Special Hint - Gift. Help me
 

I would like to know what would be a good idea for gifts for American people. I mean do Americans like anything special from Brazil? Something with our flag or things like that? Or do You already have things like that there? Can You help me please? Thank You.

Are people soccer fans? If yes, any related souvenir - saw a woman at work during the world cup in a Brazil soccer jersey, so proud of herself :)

Local non-perishable foods - sorry don't know Brazil food, but any local food like chocolates, wines, what else?

A coffee table book, a calendar with views of Brazil's places...

Do you have souvenir stores there? See what the tourists are buying, ask where from, and buy what americans are buying.

Who are you buying for? Does this person like to cook? Spices, teas, coffees, cocoa. Set of glasses/dishes.

The possibilities are endless :)

Also I want to advise you to post this question on the Latin America forum. People from US who traveled to Brazil will tell you what they brought home.

An aunt brought me back two barretts as well as a 2 dimensional picture / wall art made of wood carvings which I love. My husband brought back something similar from Honduras along with what looks to be an ice bucket made of wood--gorgeous. Gifts unique to the area are a wonderful idea.

If those people were me I'd love you for life if you brought me some really good brigadeiro! :))

Thank You for Your responses Fainaagain, AnnMarie and Jagirl. Its a gift for a man. Brigadeiro would be the easiest gift for me since I love to cook sweets!

I bet JaGirl meant a walking sweet... in a sombrero!

Faina,
It's the most delicious chocolate sweet ever imaginable. It's gooey and just yummmmyyyyy!!!! 8}

I get it every time I'm in Miami...I search out the Brazilian stores and buy about a dozen of them! :-!

BRIGADEIRO RECIPE

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 stick of butter or margarine (you can use only 1 Tbsp and it will still work out)

2 heaping Tbsp of Nestlé Quick or 1 Tbsp of Quick and 1 of Hershey's Cocoa. I actually even use Suchard breakfast chocolate when I can get it from Switzerland.

In a heavy saucepan mix chocolate with condensed milk and add the margarine. Cook in low heat stirring constantly until you can see the bottom of the pan. Continue to stir for another two minutes. Pour onto a plate and let cool completely before you form the little balls (I usually leave it in the cupboard until next day). Butter your hands slightly to form the little balls. Roll the balls in chocolate powder or jimmies and put them in small paper cups.

Now I know what that is! And it's good! In USSR we used to make those a bit differently. We'd take a can of sweetened condenced milk and cooked it UNOPENED for 2 hours in a pot of water. Then let it cool - and get a thick beige mass, kids loved it!

I gotta make it to remind them some day :) I wonder if now, that they are adults, a little rum will make it better?

When i went to Rio, I brought home chocolates filled with Amazon fruits (for which there is no translation, since they don't exist anywhere else): Capuacu, Bacuri, Acai (OK, Acai is here in the US now), etc. And jams made with the same fruits. Maybe you can adorn the gift box with one of those shellacked piranhas for effect!

I gave my boss a bottle of cachaca, which he loved (hard to get here). For the kids, I bought a lot of Kindersurprise eggs. Those are found everywhere in the world EXCEPT the US.

Melissa, you mean those chocolate eggs with a tiny toy inside? sorry, but they are sold here too... at least in russian stores. $1.50 each, ouch!

Really?! Never seen it in the US. Them Russian stores must be bootleggin it

Sure, they do! And not only "IT" ;)

My DIL is Brazilian and every time she and my DS come back from a visit, they bring me a very large bottle of Cachaca. It's the national drink in Brazil (and the basis of the Caipirinha, one of the most popular cocktails). Quite strong, but great. You drink it straight like tequila
with salt and lemon. I think everyone who loves a little nip now and then would love it 8-}