American Gift Ideas for Friends in UK?

[Anonymous]

I’ve heard from some in Europe that they really like buckwheat pancake mix.

[Anonymous]

Local professional sports team gear, especially if the team is good or it looks cool.

[Anonymous]

Anti-Trump merchandise except for anything that says “No Kings”.

[Anonymous]

Peanut butter, cranberry things, drugstore products like sunscreen, things from Williams Sonoma

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi, I'm traveling to London soon and will meet up with a friend and her family, I'm looking for gift ideas for what to bring them from here. Two adults, and two kids, ages 11 and 8. I am thinking getting the kids monogrammed YETI water bottles, but I have yet to figure out what to get the mom and dad. Any suggestions? Budget is about $50 each gift, no alcohol. Thank you!

Candy, candy, candy.

Seriously many business colleagues I've had over the years will fill their suitcases for their return trip to the UK with candy for their kids. All kinds, one of each of everything they can find, because apparently there are a lot of candies in the US that they don't have there.

Cowboy hats, rebel flag shirts, and shirts with guns on them are also super popular gifts judging by what clients buy to take back, but hats are also quite bulky and size dependent, so not a good choice.

Rebel flag shirts????
wtf.
And US candy is terrible comparered to British. Don’t take American candy.

It's the novelty and the gift, as others have pointed out. It's not how things actually taste. Our sugary cereals are great (novelty, dyes- capn crunch oops all berries!) if you have the space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve heard from some in Europe that they really like buckwheat pancake mix.

Since that's really popular already, esp. in Eastern Europe and northern france, I'd give it a miss. But you wouldn't be amiss in putting together a very USA assembly of hungry jack, mrs butterworths, some freeze dried blueberries, etc.

Yes, they have mixes and packet foods of course. Our mixes are just different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thank you for all those who replied!! I know they have everything in UK but I don't want to go empty handed, this friend always gave me gifts whenever she visited and I love everything she's given me. They are actually expats living in an Asian country but will be in London while I am there too, I am so excited. I will definitely load up on snacks, and I am now re-thinking the YETI idea, I thought it's a good idea because YETI is so popular here and it's an American brand. Also, snacks do take up a lot of space, and I don't want to burden their suitcase back to Asia. Ah, maybe I am overthinking...I am just super excited LOL.

In that case, don’t buy them anything. If they are expats living in an Asian country who are visiting their home country, they probably already plan to load up with the things that they actually want to take back (eg marmite, cadburys, other British staples). I would message beforehand and say something along the lines of you were going to bring them some gifts but realise they may not have much bag space and could you instead take them out for dinner.

[Anonymous]

My friends in the UK ask for children’s melatonin, Goldfish and brownie mix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi, I'm traveling to London soon and will meet up with a friend and her family, I'm looking for gift ideas for what to bring them from here. Two adults, and two kids, ages 11 and 8. I am thinking getting the kids monogrammed YETI water bottles, but I have yet to figure out what to get the mom and dad. Any suggestions? Budget is about $50 each gift, no alcohol. Thank you!

If you’re really just bringing symbolic gifts, not gifty gifts, then refrigerator magnets, tea towels, coasters, baseball caps or pillowcases personalized with photos or children’s art that would be meaningful to all of you.

Example of a place that offers this: https://www.personalizationmall.com/

To improve the way the images look when printed, put them
through a filter that turns them into line drawings before trying to print them.

The beauty of this strategy is that you can create gifts that fit in carryons and avoid unwanted political connotations.

Example: If you’re from Chevy Chase, you might find it a lot better to bring Chevy Chase merch than USA merch right now.

If you bring towels or pillowcases, the recipients can use those to wrap fragile items.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi, I'm traveling to London soon and will meet up with a friend and her family, I'm looking for gift ideas for what to bring them from here. Two adults, and two kids, ages 11 and 8. I am thinking getting the kids monogrammed YETI water bottles, but I have yet to figure out what to get the mom and dad. Any suggestions? Budget is about $50 each gift, no alcohol. Thank you!

I’m not sure what the importation rules are, and you’d have to look them up, but one thing people who live outside the U.S. might want is OTC drugs that are available here but not there.

Two examples would be a couple of packages of Benadryl pills or Pepto Bismol pills.

I think that they’re banned in Japan, but there might be countries where you’re allowed to bring in a couple of packages for personal use.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thank you for all those who replied!! I know they have everything in UK but I don't want to go empty handed, this friend always gave me gifts whenever she visited and I love everything she's given me. They are actually expats living in an Asian country but will be in London while I am there too, I am so excited. I will definitely load up on snacks, and I am now re-thinking the YETI idea, I thought it's a good idea because YETI is so popular here and it's an American brand. Also, snacks do take up a lot of space, and I don't want to burden their suitcase back to Asia. Ah, maybe I am overthinking...I am just super excited LOL.

It's a nice idea but make sure they want to be schlepping those big cups around. Good to ask what they are missing from home.

Please, no rebel flag t-shirts.

[Anonymous]

I live in London, when I was last in the US I bought some hand sanitizer from Trader Joe’s in a small spray bottle - my friends are all “well jel” of this product -

I have found similar products at Whole Foods and holland and barret but at £6 per bottle vs $4USD

I plan to get it as gifts next time I’m stateside

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd make a junk food gift bag with small/individual packs of reeses peanut butter cups, the dark chocolate pb cups from TJs with just a few at the register, skittles, nerds gummy clusters, hot cheetos (1-2 bags), and stupid thing of cereal or two (like the small cylinder of froot loops). Small jar of everything but the bagel seasoning from TJs plus any others that seem good, a ChikFila BBQ sauce or ChilFilA sauce, maybe a small jar of Jif. Box of Girl Scout cookies (Samoas, Thin Mints).


Skittles are widely available in England as are spicy Cheetos, ironically we can’t get the normal Cheetos in uk shops, but they can be bought in Costco here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is so special about TJ bags? What sm I missing? I googled and they just look like a regular bag.

Nothing really but for some reason they became a cult thing in the UK last year! All my family and friends were begging me to get them, and they were selling on eBay for stupid amounts.

I’ve seen so many TJs bags in London last year I decided a store must have opened and had to google … still no TJs

[Anonymous]

I’m not British but travel to London for work 1-2 a year for the past 10 years. There is so much candy available in London, I probably wouldn’t bother bring them candy or TJs candy.

I guess I am a dissenter but I like your idea, OP!