than in their professional capacity you could buy them a small box of chocolates while in Italy.

Do have a lovely trip.

Rightly or wrongly, the impression many professional service workers in Italy will have of someone handing out little gifts -- They will think it is very odd.

Strongly agree with LoveItaly.

It may well feel good to you to dispense small gifts. But what matters is how it feels to the dispensee. An American associate of mine went round Europe a few years ago giving US dollar coins to - say - cab drivers who carried his bags. Watching it was excruciating. Most thought him nuts: some just thought he was an excessively mean tipper.

As a general rule in Italy, altruism is an extraordinarily common motivation for most people. Most Italians, most of the time, simply want visitors to have a pleasant time and will be confused going on offended by anything beyond a sincere "grazie". Professionals in the hospitality industry will expect a proper tip, in real money - which means Euros and nothing else.

With the possible exception of a few returned children of migrants, no Italian will find Tim Tams "to die for". And a moment's thought will make it clear why it's a logical impossibility for there to be "small items which Italians love which are not readily available" .

Just bring your smiles and a few spare Euros.

I didn't do a very good job explaining. Was really trying to tiptoe between being polite and saying what I really meant. flanneruk got real close (and LoveItaly took the polite route)

DO NOT bring little gifts. They will more than think it is odd. Afterall they don't need nylons and chocolate bars like 60 years ago.

&quot;<i>items that Italians love which are not readily available</i>&quot; - this makes me cringe. Italy is not some stone age backwater (but then neither is japan).

Maybe take packs of Airborne, they don't seem to have that in Italy yet.

If you are staying with someone and want to bring a gift for the host, then if it were me a good bottle of Australian wine would be appreciated, as I like to collect wines and although I am passionate about our wines in Italy something different is always interesting. Also if an Aussie guest came, I would ask for pine nuts, as I remember you can buy them by the kilo in Oz, quite cheap, here in Italy they come in small packages and are expensive, funny as they are such an important ingredient in many local cuisines. But the Italians are not like Japanese, giving small gifts exquisitely wrapped is not part of the culture. And everything is readily available here, don't bring chocobiscuits no matter how good you think they are and coffee to Italy!! I would be insulted.

Ok everyone I was not trying to be patronising and I certainly was not suggesting that I take coffee or chocolate biscuits to hand out to Italians nor was I suggesting that I hand out &quot;small items&quot; to hotel staff etc. I have been to Italy (OK 20 years ago) and I am well aware Italy is not a &quot;cultural backwater&quot;.
Have any of you been to Japan?
OK our trip to Japan was slightly different in that we did have hosts so it was probably more appropriate to have &quot;prepared gifts&quot; and the reference to Tim Tams is that Japanese tourists here always take them back home.Chocolate is expensive in Japan.

Maybe it is a cultural thing and gifts are inappropriate in Europe and maybe I am being unnecessarily defensive-it was a simple question and it was certainly not designed to be offensive!
BTW we were intending to take wine.

Hello albaaust, I am sorry you seem upset. I asked a question in my post &quot;are you talking about taking presents to people in Italy who will have you as guest, overnight or for dinner etc&quot;. I am still not sure whether that is the case of not. I than went on to say that if that is the case what would be appropriate.

Wine from Australia would be lovely. Your Australian wines have a good reputation.

Enjoy your time in Italy and have fun!

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and will be confused going on offended by anything beyond a sincere &quot;grazie&quot;.
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handing out little gifts -- They will think it is very odd.
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DO NOT bring little gifts. They will more than think it is odd.
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I would be insulted.
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I am not suggesting that you bring gifts (or not) nor am I suggesting that people to give gifts outside of the norm for the culture they are visiting.

however, i think this should be put in proper context...it is, in itself, patronising to suggest that italians (or anyone else) have an inability to see beyond their own culture and appreciate a thoughtful gesture from a foreigner.

working internationally, i am regularly (at home and abroad) given small gifts in situations that are not the norm for my own culture. the gifts themselves are often not usual for my culture either. i cannot recall ever being offended or confused by a gift. usually, i just appreciate the thoughtful gesture.

Furthermore, cultural lines are becoming blurred (for better or worse). for example, many people who painstakingly learn the cultural rules of doing business in china from a business etiquette guide quickly find the information about a generation too old. i am not minimising the importance of behaving in a culturally sensitive manner but merely suggesting that most modern people that you are likely to engage with in travels are cosmopolitan enough to not be &quot;confused&quot;, &quot;offended&quot; or &quot;insulted&quot; by gifts given by a foreigner.

Walkinaround I think you are being a bit defensive here, the poster was refering to little gifts to hand out as tips, which are really not neccessary, not only in Italy, but in other countries too. (s)He was asking about what gifts would be appropiate for Italy, and its hard to think of what one could bring from Australia, import regulations do not allow for minituare kangeroos or koala bears, and Italy is a land of plenty as far as food and chocolates are concerned, most people bring things from here. If you are staying with someone a thoughtful gift is always appreciated, but in context, I have a closet full of gifts people have brought us that whereas the thought was nice, they are really not up to what we get here (Michigan wines, american chocolates, Florida spices etc). Maybe if tim tams are so good he should bring some for the natives to try. Many years ago I used to bring pencils as a handout for kids in Nepal and India, but someone pointed out this encouraged a scrounging mentality, like John Fromme and the cargo cult. My advise bring yourselves and have a good time!

What is airborne?

Airborne is a tablet you drop in water at the first sign of a cold or right before you're going to be exposed to large groups of people (like on a plane)...it supposedly keeps you healthy. I finally caved and used it on my last trip to Europe over Christmas. I don't know if it kept me from getting sick or not, but it's nice to think it did. :)

http://www.airbornehealth.com/

First of all,my question was NOT about tips!!!and...I repeat, it was not about handing out chocolates..that was simply an example. The question was about acknowledging hosts and other random,spontaneous acts of kindness that one encounters when one is in a foreign country.

Thank you walkinaround for your thoughtful response especially as later in the year we do plan to visit China and perhaps Korea and spend an extended period there.

LoveItaly you did not upset me.Perhaps I should add that we have acted as hosts to people from various countries who have brought appropriate gifts.

Now, I am not sure if some of the replies are serious comments or designed to provoke.

However, my original question was a serious one.

Sampaquita- pinenuts are also pretty expensive here but,what do you think about macadamia nuts? Are they readily available in Italy? I only ask this because they are sold at duty free stores and they are relatively light to carry.

Hi alb,

&gt;The question was about acknowledging hosts and other random,spontaneous acts of kindness that one encounters when one is in a foreign country.&lt;

I suggest that for hosts you bring a bouquet of locally purchased flowers, and for random acts of kindness you say &quot;mille grazi&quot;.

((I))

Actually after I posted the reply I checked bulk pine nut prices on-line to see if it was worthing persuading anyone to bring some over, but the prices are much the same. Now macadamia's are not a bad idea, don't really see them in Italy. Problem is if it were me bringing them, I would eat them all before I gave them away!