"American" gifts

[Ceila]

My family and I are visiting Germany this summer and will be going to dinner at the home of one of his co-workers. They have two daughters, ages 1 and 3. We would like to bring the girls something "American" or not readily available in Germany.

I know the wife has her husband pick up clothes from the Disney Store when he travels here, but I don't know the kids' clothing sizes, and I don't want to do candy, especially for their youngest.

Any suggestions? All ideas will be appreciated!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My family and I are visiting Germany this summer and will be going to dinner at the home of one of his co-workers. They have two daughters, ages 1 and 3. We would like to bring the girls something "American" or not readily available in Germany.

I know the wife has her husband pick up clothes from the Disney Store when he travels here, but I don't know the kids' clothing sizes, and I don't want to do candy, especially for their youngest.

Any suggestions? All ideas will be appreciated!

If she likes Disney, why not a stuffed Mickey or something?

As far as truly American, I'm stumped.

Perhaps a storybook in English? Sounds weird, but when we traveled to Paris when my oldest 2 were 1 and 3, when we came across a children's bookstore that is what I did. We picked up some books in French. I stuck to stories they were familiar with. That was 11 years ago, so I don't recall the titles. But when I think of things from other cultures, I think of food and language.

Maybe a kids cookbook with recipes common for kids here. (Not junk food--by something so they can make it there. Easy of course since they are little.)

 

[wendy46001]

Novelty Candy is a big thing, cracker jacks, sugar cereals (those little boxes)
Also quarters bring a bunch of the different state ones.

What city area of the country are you in? (is there something local your known for?)
We tend to bring beach/surf florida stuff and of course mickey.

Tee shirts are fun too, maybe something from the US soccer team (easy to find right now)

 

[Luvchefmic]

Not sure if you are familiar with this Disser Lives in Germany formerly in US
I would ask her ( name is Hadley ) for some suggestions

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3293641

 

[scrapquitler]

My family and I are visiting Germany this summer and will be going to dinner at the home of one of his co-workers. They have two daughters, ages 1 and 3. We would like to bring the girls something "American" or not readily available in Germany.

I know the wife has her husband pick up clothes from the Disney Store when he travels here, but I don't know the kids' clothing sizes, and I don't want to do candy, especially for their youngest.

Any suggestions? All ideas will be appreciated!

Peanut Butter. Maple Syrup (the good stuff, not Aunt Jemima!) and pancake mix. Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I would also bring Pez Dispensers and Pez candies (those are local to me, and a fun novelty).

I might also look for a children's book about your state or local area.

TShirts....the sizes are not that important, a little big better than too small. For a 1 and 3 year old, I'd buy a size 2-4T and a 6.

 

[NewRVLady]

What about tshirts a tad bigger than their size( like 2t and 5t) with American flag? Lots of those in stores now for the 4th

 

[CaliBear]

I second the suggestion to ask NHdisneylover (Hadley). She lives in Germany.

 

[minnie mum]

I second the suggestion to ask NHdisneylover (Hadley). She lives in Germany.

I agree. Hopefully she will see this thread and chime in.

Let's remember that these are very young children, and keep suggestions age appropriate. I wouldn't give a one year old Pez candies, quarters or sugary treats (without the mother's prior permission).

It would help to know if this family is American or German. If they are American, then a story book would be a great idea. But if their primary language is German, maybe not. At least for children this young.

A stuffed Disney toy (perhaps Frozen/princess related) might go over well.

 

[Ceila]

Thank you to everyone for your ideas! Yes, as minnie mum notes, they are very young, so I plan to stay away from candy.

I do love the idea of something from the Disney Store, but I'm just not sure what's readily available in Germany. I don't want to bring something that they can just swing by someplace and get on their own, KWIM?

And thank you, too, for the suggestions to reach out to NHdisneylover - I'm sending her a PM as soon as I hit post on this!

 

[minkydog]

I agree. Hopefully she will see this thread and chime in.

Let's remember that these are very young children, and keep suggestions age appropriate. I wouldn't give a one year old Pez candies, quarters or sugary treats.

I totally agree. Those things are a choking hazard. Id go to Old Navy and pick up a couple American flag tshirts and maybe a small Disney toy.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I do know that when my parents were travel agents, they used to bring jeans/jean-type clothing and panty hose (although they're a little young for those!) because at that time, at least, lots of other countries didn't get those easily. Don't know if it's true now.

 

[etoiles]

Something American flag would probably be popular, you could do some American flag hair bows or ties. I bet those are easy to find this time of year with 4th of July coming up.

My mother in law who visits from The Netherlands (very close to Germany) loves the towels in America so some cute themed towels or cute beach type towels are also an idea.

For the older one and parents microwave popcorn is also an idea. People always ask my mother in law to bring that back for them after she visits.

Maybe some cute stickers, possibly princess theme or other age appropriate crafty item.

If you don't want to get sized clothing cute socks would also work.

 

[elaine amj]

Get some cute Disney stuff from the Disney store. Sippy cups, cute toys, Mickey caps. While it may be stuff they can get in Germany, they may not already have it, kwim?

I love the idea of t-shirts with the American Flag on it. You can easily pick some up at Old Navy, etc.

 

[leebee]

I am not so sure about the US flag teeshirts or US flag decorated things. In Europe, they are nowhere near as overtly patriotic as we are here in the US. Our friends from both Germany and France think it's odd that we Americans wear our flag and our patriotism so openly.

Also not sure about the soccer stuff. Aren't Germany and the US rivals in their divisions? In fact, I believe they are opponents in Thursday's game.

How about bringing something for the whole family that would not necessarily be readily available in Germany, but that we have here? For example, I live in Maine. Stonewall Kitchen has a variety of Maine based gift baskets; one of them contains blueberry pancake mix, blueberry and maple syrups, blueberry jam, and a blueberry dish towel. I suspect they probably have pancakes and syrup in Germany, but the blueberry stuff says "Maine" to me, and Stonewall Kitchens is a Maine-based company. Where are you from, OP? Is there something that's traditional to your area of the country?

If you really want to do something Disney, perhaps a small plush Mickey wearing a US teeshirt, or something that is only available in the parks (if you'll be there before heading overseas).

I wish Hadley could chime in on this. She'll probably find this thread sometime today.

 

[etoiles]

I am not so sure about the US flag teeshirts or US flag decorated things. In Europe, they are nowhere near as overtly patriotic as we are here in the US. Our friends from both Germany and France think it's odd that we Americans wear our flag and our patriotism so openly.
.

I agree that in Europe they don't show their flags/patriotism off like we do but at least in Holland American style stuff is popular and they like stuff not with the Dutch flag on it but the American flag instead.

I don't think they are showing their disloyalty to their country but the flag stuff is just a trend.

 

[Jeff in BigD]

A lot of the internationals I've come in contact with carry pins with their flags on it, which I've thought was really cool.

The Irish gave me a shamrock pin attached to a card with an Irish proverb on it. And one of the girls planted a kiss on me. Needless to say, I liked the Irish way the best.

 

[Suger Mag]

for adults:
real maple syrup, maple cream
a nice american wine
cookbooks

for kids...maple candy...maybe baseball equipment or book on baseball if they are into sports

 

[lolainkent]

I don't know about maple syrup. I live in the UK and it's easy to buy at any grocery store. What I always crave....the generic pancake syrup! I buy it anytime I'm back in Canada or visiting the US and always ask family to bring it with them.

Peanut butter, Goldfish, candy bars that aren't international, clothes from US stores.

 

[firecracker725]

I can tell you as an American living in France, what I miss most is peanut butter. If someone brought me a big jar of Skippy, I'd be over the moon.

 

[mimmi]

I do know that when my parents were travel agents, they used to bring jeans/jean-type clothing and panty hose (although they're a little young for those!) because at that time, at least, lots of other countries didn't get those easily. Don't know if it's true now.

As Germany is one of the richest and best developed countries in the world, panty hose is more than readily available everywhere, same goes for basically every other European country, so, please don't bring panty hose, although it would probably be a funny anecdote for the family .

I used to travel to the States a lot (when it comes to goods available at stores, Germany and Austria are rather similar) and the things I bought for my daughter were:

Abercrombie and Fitch, Aeropostale or American Eagle stuff , as it isn't available everywhere here (Hollister seems to be more widely available), American Girl stuff was always a huge hit, especially matching clothes for the doll and the kid (my daughter has an AG doll, but I guess many things would fit other dolls as well), M&M's from the M&M store in funny colors, bath and body works lip gloss and other glittery stuff, depending on where I went I bought sweaters with sights, like the Empire State Building, on them. Sizes don't matter all that much when it comes to sweaters and t-shirts.

I think it depends if the family is German or American, if they are American they probably miss some special food, if not, it might be nice to try something different, but we, for example, threw a ton of Hershey's chocolate away last year because it tasted really bad to us (like vomit to be exact), so tastes might be different.

Edited to add:
I just saw that they are 1 and 3 not 13, as, for some reason, I read it, so the Disney store would be a good idea as there are stores in Europe, but they often carry other things than the US stores. With children so small, regular sizes for their age shouldn't be a problem. As summer has finally arrived, how about bathing suits? I usually buy them at Disney stores as they are so cute.