For our trip in September, we'll be staying mostly in B&Bs, but there will be at least 2 sets of 70ish relatives and family friends in whose houses we will be staying (one near Manchester, one near Glasgow). So ... is there anything special that you can't get in Britain that you'd appreciate as a gift from Canada? And if I brought maple syrup, would you know what to do with it?

Do you know if they are wine drinkers? Thats my standard gift, If they are I would get them an ice wine maybe? Or maybe smoked salmon thats packaged in a nice box. <BR> <BR>I know your asking people in Britain but thats my suggestion from a fellow Canadian. <BR> <BR>Oh yeah I recently stayed at my boyfriends cousins and I got her some Clinique stuff. The same lotion we pay $24 she pays 29 pounds!!

A nice idea for hosts that you know to be bookworms is to bring as a gift a book by an author native to your homeland. Often, with the exception of the Tom Clancys of this world, literature is firmly reserved for its home country, and so often great books never make it across the border. <BR> <BR>I would be careful bringing food products, both for customs reasons and personal taste. And if you do bring maple syrup, make sure it's tightly packaged - nothing worse than arriving with a suitcase full of syrup-coated clothing!

I reall can't think of anything the English eat that would use maple syrup, but I probably am having a senior moment. <BR> <BR>I have had yummy maple sugar candies shaped like maple leaves that would appeal to the famous English sweet tooth, appealed to mine anyway. Good too as they wouldn't leak. Or if you don't know their reading habits what about a book of photos of your glorious scenery?

I think maple sugar candies are a great idea. They are light, but, for their weight, take up a fair amount of room--light to carry, but more room to bring home souvenirs. And, even if your hosts don't have a sweet tooth, they will be excellent offerings for their other guests. I think they'd go over well.

My sister moved to canada last year and i she sends me a parcel of maple syrup, those little diddy marshmallows, fruit roll-ups, postcards of a mounty, and clarifying toner 2 from clinique (much much cheaper) Any brit would be mad not too love any one of the above gifts!

Bring pancake mix, maple syrup, cranberries/strawberries preserves, Starbucks coffee and cook them breakfast (brunch?) one day.

<BR>not smoked salmon. we have that (from scotland). <BR> <BR>our supermarket chains import your maple syrup and sell tiny bottles of it for over a fiver! <BR> <BR>what _do_ you do with it, anyway? <BR> <BR>maple confectionery sounds good. <BR> <BR>but a photo of a mountie? nah. <BR>

I bring maple syrup. <BR> <BR>The most inventive gift I have ever given is a cookbook with American measuring cups and spoons (since European measurements are metric, they would be lost without them). The gift was a huge hit. <BR> <BR>For kids, t-shirts, baseball caps and the like are always successful. Buttons from your professional sports teams are also liked by kids. Due to Michael Jordan's popularity in the past, any Chicago Bulls merchandise was a "hit" (don't know if that is still true). <BR> <BR>Since I live in the DC area, I make a run to one of the Smithsonian Museums for small items that say "Washington, DC". For babies, the "future president" shirts are a huge hit. <BR> <BR>In the food department, I have German friends who love Doritos. I bring them and salsa. Slowly we open the Doritos, then we pass them around like fine wine for a sniff, then they devour them. <BR> <BR>Another German friend loves those microwave popcorn packets. They are more expensive over there. I also have given jars of peanut butter and local jams and jellies. Europeans tend to eat a lot more jams and jellies than we do. <BR> <BR>Picture books from your local area, local wine, and other things mentioned also will be succesful. <BR> <BR>I am going to buy boxes of pancake mix this time. What a good idea to put with the maple syrup!

Some relatives of ours, from Canada, brought us a beautiful, authentic, dream catcher, some "real" moccasins and other such gifts which we all loved, especially the children, the dream catchers are "magical" to them. Things don't need to be big or expensive, if they are unique to your country or area they will be appreciated and treasured for themselves and the memory of you having given it to them.

The idea of preparing one's trip with the thought of what gifts to bring is a good one, even for the people we have yet to meet, like the B&B hosts. For the people I know, I find out what their interests are and bring them something of the equivalent from where I live, which is in the American West. The last trip, I brought hand made soaps from Colorado for the B&B hosts and they were totally delighted. <BR> <BR>I found a book called "The Way of the Traveler" by Joseph Dispenza which I read frequently. His chapter on "Gifts" is wonderful. He says, "Gifting is one of the highest purposes of our travel. Giving a gift is the act of offering part of ourselves to another. A gift stays at the new place and allows us, therefore, to stay there in some mystical way." I think it's true.