is anybody else a Grinch about buying presents ??

Laura,

I'm not necessarily a Grinch, but I don't buy presents for a couple of reasons....

1. I can never figure out what type of gifts to buy. I'd like to provide gifts that are useful to the recipients, and not something that's going to be thrown in a drawer or relegated to the basement, never to see the light of day again.
2. Most importantly - I travel with a Backpack which doesn't have a lot of spare room. I'd have nowhere to put the gifts, and I'm not paying exorbitant charges to mail them back, especially as the recipients could face import duties and taxes.

Well Laura I think the same way. For me is travelling leaving home behind and just want to be immersed in the place I visit, feeling away and free from home and souvenirs are just doing the opposite I think. Usually buying some picture postcards and that´s it. A souvenir for somebody else can nevertheless sometimes happen. But making often use of a budget flight there will be no room weightwise for souvenirs as I usually pack to the limit. More and more even don´t have my camera with me. Actually the best souvenir for me is writing a report once back home, reports of over twenty years brings surprisingly clear memories back. Just being there where I want to be is for me ok.

We do not usually buy souvenirs for ourselves nor gifts for others. We will buy wine if we have a car to bring it home (we live in Rome) and have sent it to ourselves in the U.S. when we lived there as a unique (and expensive) "self-gift." We shared that with friends by building great meals around the wine and surely that was better for all of us than any one gift.

Very rarely I pick up something I know someone will like: a scarf for a dear friend, a piece of Venetian glass jewelry, etc. Never a "trinket" like a key chain or magnet or items that become meaningless. Is it Grinchy? I don't think so. You travel for yourself, not the pleasure of others.

I will say my friends and family like to read about my trips so I keep a blog and post a fair number of photos. No one seems to expect we will bring gifts.

I used to bring back little gifts when I first started to travel, little useless things that most likely got put away and forgotten. Nowadays my friends all travel to far away and exotic places so I can't impress them with an "I love Paris" T-shirt.

I never bring back gifts for others - unless I would have been looking for a gift anyway and see something that catches my eye - or souvenirs for us.

That being said I do have a box this time of top quality Belgian (Gent) choccies for the family who look after our house for us. Thought they'd like them.

And we do buy appliances because often the Media Markt in Belgium and Germany has a better choice and prices than here in England, but they aren't really souvenirs.

I used to, but quickly learned nobody really liked or wanted anything.

I do however continue to buy my parents,who look after my cats, something well chosen and expensive. They drive 160 kms round trip every other day while I'm away, and they don't just feed the cats, they play with them, brush them, and in general give them some company.

Examples include solid silver Heathergems jewelry, or her Hermes perfume (hard to find here). Dad prefers something edible.

And if I find the perfect inexpensive gift for my BFF I will get her something, but sometimes that doesn't come to pass. For example, we work at a public library so when I was in New York this summer I got her a terrific New York Public Library tote bag.

My first trip I bought gifts for everyone. I also went with a huge suitcase. Now I bring back candy from that country for the kids and that is about it for gifts.

Same here - no gifts that will just be tossed in a drawer somewhere. We will pick up small gifts for Christmas or birthday's - local jewelry or food items. Our next trip we'll be coming home on the QM2 so a nice variety of wine for ourselves will probably find its way home with us!

We would always pick up some little thing for parents and if I saw some small thing that I thought would make a cute Xmas gift, I'd buy it. But, after seeing the little soaps or lotions still languishing years later that we got my mother-in-law (really - it's soap - use it!), and my mom is the anti-hoarder, wherein, she has very little clutter so an ornament is no good (tho the picture frame we bought in Murano is still on display...win!)...we don't really pick up anything now. No other close friends or coworkers or family that we feel the need to buy an immediate gift for - anything we pick up is saved for birthdays or Xmas...a little calendar in Florence (the response was...the months are in Italian...the reply was...well, now you will know the months in Italian!)...a tiny glass frog in Murano - who, even tho well wrapped, one leg didn't survive the journey...

I try to get a little something for my mom and girlfriends, but I buy toiletries or cosmetics that I think they will actually use. Once people reach a certain age I find no one really has any use for trinkets any more. I will admit to being a Grinch about Starbucks mugs, as in I won't lug them around in my backpack for people.

No gifts or souvenirs from us either. With 5 kids, their spouses and 14 grand kids among them, we couldn't begin to get something for everyone, or even for all the families. We have gotten thank you gifts for people who have taken care of our dog while we were gone, but nothing expensive or extravagant -- or big or heavy.

And we have brought home small things for us (a man's scarf from Scotland, some cameo earrings from Florence, a cheesy refrigerator magnet from Keukenhof) that are easy to pack.

Much to my surprise in this electronic age, the thing both friends and family seem to like the best are post cards mailed from Europe, even if they receive them after we get home. Maybe it's the stamps or the picture or the personal note or the surprise of getting it in the mail or just the realization that we took the time to select the card, buy it, write a note, get stamps and mail it to them.

I always get something for my mom, she loves candy/sweet things. If there is something I know someone will like, a tile about making wine from Spain for a friend who owns a vineyard, I will get it for them. I also get a box of candy for the people at work. However, I still like to send postcards! That's it for gifts.

I often buy some food item for Xmas presents - the year we were in Budapest I got about 10 nice-sized bags of paprika for various family members [I was surprised how much weight that added to my backpack that day], and last year in southern France I got herbes de Provence or lavender for both family members and colleagues at work. And little bags of fabulous chili powder from the market in Santa Fe last fall. Like many responders, I used to bring back trinkets, but rarely do these days. My husband usually stays home so I always bring him some kind of tasty treat [that I can enjoy with him, of course!]

For myself I often get a plastic laminated placemat with an iconic scene - over the years I've gotten Pont du Gard, scenes from the Bayeux tapestry, the castle at Heidelberg, Hungary's Parliament building... I really enjoy seeing them every evening at dinner and remembering all those fun trips. And they are very light and easy to pack - just slide into the large pocket on my wheeled suitcase.

Laura B,

i can see youre not on alot of peoples xmas list.

to me shopping for gifts isnt a big deal, at least for me since im doing it 24/7 anyway. Im always looking for different/cool things to buy/try/eat and maybe bring/send back home. I will stop in a store to look/see what is different and not available in the states. So buying something for a friend doesnt take anymore effort.

Any chocolate shop is difficult to pass by without looking/smelling inside. If they beckon me and im up for some dessert, i will not be leaving empty handed. If they are really great, some may get sent back home. Also, i always look for some different candy and again, those may get sent back home to my nephews along with some for me too.

last year i found some "mum-mums" in Oslo or Stockholm? and a dozen packages were sent back home. Some didnt make the trip in good condition, but they were tasty.

when it comes to gift buying, i see it like how you choose to travel. Its your time and $$ and its up to you how you want to do it.

happy trails.

On our last 2 trips visiting the Christmas Markets in Bavaria, Austria and Dolomites, we bought ourselves and some others the mugs the Gluh Wine comes with. Each costs between 1 and 2 Euro, has a scene or logo for the town or village it comes from. Around Christmas we use these mugs for our coffee instead of our everyday ones. We also have a collection of beer glasses from the different breweries we've visited. Each is distinctive in shape and logo.

For a while when we were traveling to Europe, we both had jobs where there were several people we felt we should bring back things for. We'd usually get things like ink pens, book marks, Christmas ornaments, small items that could be used as paper weights, etc. (got some Chinese chopstick rests that everyone loved one year). Small, often useful, things that let them know we were thinking of them. One year I got some crocheted doilies about the size of the palm of my hand. Our school secretaries, security people and nurse all loved them. Some used them as Christmas ornaments, some as coasters for their coffee mugs, and one even framed her's and hung it above her desk. They took up almost no space in our luggage and weren't too expensive. Ink pens were especially appreciated- so long as I got different ones, they could make sure the pens didn't 'walk away'! LOL!!! Candy was also appreciated- I'd get one big box and put it in the break room. Family usually got similar, but slightly more personal items- the Christmas ornaments (or things that could be used that way) were always enjoyed. We'd buy crystals, crocheted items, etc. so it wasn't your usual tourist kitsch. We enjoyed shopping at markets, buying from artists on the streets, and unique shops. If shopping isn't your thing, then don't worry about it.

Yeh, always, even after decades of going back and forth between US and French families. Used to be See's candy to France, where they'd marvel over the large box of choices, and local artisan chocolates back to the States, where they'd appreciate the flavor. We still pick up trinkets for the different generations of the families.

Agree with you Laura. That's exactly what we do on our trips. When we first travelled, 40+ years ago, travel to another country was a novelty. Now it's fairly common. Agree that most people don't want trinkets that will either take up space or be thrown away so it's a waste of time and money. Also, we each travel with a 21" carry-on and a backpack/large purse so there's not much room for souvenirs. Having said that, we always bring back little gifts for our granddaughters. For our sons & spouses we usually bring some chocolate or other snack and bookmarks (which always get lost and need replacing). We aren't 'shoppers' so we don't go out of our way to find these gifts. If we see something as we're walking we'll get it. When we go to the grocery store we check the chocolate and snack aisle. Of course, we have to bring back some of these treats for ourselves! When we eat them we always talk about our trip, where we were and what we were doing when we bought the item. Those little treats bring back great memories!

Like you and many of the other posters, very rarely do we bring things home (for ourselves or for others). We do carry-on only, and we normally just don't have the room. If I see a small oil painting that an artist in a village has for sale, I've been known to find room for something like that.

Generally for the typical tourist-trap shops (t-shirts, mugs, etc.) my husband's favorite saying is: 'You can shop when you get home.' (meaning why waste precious time in such stores?). For shops with truly local, unique items, he has great patience, especially if he can watch something being made or taste something :)

What I do as a thank-you for the small army of friends/neighbors/family who watch after our place while we are gone or offer the airport drop-off/pick-up, I invite them all for a theme dinner. Tuscan feast after the trips to Italy, French evening, Greek feast, Dutch stew, Irish breakfast, etc., and we'll serve the food exactly as the country we visited would have (salad after entree for Italy, etc.) Antarctica was a bit of a challenge.....no seal brains or penguin kabobs, so I had some adorable penguin cookies made by a local bakery and served rich hot chocolate with a shot of whiskey (as was served to us on zodiacs on a cold day).

Usually the group of people that help us see each other only at these gatherings and seem to look forward to them. We also have a personally-inflicted rule: we pass around only our top 25 photos, which also serves as an incentive for us to sort thru our (usually 1400-2300) digital photos to decide on the best of the best. Conversation is usually 15% about our trip, 85% about everything else, as the group just enjoys the company of one another.

Sometimes, though, if I find food items at the airport stores, I might pick up some of those as thank-you gifts for the theme evenings, too. Cookies/chocolates/nuts, etc. that are special for the country we just visited. But, with our global economy, sometimes I'll see the same thing at Whole Foods when I look :o

Interesting comments that reflect cultural differences between Americans and Japanese observed in Hawaii . Hawaii's tourist industry use to find that a typically Amweeican tourist spends in two weeks what a typical Japanese tourist spend in one week. The difference being gifts for people back home. Not sure it those proportions are still two to one.

If anyone would like to bring me a souvenir when they come to visit, I gladly accept large chunks of Monterey Jack and Sharp Cheddar cheese. Just sayin'. I'll bring mustard as a souvenir.

Jo, I'm hoping to go to Germany next October. We'll keep in touch about the cheese. :)

I buy gifts for people who request them because then I know they will be appreciated. I have a friend who wants travelers to send her postcards; she has a huge collection of cards from all over the world. I sent her cards from London and Niagara Falls.

I used to buy candy for my dad but he's now on the Pritikin diet so that's out. He's impossible to buy for.

And I get my sister a unique gift from everywhere I visit, such as a chartreuse necklace made from yak bones at a flea market in Berlin, and a polka-dot vintage flower pin from the Portobello Road Market in London.

I'm really into magnets now and buy those, plus postcards and of course books and candy, for myself.

I'm somewhere in the middle. just today I delivered the tail end of goodies procured for my cat sitter (she's 12) and for her parents who accompanied her and checked for water in my basement. I bought her some nice earrings from a local artisan, but also bought a few school supplies (notebook, pencils, etc.) that had lots of labels in the local languages. At a grocery store in Slovenia I bought lemon aide mix in a yellow plastic box (about the size of a hens egg) and her little siblings were fascinated by the words on that box. At the same store I bought a package of 3 whole nutmegs and a tiny grater for the friends who dropped me at the airport. I bought about 30 assorted fridge magnets total and am doling them out to dear friends (mostly photographs of things we actually saw) No mugs or t shirts this trip, but I did actually bring back an empty wine bottle in my black roller bag to reflect on a particularly lovely evening......but I would have left that behind if need be. Years ago in Ireland I found mustard in a tube like tooth paste.....that was a huge hit with my brothers and brother in law. I bought a nativity or 2 to add to my collection, but of course everything had to fit into my suitcase to make the cut. I also bought paper bound books at 3 museums that I would have liked to have spent all day looking at their collections, but had to balance the needs of my 3 traveling companions. I also like buying something I can use on my desk every day at work....I have a coaster from a previous trip to Scotland, and this summer in Italy I bought a cradle for my smart phone.

I also do not routinely search out trinkets and whatnot to bring back as souvenirs. If something catches my eye and reminds me of someone, and is within budget and packing size, then I will grab it. I do try and bring back something meaningful for myself on a trip, like a poppy pin from London, wooden plate from Venice, a favorite book from Paris, etc., but these things usually cross my path and are not sought after.

I wonder if souvenirs are going out of "style" given that our world is becoming more mingled, and country unique things are becoming more readily available and more folks are venturing out to the far flung spots. Although looks like certain cheeses have not crossed international borders!

Today we were clearing out my MIL's house, getting it ready for sale. I am now in possession of six Van Gogh coasters that I gave her in 2008. Unopened, never used.

Definitely not a grinch. I bring back gifts for colleagues, friends and family. Usually something to be consumed like chocolate, or used up like olive oil soap. My goddaughter gets gold jewelry. Group presente, like chocolates, meant to be shared within a department. Sometimes I'll see something small that I know will mean something to someone, but I don't go with a shopping list. For me it's fun to see something that makes me think of someone and bring it back. It's a way of keeping in touch, I guess.

But the coasters with sheep that I got in Scotland are used all the time at my mom's! So, the first time I went after years of not going, I came back with presents. My sister still used the Scottish wool car blanket I got her on her living room chair. I always brought home some Toffee for the kids who were watching the house for me--watering plants. One of the funniest and best presents was a toothbrush that was designed to look like the guards at Buckingham Palace. It held a place of decorative honor in the guest bathroom at my parents for years.

What I do now is buy a present when I see something that i know someone would like. Sometimes I give it right away when I come back other times I save for Christmas or a birthday. I think I'll just keep on with that approach.

Pam

Word of advice, Karen, never go to your kid's garage sale. You'll feel really sick.

I am not looking to shop but if something catches my eye and is a match for someone at home, I'll buy it. I have never paid to have anything shipped. If I can't carry it, I'm not buying it. Having said that I will be looking for something for my nephew's new home. Since I will be in Venice-maybe glass? But since I have access to a world class glass blower at home, I'm not sure if or what I will buy.

Bets, my kids are still in the begging for stuff stage, but I'll remember that.

I will admit to being a Grinch about Starbucks mugs, as in I won't lug them around in my backpack for people.

People ask you to bring back Starbucks mugs from Europe? Trying to imagine that thought process.

Thanks for all the comments -- I will embrace my Grinchiness. :-)

I don't want to spend my time shopping for gifts to bring back-but I do. I always seem to find a special gift that I think family members will like. First trip to Ireland, I had requests now I try to find something for each child and grandchild. Sometimes, we give the gifts for Christmas or birthdays. We ended up mailing the gifts home and that was not cheap. I have found several online sites where I can order Irish t-shirts, hats, scarves and so on. Maybe that is the way to go?

About Starbucks mugs. Definitely a hot item in Dublin at least once the international students were there during the summer! Sold out! when we returned to Dublin for our flight home.

My daughter had received requests from co-workers to bring back Starbucks mugs that said Dublin or Ireland. She bought them early in the trip and carried them around the rest of the trip. She left from Shannon Airport before we returned to the States. The night before her flight we spent a good amount of time wrapping up the things she was bringing home to include the mugs. I decided to put items inside the mugs to help protect them and use available space. Then, we bubble wrapped the mugs, the box the mugs were in, and taped them up. Well, apparently customs did not like gift of soap that was in one of the mugs and red flags went up. She was pulled aside and everything was unwrapped. Her purse, suitcase and carry-on were searched thoroughly. They kept her in customs until her flight was about to leave. We were heading north to our next stop near Galway and had no idea this was happening. Now, we can laugh about soap in a mug and bubble wrap, but she would not want to experience the custom episode again! By the way the mugs and the soap made it back in one piece.
Barbara

Sounds like Starbucks mugs are the new Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts. Seems odd now to desire American corporate branded goods abroad. But I did like wearing my Hard Rock Cafe Mexico City t-shirt as a teen after my high school trip.