Do you have any ideas of gifts to buy for others from your travels? I'm especially having a difficult time thinking of gifts for my brothers and close guy friends who might not appreciate a box of chocolates as much as the next person. I'm trying to come up with ideas of something authentic to a country or region that can also be somewhat meaningful/important/useful to someone who hasn't been to that place (more specifically western europe). Any tips would be great!!

Guys, in general, would love cool t-shirts, baseball caps or shot glasses. Good luck and let me know if you run into different ideas.

a bottle of wine or apertif from the area you visited.

I brought wool scarves,leather gloves,tshirts and small leather goods as gifts from Italy. They were flat and did not take up much space.

Hi danc,

I would love for someone to bring me home some chocolates from Paris, Belgium, or Switzerland.

Beer from Belgium or Germany,

Wine from anywhere.

Dried Porcini mushrooms (cepes in France).

Olive oil from France or Italy.

Fois gras (goose preferred, duck is OK)

A small Eiffel tower.

A Pope snow globe.

A six inch statue of David.

ira, long ago when I was in Avignon I thought I bought a stone statue for my small garden.(conversation was mostly gestures) When it arrived it was not my lady but a 40 inch statue of David.He could not stand in the garden because he is made of terra cotta and Boston weather would kill him. He now poses on my staircase. i change his pareo with the seasons and i've tucked a bouquet of lavender in his arm. He also carries the Maeght plastic bag.

Swiss army knives that you really did buy in Switzerland!

a beautiful corkscrew.

How about condoms from each of the countries you visit ? Amusing plus useful. Really.

Don't be worrying about gifts and souvenirs; enjoy the places you're in. Buy postcards and write them there while having drinks in cafes but mail them from the US. That way you won't have to be running around for stamps and wondering if you're putting enough postage on them (plus postage has become v. expensive of late).

You might consider billfolds and belts from the leather shops in Italy.

Our son and son-in-law have seemed to like the ones we brought.

And, of course, there were the hats made from huge mushrooms (really!) we brought them from Budapest...

What were we thinking..

Byrd

I always buy and send post cards to friends and family wherever I go as the main "gifts". Usually about 8-10. I don't have to haul home gifts as many live far away anyway. This was I get my short correspondence in with family I don't normally get to see anyway, and a souvenir for them. Over the years I have had many say how nice it is to get them from time to time and how they have kept them all. I always buy one extra and keep it for myself.

A favorite of mine (for both guys and gals)
is an "antique" (that might include items from
the 1930's or 1940's) print or etching. These
are available from various stalls in antiques
markets, booksellers along the quais in Paris (for example), etc. I often choose
items specific to the person's interests. For
example, when in one of the antiques markets in London, I found a great small
caricature of a golfer (in knickers and argyle
sweater) from the 1930's for my brother, a
golf fan. Another example, for a female cousin who loves shoes, a reproduction print (note: doesn't have to be a genuine
antique) of a shoe from the time of Louis XVI. These are so easy to pack (put between cardboard so no bending), and very light.

I think your instincts about buying things like chocolates--ie something a person can use up and enjoy--are right on. I have to disagree w/the people who suggest some kind of shirt, cap or other souvenir of the actual place. As you have insightfully noted, such things are not generally meaningful to those who have not been there. I have a relative who always brings such items to her various family members and these items are rarely if ever appreciated and can even come across as insensitve. It is clear from your post that you are trying to be considerate and so I thought I would share w/you the perspective of one who has frequently been the recipient of such souvenirs.

I'm with the post card people, but I mail them from the location. The moment at which it is done and the stamp/postmark from a faraway place are things that I believe make the gesture more meaningful and authentic.

"It's the first weekend for the Beaujolais Nouveau and all of Paris is celebrating!"

I'll occasionally run across something that really fits a particular person well and then bring that back as a gift. Sometimes I run across things that are really small, not very expensive and unique to the place. I'll pick up a few of those and give them to people. But other than that, I've pretty much freed myself from the "travel gifts" practice because for me, there are better ways to manage the limited resources of time, space and money in travel. This also liberates others, who might have felt obligated to reciprocate at some point.

I , too, share the postcard idea! Another thought is to have those near and dear over for a meal resembling those you tasted on your travels. While I thought the idea of condoms was a great one..I might find it difficult to present to my brothers especially.

Silk ties from Italy. And a Mouse pad is another idea - you get nice ones everywhere.

*If* your guys hunt or are interested in the great outdoors and you're passing through Brussels, go straight to La Maison du Chasseur, 825 chaussee de Waterloo (the store is in the Uccle commune, take the 23 or 90 tram to the corner of Winston Churchill and Ch. de Waterloo, then walk up the street for about 10 minutes--another good reason to treat yourself to a meal at Les Brasseries Georges, one of the best restaurants in Brussels).
I don't hunt, but I do admire the incredible workmanship of their handtooled shotguns, rifles. Of course, I KNOW you can't bring home weapons as souvenirs, but they might enjoy flipping through their catalog (free). Also, they sell a great variety of European (mostly Belgian, French, and Italian) hunting clothes and accessories. They also carry some very nice European brand golf clothes. And La Maison du Chasseur is one of the few public places where you can get Philippe Allard's and Phillipe Van Horen's wildlife calendar. Allard and Van Horen are among the finest wildlife photographers in the world, even though not well known in the U.S.