We are planning to visit Argentina in December and would like to bring back small gifts fro friends and family. What are gifts that are typical of Argentina that are easy to carry (we will only have carry on luggage)?

The Saturday (Recoleta) and Sunday (San Telmo) fairs and the weekend fair (Palermo)have really nice, small gifts: jewelery, purses, belts and other leather things that are typically Argentine. Just check the quality, it is usually good...shawls, hats etc.

Music - Tango CDs, in fact, Tango book-marks or doo dads are very typical and will be appreciated by the right recipient.

Mate cups and straws (not that easy to port,but may be just right for some person on your list - you will know more about this when you get there).

Alfahores ! [Not for the diabetics on your list ^^]

Have fun picking them out - even my DH enjoys shopping this way in BsAs.

~MarnieWDC

I brought back some lovely, small paintings from markets and galleries. Also, there are interesting book pages from the Peronist era that could be great for a vintage image collector.

MarnieWDC: What are Alfahores? Someone gave me mate straws. Can I get those from the fairs?

teach2travel: Thanks for your input as well!

Leburta:

Alfahores are chocolate covered cookies filled with dulce de leche. They come in certain varieties, but, almost always very sweet. A box of Havanna Alfahores (the best brand) can be purchased just about anywhere - including the airport.

Also consider a jar of dulce de leche, or if too heavy to port, packages of chimichurri spices.

Yes, the Mate cups and straws are also ubiquitous - and often quite original and craftsy.

Have fun shopping.

~Marnie