If you're into toiletries, check out Floris, Penhalligons (sp?) and George Trumper. All are old fashioned shops. (Yes, some products are carried in the US. Penhalligons also has a store or two in the US.) But they are very ornate and so obviously British. Lush to me is ordinary; kind of like Bath & Body Works.

shaya,

There have been a couple of really good threads on this topic. Check these out:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...mp;tid=1267963

and

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...mp;tid=1373314

Hope you have a super trip!

great idea for a child is a british version of harry potter books...there are some subtle differences in word choice..especially in the very first of the series...the title- for one!!!!the philospher's stone instead of the sorcerer's stone....

Liberty's of London has beautiful scarves, shawls, ties, etc., made from their signature print fabrics.

Shaya- In LONODON we also went to :Reject China, on Brompton Road, between Harrods and the V & A.

They had terrific deals and much better than US.. as another poster commented, we also got things that were NOT available in the US..Their packing is terrific. We shipped everything home and NOTHING broke..We have been to this shop many times and No, the items are NOT seconds or rejects at all..In fact, they are terrific! Have a blast in there!

The comment on chocolate is interesting. The French choclatiers complain that it was under British pressure that in 2000 the European Commission allowed 5 percent of non-chocolate vegetable fat in chocolate sold in Europe, and that last year the British pressed for this permission to stand. The International Herald Tribune site http://www.iht.com/articles/108905.html describes one protest.

The protestors have won only partially. The British Food Standards Agency site at http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/choc says that for the last few months the British style of chocolate, with more milk powder than other styles of Europe, can be old across the Union so long as it has the label Family Milk Chocolate.

Meanwhile, Belgian chocolate pralines, made with no or little milk powder or vegetable fats, command high prices in Britain, so perhaps the best souvenirs of London are Belgian chocolates.

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If you like chocolate; Roccocco chocolate on the King's Road is THE best! And I live in Belgium!

My husband loves the shaving cream from Taylor's of London - the sandalwood scent. He tried Trumper's but prefers Taylor's. I ordered some for him for Christmas on their site and it came within a few days [the postage was almost as high as the cream - I don't know if you can request cheaper and slower delivery]

www.tayloroldbondst.co.uk/

When we started traveling to Europe many years ago, we could not afford to buy anything wonderful, so we specialized in buying the worst tourist trash we could find. Our collection -- and it is vast -- has won prizes for awfulness.
More recently, we have expanded to nice things. Christmas ornaments are favorites; try Harrod's Christmas shop for an incredible assortment. We also buy pictures, but only from street vendors. Our rule is: if you have to go inside to pay for it, you can't have it.
We've bought great teddybears for our grandchildren; some spectacular picture books -- check inside to see if the publisher also has offices in the U.S., if so you may want to wait until you get home; wonderful scarves and gloves with elegant logos at Harrods; teas from Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, and Sainsbury's supermarket.
But our best London souvenir came from our first trip -- a love of travel that has lasted three decades and only grows each time we go away. We can't wait until April.

I brought home a British lawn bowling ball from the Portobello market. It has a round ivory(?) inset with the initials of a lawn bowling club carved in it that are very close to my own initials. The wood is beautiful and it is a terrific decorative piece. On my second trip to England my sister and I sat on a bench in Portsmouth and watched a very well dressed group of seniors play a game. It was great fun -- I had carried one home for her too.

My other favorite buys were magnets from Harrods (adorable and reasonable), souvenier tins of cookies from Harrods, and a small teapot from Whittard of Chelsea.

Since I like to travel light, my self-imposed rules for a souvenier is that it must be flat and unbreakable. A couple of things not mentioned previously are a Rosetta Stone mousepad from the British Museum - I'll follow Keith's advice and get a t-shirt next time. I bought ten of the mousepads on my last trip.

Last spring, I happened upon a garden shop in Hempstead and thought it might be fun to bring back some seeds for my gardening friends. Likewise, people were delighted to get them.

I do break my "flat and unbreakable" rule on occasion. I saw some very interesting bottles at the Portobello marked and was told by the vendor that they originally held boot blacking.

They work really well as bud vases, as it turns out. I've since purchased quite a few.

The vendor has been there every time I've gone to Portobello over about twenty years, so I'm beginning to wonder if there's an endless supply of boot black bottles in London.

We'll be there for 8 days beginning Feb. 12th. Do you happen to know if we'll be able to attend a sale on Portabello? I'm afraid that the vendors don't sell during cold weather.
Thanks

Emma Bridgewater pottery would be a great purchase. I'd skip the Harrods bag- essentially a laminated shopping bag- but Liberty has much nicer ones. Portabello is best when the weather is "bad" as fewer people show up! Go early to do your shopping! harrods also has a parcel collection service. All of your items will be held at one collection point (ground floor close to the food halls) until you're ready to collect.

I also really enjoyed the chocolates I bought at Charbonnel et Walker, although my favorite chocolatier is still L.A. Burdick here in the U.S. Keep in mind that many UK stores have branches at Heathrow. The selection is more limited but you save the 17.5% VAT.

I love French Sole shoes. The shop is just about a block up Sloane Street( headed in the direction of Harvey Nick's) from Sloane Square on a side street. At the very end of Sloane Street is a chocolatier who is a genius. And, I bought some very cute soaps shaped liked wellies (small, can't be broken and cheap) for my gardener friends.